LOS ANGELES – The future of Michael Jackson's children was thrown into question Thursday when his ex-wife emerged and won a delay in a custody hearing while she decides whether she wants to raise her two offspring.

It was the first legal move from Deborah Rowe since the entertainer's death. Jackson's will asks for his mother, Katherine, to get permanent custody of all three of his children.

Rowe, who met Jackson as a receptionist in the office of his dermatologist, has characterized their relationship as strictly for the purpose of birthing Jackson children. She is the mother of his two oldest children and received $8.5 million in their divorce, according to court records. His youngest child was conceived with a surrogate.

She has spent very little time with her son Michael Joseph Jr., known as Prince Michael, 12; and daughter Paris Michael Katherine, 11. But Rowe also opposed the idea of Katherine Jackson getting custody of her children when it came up in the past.

Rowe's attorney, Eric M. George, said Thursday that she had not decided whether to seek custody.

Superior Court Judge Mitchell Beckloff rescheduled a guardianship hearing for July 13 at the request of attorneys for Rowe and for Katherine Jackson, 79, who has temporary guardianship of the children.

The identity of the surrogate mother of the singer's youngest child, 7-year-old son Prince Michael II, has never been revealed.

Another court hearing will proceed as planned Monday on who will take temporary control of Jackson's estate. He left all his assets to the Michael Jackson Family Trust.

A person familiar with the details of the trust said it would be shared between his mother, who gets 40 percent, his three children, who together get 40 percent, and charities for children, which would receive 20 percent. The charities will be determined later by the trust.

The person was not authorized to speak publicly and requested anonymity.

The will estimates the value of Jackson's estate at more than $500 million. It doesn't name his father, Joe Jackson, to any position of authority in administering the estate. Also shut out is Rowe.

Since Jackson's death, Sony Music has been deluged with requests for record rereleases, while fans have also been clamoring for copies of Moon Walk, Jackson's 1988 autobiography.

New copies of the out-of-print book were being offered on Amazon.com for as much as $2,100 for a signed copy.

Anthony McCartney,

The Associated Press

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