Janet Jackson wants custody of Michael Jackson’s three children

With the fallout from his loss still far from settled, a custody hearing is scheduled in LA today to determine who should take over the care of Michael Jackson’s three children. And so far, his sister is well in the lead.

Janet Jackson plans to attend the hearing to contest her brother’s current will, which places his three children, Prince Michael, 12, Paris, 11 and seven-year old Prince Michael II, known as ‘Blanket,’ in the care of his mother: “I’ll step forward and raise them, if this is what they want” the 43-year old star told MTV.

And a well-placed source says Janet’s odds for success are attractive, “There were a lot of rifts in the family, but Janet was the one person Michael spoke to regularly, and he made sure the children kept in touch with her too,” they confirmed. “He wanted Janet to look after them, with help from his mother, and was planning to draft a new will to reflect that. Michael trusted Janet implicitly.”

Meanwhile, the other sister, LaToya, has confirmed she will re-release one of her songs as a tribute to Michael. The 53-year old singer and star of ‘Celebrity Big Brother’ will release the track, ‘Home,’ as an MP3 download, with all proceeds going ‘Aids Project LA,’ a charity which her brother supported.

Fans can download the song a week from tomorrow.