Although the cause of Michael Jackson's death was preliminarily recorded as cardiac arrest, widespread speculation from the outside world has since thrown this into doubt. On June 27 his family hired an independent pathologist to conduct a second postmortem to clarify the cause of death. The looming dispute over the enormous inheritance Jackson left and who will get custody of his children remains unsettled.

The Los Angeles County coroner's office conducted its first autopsy the day after Jackson's death on June 25. The office announced that there was no indication of any external trauma or murder, but the final autopsy results could take weeks. The late pop singer's family has ordered a second independent autopsy however, either because they do not trust the official autopsy results or they wish to compare the results of the two autopsies for peace of mind.

Having led an extravagant life, Jackson fell into financial crisis over the last 10 years, and accumulated debts of around 500 million USD. Nevertheless, he left a huge inheritance of about 1.2 billion USD or more, which may further increase by another 100 million USD with fans rushing to buy his albums and souvenirs.

It is said that Jackson made at least two wills before his death, planning to leave his estate to his three children and his mother. According to sources, he left his three children 200 unpublished songs, possibly valued at 100 million USD, to guarantee they will be able to live comfortably in the future. This is a decision Jackson made several months before his death; no debtor has the right to use these songs to offset debts.

By People's Daily Online