Michael Jackson gets public viewing at Neverland

Michael Jackson's mother and his three children have been left his estate as speculation grows over where the star will be buried. The singer's will cuts out ex-wife Debbie Rowe and sees the entire estate left to a family trust which will provide for the youngsters - Prince Michael, 12, Paris, 11 and seven-year-old Prince Michael II, known as Blanket - as well as his 79-year-old mother Katherine. The will - which when written in July 2002 estimated Jackson's estate at more than £300 million - also names his mother as the children's guardian and singer Diana Ross if Katherine is unable to take care of them. Meanwhile, there appears to be confusion over where the star will be buried after a procession of vehicles arrived at his rundown Californian ranch Neverland, located around 150 miles northwest of Los Angeles. But US reports claim officials have not been given enough time to clear the red tape required for a burial on private ground in time for Friday's planned funeral. 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, his long-time friend and leading civil rights campaigner Jesse Jackson urged mourners to "celebrate Michael's life" amid reports that obsessed fans were committing suicide in the wake of the superstar's death. In a message posted on website YouTube, Mr Jackson said: "This is a time that, while our hearts are heavy and there's great pain and great loss, we celebrate Michael's life. "And we celebrate his life by creating futures not funerals, futures not funerals, to make Michael happy and maintain his sense of dignity, (his) sense of decency. It made Michael happy saying 'We Are The World'. Don't self destruct, don't give up or surrender. "We fall down sometimes, we get back up again, and again and again. That's the right thing to do. In Michael's name, let's live together as brothers and sisters and not die apart as fools. Through all of this, keep your hope alive." Earlier, a nutritionist said the singer pleaded for a powerful sedative to cure his insomnia ahead of his comeback tour in London. Cherilyn Lee, 56, a nurse and nutrition specialist in California, said the singer had asked to be prescribed the drug Diprivan - despite warnings that it could have harmful side-effects. Jackson had been booked to play 50 gigs at the O2 arena in London starting later this month. Tour promoter Randy Phillips, president of AEG Live, denied the singer was suffering from stage fright, saying his firm would at "some point" be releasing footage of the rehearsals. He said the show was going to be "beyond anything", adding: "At some point the world needs to see this production and I would imagine it could be done as a tribute with the family, with the brothers performing, some sisters, and the stars that were influenced by him. "The world needs to see this production. It would have been, which is the tragedy here, one of the most amazing shows ever, so at some point we want the world to see that. We are discussing with the family so the sooner, the better." Describing rehearsals the day before his death, Mr Phillips said: "He was so amazing in the final week. He gave me a hug and said 'now I know I can do this'. He was that engaged and that incredible."

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ITN | July 1, 2009

Tags:. .thursday. .destruct. .decency. .gigs. .footage