"She's elated," Rowe attorney Eric George said of his client Thursday.

With the ruling, George explained, it's as if Rowe never signed off as the children's mother.

"She retains the rights that a parent has, and she can proceed like any other parent in trying to determine through the family law courts what her parental rights are," George said.

While the next step for Rowe could be a renewed custody fight, the next step for Jackson could be yet another appeal.

Jackson spokeswoman Raymone Bain said Thursday that she had forwarded the ruling to the Bahrain-based star, said to be "traveling," but that she had no statement to release from him.

Rowe, in her mid-40s, was married to Jackson, 47, from 1996 to '99. Together, they had two children, Prince, 9, and Paris, 7. Jackson's brood also includes his youngest son, known as Blanket, who was born in 2002 to a surrogate mother, or so the singer told journalist Martin Bashir in an infamous TV interview.

In October 2001, Rowe told the courts that because Jackson was "doing so well" on his own as a single father she wanted to give up any and all parental rights to Prince and Paris. A judge approved the motion, and Rowe was out.

"Debbie had serious doubts about the best interests of the children," George said.

In the appeals court decision, posted in its entirety at TMZ.com, it is noted that Rowe, who is Jewish, was concerned that Jackson had aligned himself with the Nation of Islam "whose members Deborah believed do 'not like Jews.'" It also said that Rowe was concerned by the child-molestation charges brought against Jackson in November 2003.

In April 2004, the court sided in part with Rowe, and her parental rights were restored. (Rowe also asked for visitation, but was denied that request.) Jackson appealed the decision, leading him to Wednesday's defeat.

Although Rowe and Jackson have been at odds over their children for years, neither has publicly said a discouraging word about the other. A reluctant witness for the prosecution last year at Jackson's molestation trial, Rowe praised her former husband as a "wonderful person" who was "great with kids."

Jackson was acquitted of all charges last June.

Rowe's testimony, meanwhile, revealed that her relationship with Jackson was hardly conventional. A former nurse for the singer's dermatologist, Rowe said she and Jackson never shared a home, and that she hadn't seen her children since 2001.