LOS ANGELES (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 by an upcoming court hearing.

A lawyer representing Katherine Jackson, the pop superstar's 82-year-old mother, said he will file legal documents that would make the children's cousin TJ Jackson a co-guardian. The plan appears designed to remove pressure from Katherine Jackson who was named in her son's will as the children's sole guardian.

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

Legal papers outlining the plan were expected to be filed Thursday in Los Angeles. Superior Court Judge Michael Beckloff is likely to order a hearing regarding the agreement.

TJ Jackson, 34, was appointed as 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.

Judge Beckloff said last week that he didn't believe Katherine 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 last week's hearing replaced her 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.