Los Angeles, July 13 (DPA) Michael Jackson's mother is in negotiations with his former wife, who is also the mother of his two older children, to settle a potential custody battle, ABC News reported Monday.

In his will, the late superstar named his mother Katherine Jackson, 79, as the guardian of his children, with pop diva Diana Ross as an alternate. However, legal experts say that his ex-wife Debbie Rowe, who is the children's birth mother, has a strong legal

claim for custody.

The mother of Jackson's third child, Blanket, 7, is unknown.

A custody hearing that had been scheduled for Monday has been postponed for a week.