Michael Jackson's mother was given permanent custody of the singer's three children Monday.
Katherine Jackson, 79, was appointed permanent guardian of Michael's three children -- Michael Joseph "Prince Michael" Jackson Jr., Paris-Michael Katherine Jackson and Prince Michael II (known as "Blanket") -- by Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Mitchell Beckloff.
A hearing is scheduled for October to look at some remaining issues.
Katherine Jackson was in the courtroom Monday with three of her children: Rebbie, Randy and LaToya.
An agreement last week between Katherine Jackson and Debbie Rowe, the mother of the two oldest children, cleared the way for an uncontested custody hearing.
Rowe, who was briefly married to Michael Jackson, agreed not to fight for custody in exchange for visits with the children as recommended by a psychologist.
The agreement does not involve any financial payments to Rowe "apart from the continuation of spousal support payments" that Michael Jackson personally agreed to make to Rowe after their divorce, their lawyers said in a joint statement.
Jackson's children have been living with their paternal grandmother at her Encino, California, home since their father's June 25 death.
The oldest child, Michael Joseph Jackson Jr., was born in February 1997. A daughter, Paris-Michael Katherine Jackson, was born the next year. Details of how the children were conceived and who was the biological father have been closely guarded amid much public speculation.
The couple divorced in 1999, with Rowe giving Jackson full custody while she got an $8.5 million settlement, according to court documents. Jackson later agreed to additional support.
Katherine Jackson's legal battle for some control of her son's estate also returned to court Monday in front of the same judge.
Dozens of lawyers were expected to be on hand in the Los Angeles courtroom, where a judge will consider the Jackson family matriarch's challenge of the lawyer and former music executive named as executors in Michael Jackson's will.
Katherine Jackson's attorneys filed a petition last week accusing the men who now control the estate of being "intent on keeping her in the dark" about deals they've made or are negotiating.
Londell McMillan, Jackson's lead attorney, raised questions about "a suspicious circle of relationships" involving John Branca, the singer's longtime personal attorney, and John McClain, a music industry executive and longtime friend.
Howard Weitzman, one of the attorneys for Branca and McClain, said they've provided "timely information to Mrs. Jackson's counsel regarding potential business opportunities for the estate."
"Any inference that we have not been forthcoming in providing information to Katherine Jackson's attorneys is not accurate," Weitzman said.
Beckloff gave Branca and McClain temporary control of the estate until Monday's hearing.
Katherine Jackson is asking the judge to order Branca, McClain and others to answer questions under oath about their business agreements to determine whether they are "fit and able" to administer the estate. The men also were served with a 19-page demand for documents.
Branca has refused to let Katherine Jackson see 's contracts with AEG -- the company that was organizing and promoting his planned concerts in London, England -- unless she agrees to keep them confidential. Branca's attorney argued in a court filing that he has no choice, since the contracts have a provision requiring confidentiality.
"There is one agreement being requested by Mrs. Jackson's attorneys where the other party to the contract has agreed to provide the document to Mrs. Jackson and her attorneys but requested that the terms be kept confidential and not be shared with third parties," Branca's lawyer said. "Mrs. Jackson's lawyers have refused that offer."
Branca's attorneys also argued that Jackson's demand for documents was too broad and burdensome.
"Such measures will not be necessary if Mrs. Jackson is appointed a co-executor of the estate," McMillan said.
In an interview last week with CBS, McMillan estimated the Jackson estate was worth $2 billion, while the executors have estimated in court that its value is around $500 million.
The will written in 2002 places all of Michael Jackson's assets into a family trust benefiting his mother, his three children and unnamed charities.
The judge will consider at Monday's hearing who will have permanent control of the estate.
