Fans await news of Jackson service (From Wiltshire Business Online)

Fans await news of Jackson service

6:36am Thursday 2nd July 2009

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Fans mourning the death of Michael Jackson will have to wait for a public memorial to the pop singer after his family said his body would not go on show at Neverland.

Plans for an event where people can pay their respects to the late star are still being worked out and will be announced "shortly", a spokesman said.

It had previously been suggested the singer's body could be taken to the Californian property following his death last week at the age of 50.

A statement released on Wednesday night by Sunshine, Sachs & Associates, the public relations firm employed by the Jackson family, read: "Contrary to previous news reports, the Jackson family is officially stating that there will be no public or private viewing at Neverland.

"Plans are under way regarding a public memorial for Michael Jackson, and we will announce those plans shortly."

Once a symbol of Jackson's success and excesses, Neverland - the 2,500-acre property in the hills of Santa Barbara County's wine country - became the site of a makeshift memorial after his death following a cardiac arrest last Thursday.

Meanwhile, the battle over Jackson's legacy was set to continue after it emerged Jackson left his fortune to his three children and his mother.

Jackson's entire estate is left to a family trust, which means under US laws the exact details do not have to be made public.

But the will, estimated at more than £300 million when it was made in July 2002, cuts out his former wife Debbie Rowe.

The family trust will provide for the children - aged between seven and 12 - and Jackson's 79-year-old mother Katherine. It also names his mother as the guardian of the children and singer Diana Ross as a successor trustee to Jackson's mother if necessary.

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