Katherine and Joe Jackson, shown in early September, are now at odds over son Michael's estate.
A legal battle between Michael Jackson's mother and father broke out in a Los Angeles court Tuesday morning, just as Katherine Jackson dropped her challenge of the executors named in her son's will.
Katherine Jackson's lawyer announced in court that she "feels it's high time that the fighting end" between the Jackson family and the two men who now control her son's estate.
Adam Streisand, who represents Katherine Jackson in the estate case, also objected to Joe Jackson's legal standing to wage his own challenge of the executors.
Until now, the Jacksons have presented a united public front in the battle over who controls the pop star's estate.
Joe Jackson, 81, and Katherine Jackson, 79, have been married for 60 years but live separately.
Joe Jackson is not named as a beneficiary in his son's 2002 will, but he filed a petition last week asking for a monthly allowance from his son's estate.
Katherine Jackson is a beneficiary of the will, along with Michael Jackson's three children and unidentified charities, and she receives a monthly allowance as ordered by the court in July.
Katherine Jackson's legal team, until now, insisted that the Jackson family "have a seat at the table" in running the huge estate, and had asked the judge to hold a trial to determine if John Branca and John McClain, named by Jackson's will as executors, were fit to control the estate.
Jackson's mother replaced her previous lawyers with Streisand in October. Londell McMillan, who has served as a Jackson family lawyer, said at the time the change was because the Jacksons had come across new evidence and wanted to be more aggressive in their challenge of the estate.
Instead, Streisand announced peace between Katherine Jackson and the estate administrators.
"Mrs. Jackson feels it's high time that the fighting end and they work together in the best interests of the legacy of Michael Jackson and his children," he told the judge.
Streisand then joined the estate lawyers in arguing to the judge that Joe Jackson's request for money from the estate and his challenge of the executors should not be heard.
"He clearly has no standing," Katherine Jackson's lawyer said about Joe Jackson.
Brian Oxman, the lawyer representing Michael Jackson's father, said outside court that there is no legal rift between the pop singer's parents.
Joe Jackson was just "taking the lead" in the estate challenge, Oxman said.
Oxman filed a petition late Monday contending that Branca and McClain must be disqualified as executors because they hid from the court a mistake regarding Jackson's signature.
The signature section of the will said it was signed on July 7, 2002, in Los Angeles, although there is proof that Michael Jackson was in New York on that date, Oxman said.
"The executors have an obligation to tell the court the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth," Oxman said. "But for four months they've been silent as to where this will was signed. They are concealing this from the court and you cannot do that."
Howard Weitzman, one of the attorneys for Branca and McClain, responded by saying Joe Jackson's claims "are so outrageous that they don't deserve any response."
"John Branca and John McClain, who were designated by Michael Jackson in his will as executors of his estate, will continue carrying out Michael's wishes for the benefit of his mother, his children and charities," Weitzman said in a statement.
Judge Mitchell Beckloff, who is overseeing the probate of Jackson's estate, delayed a decision on whether Joe Jackson's petitions can be heard until later Tuesday afternoon.
Michael Jackson died June 25, but the probate of his will has been slowed by a series of court squabbles.
Under the 2002 will, Jackson's three children and his mother are the chief beneficiaries of his estate, while unnamed charities will share in 20 percent of the wealth.
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