Presley Estate Battle Heating Up

Gold Leaf Estate Planning, LLC

POSTED ON: February 24, 2023
Presley Estate
Priscilla Presley believes she should be in charge of daughter Lisa Marie Presley's estate. However, a legal document filed seven years ago suggests that wasn't what the singer-songwriter wanted should she die.

Expect a lot of twists and turns as the Lisa Marie Presley estate gets addressed, as detailed in an article from yahoo! Entertainment titled “Priscilla Presley files to control Lisa Marie Presley’s estate despite Riley Keough being named trustee.”

Priscilla filed paperwork challenging the authenticity of an amendment filed in 2016 seemingly made by Lisa Marie removing her as trustee, and naming Lisa Marie’s adult children Riley Keough and son Benjamin Keough as successor co-trustees and removing Priscilla and her former business manager Barry Siegel. Benjamin died in 2020, so Riley would be the sole trustee.

In a document obtained by yahoo! entertainment, Priscilla asked a judge to determine the validity of the trust provision, claiming Lisa Marie’s signature on the 2016 document appears inconsistent with her usual signature. The amendment was never notarized and Priscilla alleges the document was never delivered to her as required by the terms of the 2010 arrangement. She says the date on the 2016 amendment is suspicious and it also misspells Priscilla’s name. Priscilla wants the court to reinstate the 2010 trust.

Priscilla believes Siegal has or will soon resign as a co-trustee of the trust.

According to the court documents, “In that event, Riley would become a co-trustee with Priscilla. And since Riley is over 30, she could act as a co-trustee of her sub-trust, once she signs a document consenting to act in such capacity.”

What Riley wants is unclear, but one thing is sure—there’s no way Lisa Marie would have Siegel anywhere near her property. She sued him in 2018 and accused him of negligence and mismanaging her finances. According to documents from the $100 million lawsuit, Lisa Marie claimed she only had $14,000 in cash in 2016. Siegel countersued and sought $800,000 in unpaid bills, claiming Lisa Marie spent all her money from her father’s inheritance on a lavish lifestyle.

Making things more complicated, Lisa Marie was in a contentious legal battle with ex-husband Michael Lockwood.

Priscilla is credited with turning Graceland into a huge commercial success for the family. Elvis’s former estate will go to Lisa Marie’s three daughters.

Reference: yahoo! entertainment (Jan. 27, 2023) “Priscilla Presley files to control Lisa Marie Presley’s estate despite Riley Keough being named trustee”

Written By:

Attorney Zach Wiegand
Zach Wiegand is an estate planning and probate attorney in Minnesota who helps clients on estate planning, probate, and trust administration matters. Zach helps families preserve and protect their hard-earned assets by drafting comprehensive and protective estate plans including wills, trusts, health care directives and powers of attorney.
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