Priscilla Presley and her granddaughter Riley Keough are set to face off in court on April 13 as they battle over control of Lisa Marie Presley‘s estate.
It’s a family feud that came as a shock to many following Lisa Marie’s sudden death aged 54 on January 12, and it was the death of Elvis Presley‘s only child that sparked the case in more ways than one.
At the crux of it, Priscilla, 77, and Keough, 33, are fighting for control of Lisa Marie’s trust, and by extension, Elvis’ Memphis estate, Graceland– but it wasn’t until January 12 that Priscilla found out she had something to fight over in the first place.
Here’s what to know about Priscilla Presley and Riley Keough’s looming legal battle over Lisa Marie Presley’s trust.
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Why are Priscilla Presley and Riley Keough fighting over Lisa Marie Presley’s will?
When Elvis died aged 42 following a cardiac arrest in 1977, he left everything he had in the hands of his only child, Lisa Marie, who was nine years old at the time.
This included his Graceland property, as well as a stake in his wider estate, which in 2020, was estimated to have grown to be worth between US$400 million (approx. $600 million) to $US500 million (approx. $745 million).
At the time of her death in 2023, Lisa Marie’s trust – which had dwindled over the years, particularly after Lisa Marie sold the bulk of the Elvis estate plus rights to her father’s name and image for $US100 million in 2004 (approx. $237 million now) – included the Graceland property itself, plus 15 per cent ownership of Elvis’ estate.
This is where it gets tricky.
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Elvis, throughout his life, was known to be generous with his earnings, which could always be replenished with a tour or movie deal. At the time of his death, however, his estate was relatively cash-poor, and was worth around $US5 million (approx. $38 million now) – a lot of money, except Elvis had left a mountain of debt, and couldn’t exactly sing for supper any longer.
In 1989, per the Los Angeles Times, the United States federal government’s revenue service determined Elvis’ estate was worth more than its tax return disclosed, and imposed a $US10 million (approx. $36 million now) estate tax on it. Elvis’ royalties could not be relied upon to foot this fee due to Colonel Tom Parker selling those rights away for a measly sum and still imposing a 50 per cent fee on all estate dealings – something that was partially explored in Baz Luhrmann‘s biopic Elvis.
At this stage, Elvis’ ex-wife Priscilla stepped in and assumed primary management of the estate as an executor, and with the help of financial advisors, she set up Elvis Presley Enterprises, turned Graceland into a tourist attraction, and set up various royalty and image deals.
It was due to this that Elvis’ estate grew to a reported worth of $US100 million (approx. $310 million) by 1993. As willed by Elvis, however, it was Lisa Marie who was entitled to it – and when she turned 25 that same year, becoming eligible to inherit the money directly, she opted to set up her own living trust and appoint trustees to manage her inheritance.
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By 2003, business manager Barry Siegel had become a co-trustee of Lisa Marie’s will, though he had sold 85 per cent of the trust’s interests in Elvis Presley Enterprises off by 2005, and by 2015, Lisa Marie was in deep debt.
Lisa Marie sued Siegel in 2016 over for squandering her fortune, which he denied, and he instead countersued her with allegations her excessive spending diminished the dollars.
This is all a matter of public record. What wasn’t found out by Priscilla until Lisa Marie’s death, however, was that in 2016, Lisa Marie had amended her trust to remove Siegel and Priscilla – who had become a co-trustee in 2010 – as co-trustees, and appointed Keough and her brother, Benjamin Keough, as co-trustees instead.
Lisa Marie shared Riley Keough and Benjamin Keough – who died by suicide aged 27 in 2020 – with her ex-husband Danny Keough, and also welcomed now-14-year-old twins Harper Lockwood and Finley Lockwood with ex-husband Michael Lockwood in 2008.
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As Benjamin had already died at the time of his mother’s death, this secret amendment meant that Lisa Marie’s trust, including Priscilla’s home of many years, Graceland, is now solely controlled by the Daisy Jones and The Six star.
On January 26, Priscilla filed a petition in a Los Angeles court questioning the “authenticity and validity” of Lisa Marie’s 2016 amendment, highlighting inconsistent signatures and names being misspelled as evidence.
“For some reason, Priscilla doesn’t want Riley to act as trustee without her. The 2010 trust permits Priscilla and Riley to act as co-trustees. The 2016 trust permits Riley to act as trustee alone. Priscilla doesn’t like this,” Los Angeles-based attorney David Esquibias told People at the time.
In the filing, Priscilla argued that her 2010 appointment as co-trustee alongside Siegel stipulated that any changes made had to be delivered to Priscilla during Lisa Marie’s lifetime, and Priscilla alleges this was not done so.
Siegel reportedly wants out of Lisa Marie’s trust all together, with some speculating that this could mean Priscilla and her granddaughter are appointed co-trustees instead.
Sources close to Lisa Marie, however, have insisted that the late singer wanted her legacy to be put in her children’s hands.
”We discussed this many many times [before] she passed, and that was always Riley and Ben,” managing partner at Elvis Presley Enterprises Joel Weinshaker claimed on Sirius XM‘s Elvis Radio.
“There was never a question in her mind that they would be the stewards, that they would look at it the exact same way that she did. And obviously when Ben passed, it really sat with Riley.”
Weinshaker claimed Lisa Marie was “quite certain” and “very direct” about the situation before her death, and also alleged that Keough had “always had an interest” in the trust and “knew that one day she would be in charge.”
Are Priscilla Presley and Riley Keough talking?
Reports circulated in early March 2023 that Keough kicked Priscilla out of Graceland’s upstairs levels and archives by changing the locks, which Graceland denied.
That doesn’t mean, however, that all is well between the grandmother and granddaughter.
Priscilla notably skipped the 2023 Oscars in March despite the fact that Elvis – including lead actor Austin Butler – had been nominated for (and lost) multiple gongs.
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Days later, it emerged that Priscilla’s absence on Hollywood’s biggest night was not her choice, rather, it was on the advice of her legal team. Keough, however, did attend Vanity Fair‘s Oscars party.
“With so many people who know Priscilla attending the ceremony, there was no way that she would have not interacted with them, and of course potentially discussed the case,” a source claimed to The US Sun.
“Truthfully, it was and is the subject much of Hollywood is talking about because it was so shocking to see the family split during a time of grief and also a time of celebration for the movie.”
Priscilla and Keough were also reportedly not on speaking terms in the lead up to the legal battle, with sources claiming Keough was “seeing a new side of” Priscilla in the wake of Lisa Marie’s death.
“Riley and Priscilla are not talking. Their relationship is changing, that is true… it’s just so sad. This is the time Riley would really need her grandmother,” a source claimed to Page Six in March 2023.
Lisa Marie’s ex, Michael Lockwood, also entered the chat in March, applying for and winning full custody of Keough’s sisters Harper and Finley, something that he and Lisa Marie had furiously fought over for seven years prior to her death.
This reportedly left Keough “furious” at Priscilla, who, despite her daughter’s estranged relationship from her ex-husband, reportedly maintained a close relationship with Keough’s former step-father, allegedly leading to fears from Keough’s camp that Priscilla and Lockwood would “gang up on her” during the court case.
The first hearing is scheduled for April 13 in Los Angeles.
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