ON the night before Michael Jackson's will was expected to be filed in court, heavy construction equipment and workers passed through the wrought-iron gates of Neverland Ranch, fueling speculation that it could soon be hosting a funeral or permanent memorial to the King of Pop. More than a dozen vehicles, including a tractor, a cement mixer and a backhoe, along with groups of gardeners and florists bearing huge wreaths, were spotted on the property about 120 miles northwest of Los Angeles. At once a symbol of Jackson's success and his excesses, Neverland - the 2,500-acre property nestled in the hills of Santa Barbara County - became the site of a makeshift memorial after his death Thursday. Meanwhile, CNN and TMZ.com said the Jackson family planned a public viewing on Friday - which could draw a crush of fans to the isolated Neverland Ranch north of Los Angeles. A 30-car motorcade reportedly plans to escort the body on Thursday to the King of Pop's 1,050-hectare (2,600-acre) estate, a monument to Jackson's obsession with childhood that once included a fairground and a private zoo. It was unclear whether Jackson could be legally buried at the ranch. The state's health and safety code makes interring any uncremated remains outside of a cemetery a misdemeanor. Cremated remains can be kept in a home or private mausoleum outside a cemetery, he said. Will filed in court on Wednesday Jackson's will was to be filed Wednesday in Los Angeles. A person with knowledge of the document told The Associated Press on Tuesday that it gives guardianship over his children to the singer's mother and leaves all his assets in a trust fund. The will was signed on July 7, 2002, and named as executors Jackson's longtime lawyer John Branca and John McClain, a music executive and a family friend, said the person, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak on the topic. Experts said the personal bankruptcy of Jackson's parents in 1999 could work against Katherine taking control of the estate. Court documents show Katherine and Joe Jackson filed for Chapter 7 and listed nearly $24 million in debts that included court judgments, auto loans and credit cards. The only valuable asset listed was a house in Las Vegas then valued at $290,000. The bankruptcy was terminated in March 2007, but the documents gave no further details. “I think it would be a negative factor but not necessarily a disqualifier,” said Beth Kaufman, a Washington, D.C.-based attorney specializing in estate tax issues. “It could indicate that she is not capable of sound financial management.” More details emerged Tuesday about the recent state of Jackson's finances. In the most detailed account yet of the singer's tangled financial empire, documents obtained by the AP show Jackson claimed to have a net worth of $236.6 million as of March 31, 2007. Jackson suffered from insomnia Michael Jackson was so distraught over persistent insomnia in recent months that he pleaded for a powerful sedative despite warnings it could be harmful, says a nutritionist who was working with the singer as he prepared his comeback bid. Cherilyn Lee, a registered nurse whose specialty includes nutritional counseling, said Tuesday that she repeatedly rejected his demands for the drug, Diprivan, which is given intravenously. But a frantic phone call she received from Jackson four days before his death made her fear that he somehow obtained Diprivan or another drug to induce sleep, Lee said. While in Florida on June 21, Lee was contacted by a member of Jackson's staff. “He called and was very frantic and said, `Michael needs to see you right away.' I said, ‘What's wrong?' And I could hear Michael in the background ..., ‘One side of my body is hot, it's hot, and one side of my body is cold. It's very cold,”' Lee said. “I said, `Tell him he needs to go the hospital. I don't know what's going on, but he needs to go to the hospital ... right away.” “At that point, I knew that somebody had given him something that hit the central nervous system,” she said, adding, “He was in trouble Sunday and he was crying out.” She added that she encountered a man tortured by sleep deprivation and one who expressed opposition to recreational drug use. “He wasn't looking to get high or feel good and sedated from drugs,” she said. “This was a person who was seeking help, desperately, to get some sleep, to get some rest.” “It wasn't that he felt sick,” she said. “He just wanted more energy.” Lee said she decided to speak out to protect Jackson's reputation from what she considers unfounded allegations of drug abuse or shortcomings as a parent. Fans gather at Apollo to pay tribute Thousands of Michael Jackson fans gave the late pop star a raucous yet respectful send-off during six hours of public memorial services celebrating his life and music at Harlem's Apollo Theater. A black fedora with a white glove draped across its brim sat on a lone stool on the theater's stage, flanked by arrangements of white lilies. Film director Spike Lee joined Sharpton on stage and urged the crowd to remember Jackson's accomplishments and not what he characterized as past negative news coverage. “Let's not wallow in the negativity that they're trying to drag us down into. We're not having it,” Lee said. “It's all about the love.” “He knew he was loved, but he didn't know he was this loved,” said Rosiland Sargent, 59, of West Orange, New Jersey. At the end of each tribute, fans placed their gifts on the stage. They included small stuffed teddy bears, balloons, homemade posters, a hand-knitted baby blanket and letters, including one addressed to “The Man who moved like no other.” Fans began assembling at the Apollo soon after Jackson died Thursday in Los Angeles.
