A custody battle for Michael Jackson’s children is likely after his former wife told a local television station: “I want my children.”

Debbie Rowe said that she would be seeking a restraining order against Jackson’s father, Joe, to keep him away from Michael Joseph Jr, 12 — known as Prince Michael — Paris Michael Katherine, 11, and Prince Michael II, 7, also known as Blanket.

Joe Jackson admitted in a 2003 interview that he had whipped his children, including Michael. Ms Rowe, who is the mother of the two elder children but is believed to have signed away custody rights, is the latest figure to join the fight for Jackson’s legacy.

The singer’s mother, Katherine, 79, was granted temporary custody of all three children on Monday and is looking after them at the family compound in Encino, Los Angeles. She is still married to Joe Jackson and although he often lives in Las Vegas he has been seen at the family home this week.

Late yesterday a judge delayed a guardianship hearing that had been scheduled for Monday, at the request of both Ms Rowe’s lawyers and those of the singer’s mother. It will now take place on July 13.

NBCLA reported on its website that Ms Rowe told a reporter in a 90-minute telephone conversation that she was willing to submit to any testing, including of her DNA, to prove that she is the mother of the singer’s two elder children. Jackson’s youngest child was born to an unknown surrogate mother. Ms Rowe is also reported to have said that she would submit to psychological testing.

Her lawyer, Eric M. Rowe, appeared to backtrack later last night, telling reporters that she had not reached a final decision on whether to seek custody. Experts say that she has the strongest legal claim to Jackson’s two elder children, as she is their natural mother, even though she has rarely seen them in recent years. In the NBCLA interview Ms Rowe said that she would be happy to accept custody of the third child too, but did not expect the court to award it.

Ms Rowe, a former nurse for Jackson’s dermatologist, married him in 1996 but filed for divorce in 1999.

In a 2001 petition asking to sever her parental rights, she wrote that she thought that Jackson was doing a good job: “Michael has been a wonderful father to the children, and I do not wish to share any parenting responsibilities with Michael because he is doing so well without me.”

In 2003 she petitioned to have those rights restored after Jackson was arrested on child molestation charges, and an appeal court sided with her.Jackson and Ms Rowe apparently reached a financial settlement in 2006 but the terms have never been officially disclosed.

A memorial for Jackson will be held at the Staples Centre in Los Angeles after plans for a public wake at his ranch, Neverland, were abandoned. Randy Phillips, chief executive of AEG Live, said that the event would probably take place on Tuesday and be simulcast on big screens outside the arena, with free entry for fans.

The family has ruled out private or public viewings of the body at Jackson’s Neverland ranch, apparently after the logistics of handling tens of thousands of fans proved too difficult at the remote location.

The cause of Jackson’s death has still not been confirmed but police have drafted in officials from the federal Drug Enforcement Administration to investigate. The agency will examine claims that Jackson abused prescription drugs and may have been taking a dangerous sedative used in operating theatres to induce unconsciousness. DEA officials have powers to investigate Jackson’s doctors.

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