Los Angeles - Michael Jackson's mother has reached a custody deal over his three children with his ex-wife Debbie Rowe, the lawyer of Katherine Jackon said Thursday.

Londell McMillan, who represents the Jackson matriarch, said that under the agreement Jackson would be granted custody of the three children while Rowe would be given visitation rights.

Rowe, the mother of Jackson's two older children, had agreed not to challenge the custody arrangement. The deal was reached just days before a custody hearing set for Monday.

"All the parties are resolved that there is no situation better for these children than for them to be raised and reared in the loving care of Mrs Katherine Jackson," McMillan told CBS News. "It's an agreement, an agreement for the best interests of the children. This is not a money deal. This is not about money."

The children - Michael Joseph Jackson Jr, known as Prince, Paris Michael Katherine Jackson and Prince Michael Jackson II, known as Blanket - have been staying at the Jackson family home in Encino, California, with Katherine, as called for in Michael's will.(dpa)