Jackson named Diana Ross guardian

In a will made seven years ago, Michael Jackson nominated the singer Diana Ross, a lifelong friend, to take care of his children in the event that his mother Katherine Jackson, was unable to. Debbie Rowe, his former wife, and supposedly the mother of his two older children - though this is a moot point - is cut out of the will, as is his father, Joe Jackson.

The document, dated July 7 2002, was filed in court in Los Angeles yesterday. The key provision is that his estate, valued at $500m, is placed in a family trust for his 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."

Debbie Rowe, who was married to Jackson between 1996 and 1999, has not indicated whether she intends to contest custody of the two elder children, currently given to Katherine Jackson. However there have media reports that Rowe never was the children's natural mother but acted as a surrogate mother, the children having been conceived by in vitro fertilisation, using donated sperm and eggs.

♦ Memorial move: Reports yesterday of a motorcade to Neverland followed by a lying-in-state appear to be premature. It emerged last night that the Jaskson family has ruled out any kind of public wake at the ranch, much to the relief of locals in Santa Barbara County who fear Neverland becoming a Jackson version of Elvis Presley's Graceland. Plans for a public memorial at the Staples Center or the Los Angeles Coliseum as early as next week are expected to be announced soon.

♦ Burial plans: There are reports that Jackson will be buried at Forest Lawn Memorial Park, where such Hollywood legends as Humphrey Bogart and Clark Gable are buried. It is claimed that his body has already been moved to the Hollywood Hills site, but a spokesman denied the reports, saying: "We've never had him and we're not going to. If we were going to, we would know."

♦ 'Wife' claim: A London woman calling herself Nona Paris Lola Ankhesenamun Jackson has filed a petition in LA County Superior Court demanding "that all my husband's properties, monies and assets must be transferred to me immediately" and "my husband's body must be returned to the coroner's body [sic] or the mortuary immediately." Nona claims all of Jackson's three children are hers. TMZ.com headlines its report on Nona: 'First Crazy Claim'.

♦ Magazine row: OK! magazine has been trying to defend the controversial use on its cover of "the last picture" of Michael Jackson, showing him lying on a stretcher, possibly already dead. The magazine is reported to have paid $500,000 for the photo, to the disgust of many fans. OK! spokesman Brian Strong says: "The cover represents an event in the history of an extremely entertaining and controversial figure and is sure to provoke some emotion and questions from readers and fans about the circumstances. The news often does."