Ask the Answer B!tch

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Is it true that Michael Jackson wasn't the dad of some of his kids? If they aren't related to him at all, how can Michael's mom get custody of them?
—Capon

It's been assumed for years that Prince Michael and Paris are not biologically related to the late star—reports have been floating around since at least 2004, when newspapers worldwide picked up on a tabloid report citing court papers filed by Jackson's ex-wife Debbie Rowe.

The new rumor surfacing, of course, is that the mystery dad now allegedly has a name, face and profession. Us Weekly magazine is claiming he is Arnold Klein, the dermatologist who treated Jackson's reported skin disorder.

If these reports are true, what might that eventually mean when it comes to custody of Prince and Paris? Well...

...probably not much.

The kids are 11 and 12 now, Jackson's mother Katherine has filed for custodianship, and Klein—assuming he is the dad—hasn't said a word publicly.

(Access Hollywood spoke with Klein's publicist, who would only say that the doctor has been a friend of Jackson's for two decades. More interestingly, the flack says Klein's attorney will not let him speak until the coroner's report on M.J.'s death comes out.)

Reports are now claiming that Klein and Rowe were "surrogates" in producing the kids—an arrangement that usually includes ceding of custody as standard operating procedure.

Also, courts are generally not keen on separating children from siblings. Let's not forget that there's also Prince Michael II aka Blanket, a third child, age 7, and that all three kids have been together since he was born. (Mystery surrounds Blanket, too, and the mother has never been revealed, even on the birth certificate.)

If anyone other than Katherine has a shot at custody of Prince and Paris, it's Rowe. Some reports are indicating that she might not even be the biological mother of Prince or Paris, but she does have some parental rights. (Rowe's  lawyer told Radar today that this rumor is "entirely false.") For more on that, see my previous story on the possible fate of the Jackson children.

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