LOS ANGELES - Michael Jackson's mother and ex-wife will have time to reach an agreement over who will take care of the singer's three children.

For the second time, Katherine Jackson and Deborah Rowe joined to seek a delay in a hearing that could decide who gets custody of the pop superstar's children. A guardianship hearing scheduled for Monday has been delayed for a week, an attorney said Friday.

Katherine Jackson will remain the temporary guardian of her son's three children, who range in ages from 7 to 12.

Court records show a judge granted the delay Friday afternoon.

The hearing could have presented a showdown between Katherine Jackson and Rowe, who was married to the pop singer from 1996 to 1999.

Instead, the two sides are trying to broker an out-of-court settlement.

"We are pleased that the child custody hearing has been continued over until July 20th to further our progress and allow us to privately and amicably resolve this most important matter in a dignified manner for the benefit of the children first and all involved," L. Londell McMillan said in a statement to The Associated Press.

Attorneys for Rowe declined to comment on Friday.