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Papers: Joe Jackson won't help raise Michael's children

Associated Press file photo

Joe Jackson wrote in a court statement that he only occasionally visits the family home in the San Fernando Valley and lives in Las Vegas.

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The Associated Press

Published: August 4, 2009

Updated: 08/04/2009 08:49 pm

LOS ANGELES - Joe Jackson doesn't plan to help raise Michael Jackson's three children.

The Jackson family patriarch lives in Las Vegas and wrote in a statement filed in a Los Angeles court on Monday that he only occasionally visits the family home in the San Fernando Valley, north of downtown Los Angeles.

"I have had a close family relationship with these grandchildren since their birth," Jackson wrote in the declaration dated July 13. "I do visit the family residence from time to time and will continue to do so, however I will not be involved in raising the children."

His two-page declaration expresses support for his wife, Katherine, who on Monday was granted permanent custody of Michael Jackson's three children.

Joe Jackson wrote that his wife is "a wonderful caretaker and guardian."

A judge on Monday awarded Katherine Jackson a monthly stipend to help upkeep the family's home, where her three grandchildren are staying.

Court records released today include forms signed by Jackson's two oldest children, Prince Michael, 12, and Paris-Michael, 11, consenting to their grandmother serving as their guardian. The documents do not include any statements by the children.

Michael Jackson named his mother as the person he wanted to raise his children if he died, according to a 2002 will.

Records filed on Monday also include consent by Jackson's ex-wife, Deborah Rowe, to Katherine Jackson's guardianship of Prince Michael and Paris-Michael, who she gave birth to while married to the King of Pop.

Under an agreement reached last week, Rowe will have some visits with the children that will be supervised by a child psychologist. A summary of the agreement filed with the court states that Rowe doesn't have any parental rights to Jackson's youngest son, Prince Michael II, also known as Blanket.

One of Katherine Jackson's attorneys, Diane Goodman, told a judge on Monday that Blanket, 7, was born to a surrogate who has no parental rights. The surrogate mother has never been identified.

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