Custody Battles

Michael Jackson's family has circled the wagons ... with many family members expressing outrage at the prospect Debbie Rowe could become Paris Jackson's legal guardian ... sources connected with the family tell TMZ.

We broke the story ... Debbie has not made any move to become Paris' guardian after last week's suicide attempt, but she's amenable if Paris wants it. As we reported ... Paris is having trouble connecting with grandma Katherine, and that's one of the reasons she's established a bond with Debbie over the last few months.

Our sources say ... members of the family believe Debbie's motivation is to put herself in the public eye, as evidenced by her statement to the media after the suicide attempt. As one source said, "If her intentions were pure she'd be speaking to the family."

We're told the family will fight Debbie "tooth and nail" if she attempts to secure guardianship.

The criticism is puzzling, because Debbie has stayed out of the spotlight for years, and her statement about Paris had nothing to do with guardianship -- it was merely confirming TMZ's story that Paris had attempted suicide.

Also interesting ... the family is not suggesting Debbie's motivation is money.

The judge in the guardianship case is currently reviewing Katherine's guardianship to determine if she's able to properly care for MJ's 3 kids.

"We're still dealing with the details but it addresses all of the disputes between the parties," said attorney Marta Almli. "I can't say anything about the terms of the settlement but I don't think it would have happened if both parties didn't agree it was appealing to both of them."