Details emerged in a 2005 legal bill, from the North Jersey law firm Mantell & Prince, to research whether the court could "relax" aspects of the law and allow a will and the designation of a "charitable institution" as the beneficiary after Medicaid.
Gary Prince Jr. said the intent was to prevent Jackson's adoptive mother and her family from inheriting.
"The concern was that the very money he got as settlement, God forbid, would go back to them," Prince said.
Jackson's trust paid $28,000 to the firm for work on his trust and will.
Critchley would not say what charity was being considered. "If and when it's appropriate to talk about [the will], I will," he said.
Tambussi was also firm. "Why should Bruce show you his will? Really, because he had some level of notoriety, it doesn't mean he gave up all privacy rights."
The lawyers would not discuss whether a will would bar Jackson's brothers, who received their own settlements, from inheriting.
But whether they fit the definition of "family" is a gray area. As foster children adopted by the Jackson family, they are not related by blood. And their legal ties to Jackson may have changed after their adoption by new parents.
Jackson's last visit with his brothers - he watched them play football - ended abruptly in October 2006, when his caregivers said he couldn't go out with them for pizza.
Getting through to Jackson is difficult, the Parrishes say. He sometimes calls and the boys chat about music, girls, and video games, but his number is usually blocked and they can't call back. They don't know where he lives and don't know who his lawyers are.
A few months ago, James Parrish said, he was able to get a caregiver on the phone and asked for a post office box where he could send pictures of the brothers. He said the caretakers had told him no.
The boys "just want to be with him . . . to play kickball, basketball" and to see how he is doing, Amber Parrish said. She said they worried about how he was doing.
Plans for a reunion may finally be in the works.
Critchley said last month that discussions were under way - "hopefully in the near future."
The decision, he said, rests with Jackson's care team.
To watch a video of Bruce Jackson speaking at the sentencing hearing of Vanessa Jackson, go to www.philly.com/seeBruce
Contact staff writer Jan Hefler at 856-779-3224 or jhefler@phillynews.com.
