Jermaine Jackson

AP

In the wake of a family dispute that spilled into the media, the living arrangements and guardianship of Michael Jackson's three children are expected to be determined during a court hearing.

A lawyer representing Katherine Jackson, the pop superstar's 82-year-old mother, previously said he would file legal documents seeking to make TJ Jackson, the children's cousin, a co-guardian.

Legal papers outlining the plan were filed Thursday in Los Angeles but were not immediately available to the public, reports The Associated Press.

Superior Court Judge Michael Beckloff was likely to order a hearing on the matter later in the day.

The plan is apparently designed to remove pressure from Katherine Jackson who was named in her son's will as the children's sole guardian.

Perry Sanders Jr., her lawyer, has said the arrangement will allow his client to focus on the children's upbringing and not on home or logistics issues.

TJ Jackson, 34, was appointed temporary guardian in a court hearing after a bizarre episode in which Katherine Jackson was reported missing but later turned up at an Arizona spa with family members.

Judge Beckloff said last week that he didn't believe Jackson had done anything wrong but suspended her guardianship duties because she had been out of contact with her grandchildren for 10 days. She returned from her trip hours after a hearing last week, when she was replaced with TJ Jackson as guardian of Prince, 15, Paris, 14 and Blanket, 10.

The new agreement would call for TJ Jackson to remain a co-guardian, with control over the staff and day-to-day operations of the home where Katherine Jackson and her grandchildren currently live.

The changes in guardianship come on the heels of family dissension over Michael Jackson's will, which left nothing to his siblings when he died three years ago. Several of them signed a letter that was leaked to the media alleging the will was a fake and calling on executors of the estate to resign.