Diana Ross is slated to sign off on the joint custody deal for Michael Jackson’s children. But no, she isn't taking custody of them herself.
The 68-year-old singer had been named as a back-up guardian to Michael's three kids in his will, after his mother Katherine Jackson, who'd been taking care of them until last week, when she was stripped of her duties. Though she could theoretically take care of the kids if she could prove Katherine wasn't able to, Ross will instead merely give her approval of the joint custody arrangement for Katherine and her grandson Tito Joe "TJ" Jackson.
“Diana has no intention of taking those kids,” said a source. “She has her own life on the east coast and wouldn’t want to uproot them to come live there. That wouldn’t be fair to anyone, particularly those kids.”
Because they weren't particularly close at the time of his death, Ross was surprised that Michael named her as a guardian in his will. Still, she understood why.
"She always knew about the problems he had with his family and felt he left the kids to her to avoid leaving them with his siblings," the source said. "She knows the entire family, which is one big reason she didn’t want to get involved with this custody issue. That’s a headache she doesn’t need.”
[via Daily Beast]
