Celebrity | Michael Jackson Katherine Jackson Gets Custody By Evann Gastaldo Posted Aug 3, 2009 12:01 PM CDT Copied In this June 13, 2005 file photo, Michael Jackson and his mother, Katherine, leave Santa Barbara County Superior Court in Santa Maria, Calif., after he was acquitted in his child molestation case. (AP Photo/John G. Mabanglo, Pool) A judge signed off today on last week’s unofficial custody arrangement for Michael Jackson’s children, appointing Katherine Jackson as the permanent guardian of all three, the AP reports. Jackson’s mother, 79, was the first choice given in his will to raise the children, and is the only person to formally petition for custody. Paris and Prince reportedly signed statements saying they wished to remain with their grandmother. Read These Next Beyonce leaves national anthem unfinished. A space capsule carrying ashes of 160 people crashed in the ocean. A lesson in minding your own business ... at 30,000 feet. The death toll in the Texas floods has risen to 27, including 9 kids. Report an error