Joe Jackson, the elderly father of late pop star Michael Jackson, yesterday filed a court petition seeking an allowance from the singer's estate, saying his son had supported him for many years. 

The legal filing in Los Angeles Superior Court, claims Michael’s estate has earned an estimated $100 million since the singer's sudden death on June 25, and administrators expect it to earn $100 million more by the end of the year. The filing claims Joe, who suffers from diabetes, was supported by Michael before his sudden death through payments made to the singer's mother and Joe's wife, Katherine Jackson, which were passed on to Joe.

Joe says his expenses exceed $20 000 per month, but his income from United States Social Security is a mere $1 700. Michael, known as the ‘King of Pop’ for his chart-topping record career, died of a drug overdose on June 25 at age 50 in Los Angeles only weeks before he was to have begun a series of comeback concerts in London. 

Since then, a movie about the singer has taken in $144 million at global box offices. Sales of his old records have seen resurgence and this past week the soundtrack for "This Is It" topped US record charts with sales of 373 000 copies. In his will, Michael left his estate to a family trust benefiting his three children, mother and charities. 

When the estate's administrators sought court approval for an allowance to help Katherine pay her expenses, they excluded Joe "without cause and for no apparent reason," according to the petition filed yesterday. A declaration accompanying the filing states that in the early 2000s, Michael paid Katherine roughly $50 000 a month and that amount grew to $66 000 per month later this decade. 

The declaration claims Michael knew some of that money was passed along to Joe to help him pay his expenses, and the suit says those payments have now stopped. - Reuters