Michael Jackson’s will, made seven years ago, gives his estate to a family trust for his children and names his mother as their guardian. His former wife, Debbie Rowe, is cut out of the will, as is his father, Joe.

The will names Diana Ross, 65, the singer and lifelong friend of Jackson, as a guardian to the children if his mother, Katherine Jackson, 79, is unable to take up the role. Katherine Jackson has already been granted temporary guardianship by a judge.

The document, filed in court in Los Angeles yesterday and dated July 7, 2002, gives his estate to the Michael Jackson Family Trust, formed in 2002, and puts a value on the estate at that time at $500million, consisting almost entirely of “non-cash, non-liquid assets, including primarily an interest in a catalogue of music royalty rights . . . administered by Sony ATV, and the interests of various entities”. A more recent estimate of his wealth from two years ago put it at $237 million.

Jackson is survived by three children: Michael Joseph Jr, known as Prince Michael, 12; Paris Michael Katherine, 11; and Prince Michael II, seven. Ms Rowe was the mother of the two elder children; the youngest was born to a surrogate mother, never identified.

Ms Rowe, who married Jackson in 1996 and filed for divorce three years later, surrendered her parental rights. She has not indicated whether she intends to contest custody of the two elder children.

John Branca, Jackson’s lawyer, and John McClain, a music executive and a family friend, were named as co-executors of the will. They said in a joint statement: “The most important element of Michael’s will is his unwavering desire that his mother, Katherine, become the legal guardian for his three children. As we work to carry out Michael’s instructions to safeguard both the future of his children as well as the remarkable legacy he left us as an artist we ask that all matters involving his estate be handled with the dignity and the respect that Michael and his family deserve.”

The naming of the co-executors sets up a potential clash with the family over Jackson's financial affairs. Control of the trust to handle his estate goes to Mr Branca and Mr McClain in the will.

Paul Gordon Hoffman, a lawyer for Mr Branca and Mr McClain, told a judge yesterday that his clients were the proper people to take over Jackson's financial affairs. He said that Katherine Jackson’s lawyers had already overstepped their authority when they applied, believing that Jackson died without a will, for control of the estate in Mrs Jackson’s name on Monday.

Superior Court Judge Mitchell Beckloff yesterday called for a speedy compromise between lawyers for Mrs Jackson and the two co-executors. “I would like the family to try to make this work so that we don’t have a difficult time in court,” the judge said.

One of Jackson's most lucrative assets is his stake in the vast Sony-ATV Music Publishing Catalog, which includes music by the Beatles, Bob Dylan and Neil Diamond and could be worth $2 billion. The five-page will is signed by Jackson, and each paragraph includes his scrawled initials.

Another lawyer for the executors, Jeryll S. Cohen, told Judge Beckloff that Mr Branca and Mr McClain could negotiate a deal this week to minimise a hit to Jackson’s estate from the refund of an estimated $85million in tickets sold for a series of London concerts.

Jackson had been preparing for those concerts when he died, aged 50.

Claims have surfaced that he may have been taking a sedative for insomnia in the days preecding his death. Cherilyn Lee, a nutritionist who was working for the singer, said that she rejected his demands for the drug, Diprivan, which is given intravenously. Jackson told her that he had been given it in the past by an unnamed doctor.

Doses beyond the medically recommended amount can stop a person’s breathing, leading to cardiac arrest.

Ms Lee said: “I don’t know what happened there. The only thing I can say is he was adamant about this drug.”

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