At stake, among other things, is a $1.4 million publishing contract for the autobiography of Mrs. King.

The Rev. Bernice King, the youngest of the King children and administrator of her mother’s estate, has refused to hand over letters and photos for an autobiography she says her mother didn’t want. That pits her against brother Dexter King, who is head of the Estate of Martin Luther King, Jr. Inc., or King Inc., the corporation that handles the rights to their father’s works. In May, he signed the contract with Penguin Group, clearing the way for the autobiography of Mrs. King.

Attorneys for King Inc. have asked a Fulton County Superior Court judge for a temporary restraining order forcing Bernice King to relinquish control of her mother’s papers. They cite a 1995 contract signed by Mrs. King and all the King children. It gives the corporation the rights to any work that exploits relationships with Martin Luther King Jr., including “autobiographies relating to the life of any of the heirs.”

Yolanda King, the eldest of the four King children, discovered the unpublished papers and photos in her mother’s house after Mrs. King’s death in January 2006. The papers included “intimate letters between the Kings, and documents concerning the Civil Rights Movement,” according to a brief in support of the restraining order.

Yolanda King, who was executor of her mother’s estate, set out to secure a book contract that would make use of the papers, the brief says. But Yolanda King died in May 2007 and Bernice King became administrator of the estate. A year later, Dexter King signed the publishing contract with Penguin. The deal would give $1.2 million to King Inc., whose proceeds go to the King heirs. Another $200,000 would go to Barbara Reynolds, a journalist-turned-minister who is to compile the “Autobiography of Coretta Scott King” using taped conversations and the papers in dispute.

Bernice King and her other brother, Martin Luther King III, oppose a deal they said was hammered out behind their backs. They maintain that their mother didn’t like the preliminary chapters she had received from Reynolds before her death, said Jock Smith, an attorney for the siblings.

Last week, Penguin gave notice of its intent to terminate the contract should Bernice King fail to hand over the papers by Thursday. But the New York-based publisher has agreed to push back that deadline until Oct. 17, said L. Lin Wood, an attorney for King Inc. Penguin wants a manuscript by March so it can publish the autobiography in time for the holidays.

In its brief, King Inc. argues that the Penguin deal gives the family editorial control of taped interviews that Reynolds could use to write a book anyway. “Without the ability to protect Dr. King’s status and memory,” the brief sates, “the King Legacy may be exploited in a manner which Dr. King’s heirs consider unflattering and unfitting.”

Using the ideals of Christianity and the techniques of Mahatma Gandhi, the Atlanta pastor called the world’s attention to the plight of African Americans and, at age 35, became the youngest man to win the Nobel Peace Prize.

But his childrens’ efforts to preserve that legacy have been anything but peaceful of late. Bernice King and Martin King III sued Dexter King in July, accusing him of mismanaging King Inc. and denying them access to the corporation’s records. Dexter King has denied those charges and, in August, filed a counterclaim. In it, he accused his siblings of establishing foundations that compete with the King Center for Nonviolent Change and using the Atlanta center for personal gain.

The first round in that battle comes Tuesday. In a morning hearing, the two sides will argue whether Wood’s firm, Powell Goldstein, can continue to represent King Inc., given that it has respresented members of the King family in the past.

Mrs. King’s personal papers will take center stage during a separate hearing in the afternoon.