Priscilla Presley is challenging an alleged amendment to the trust of her daughter, the late singer Lisa Marie Presley, that would have given her granddaughter control of rock ‘n’ roll’s most famous estate.
Lisa Marie was 54 when she died on January 12 in Los Angeles. On Thursday, an attorney representing Priscilla filed a petition in Los Angeles County Superior Court seeking to deny the amendment that would have given Lisa Marie’s 33-year-old daughter, Riley Keough, control and influence of the trust to Elvis. Presley’s estate.
Attorney Brian M. Malloy’s filing argues that the document seeking to amend the trust to remove Priscilla as trustee is invalid.
It accuses Priscilla of not notifying Priscilla – as required – of the amendment, which exists only as a PDF copy, contains a signature purporting to be Lisa Marie’s but which appears to be inconsistent with her handwriting, and has Lisa Marie’s blank signature. Page without language related to amendment.
While Priscilla and business manager Barry Siegel are named as current trustees, an amendment from 2016 will essentially shift that responsibility to Keough. It also named his brother Benjamin Keough as trustee before his death in 2020.
The petition seeks the court to declare the purported amendment invalid and the 2010 version of the trust — with Priscilla and Siegel acting as co-trustees — to take effect.
The petition states that Siegel is likely to opt out of the trust agreement soon, which would place Keough as a co-trustee alongside her grandmother.
Representatives for Keough, Lisa Marie and Priscilla did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Attorneys for Siegel and Priscilla also did not respond to requests for comment.
Priscilla, 77, is believed to have successfully revived Elvis’ fortunes during the darkest days of debt. She wants to retain control of the trust, the filing indicates.
It’s not clear how much money could be at risk. The property has ups and downs that include credit reports and nine-figure valuations.
In 2005, Lisa Marie sold the majority of her holdings in the Elvis business, and at her death she owned 15% of Graceland Holdings, the parent of Elvis Presley Enterprises. The latter operates Graceland, a tourist destination that is Elvis’ final resting place, and licenses related productions, music tours and events.
Lisa Marie takes full ownership of the Graceland mansion in Memphis, Tennessee, according to Charm. It includes more than 13 acres of it, as well as the rest of Elvis’ personal effects, such as costumes, wardrobe, awards, furniture and cars, according to Graceland.
“She made the estate of the mansion and her father’s personal effects permanently available for visits to Graceland,” it says.
Lisa Marie, whose cause of death has not been determined, was buried next to her son Benjamin in Graceland, her childhood home.
A spokeswoman for the estate said Lisa Marie’s three surviving children — Kew and twins Harper and Finley Lockwood — will inherit Graceland.