- Multiple sources said Priscilla, 77, and Lisa Marie, 54, were not on good terms before the latter’s death on January 12 from cardiac arrest.
- Lisa Marie reportedly resented her mum for siding with ex-husband Michael Lockwood, 61, as the couple battled for custody of their twins
- Priscilla also introduced Michael at her daughter’s funeral, despite sources close to the late singer saying it was the last thing she wanted
Priscilla Presley and Lisa Marie ‘barely spoke’ before the latter’s death after she sided with her daughter’s ex-husband Michael Lockwood in a bitter custody battle over their twins .
Multiple sources told People that the mother, 77, and daughter, 54, were not on good terms before Lisa Marie died on January 12 of cardiac arrest, despite appearing at several events together, including the Elvis biopic.
Lisa Marie reportedly resented her mother for siding with her ex-husband Michael Lockwood, 61, as the couple fought over custody of their twins Harper and Finley in 2016.
The former couple fought in court until October 2022 and the tension spilled over to Lisa Marie’s eldest daughter, Riley Keough, 33, who is currently locked in a legal battle with her grandmother about his mother’s will.
“Riley has always been on his mother’s side when it came to Michael,” a source told People. “It bothered her that her grandmother and Michael went to the funeral together.”
Priscilla also helped Michael navigate his way into the ceremony, despite his late daughter’s wishes.
“Michael was not invited,” a close friend of Lisa Marie told the magazine. “He came to Memphis on the pretext that he was to chaperone the twins – and he broke in with the help of Priscilla.
“The last thing Lisa Marie would have wanted was for Michael to be here.”
During the custody battle in 2019, Lisa Marie filed an amendment to her living trust, making Riley and her late son Benjamin Keough her heirs, removing Priscilla and her former manager Barry Siegel as co-trustees. His will contains the rights to the Graceland mansion and a 15% stake in Elvis Presley Enterprises.
Priscilla has filed a motion to question the ‘authenticity and validity’ of the trust after claiming Lisa Marie’s signature was ‘inconsistent’. She filed the petition in a Los Angeles court just days after her daughter’s memorial service.
The grandmother-of-four also claimed she had no idea Lisa Marie switched the trust in 2016 until her daughter died.
If Priscilla’s petition wins, she and Riley would be named co-trustees of Lisa Marie’s estate, but neither wants the other’s influence, a source said.
“Priscilla doesn’t want Riley to be solely responsible because then she doesn’t have a say. Meanwhile, Riley doesn’t want Priscilla to interfere,’ a source told People.
“It’s a very sad situation. Riley is shocked that Priscilla is challenging the amendment,’ another source said.
“They don’t agree,” said another source.
The couple are set to face off in court on April 13.
Lisa Marie, the only child of Elvis and Priscilla Presley, left behind a rock-and-roll legacy — including a tough financial journey marked by losses and money chases.
Lisa Marie, a singer-songwriter like her father, wasn’t wealthy enough to make Forbes’ list of highest-paid entertainers, while some celebrity websites even speculated she might have net worth. negative at his death.
The singer still owned Graceland through a trust, which her children will now inherit, the Los Angeles Times reported, citing a Graceland spokesperson.
Detailed insight into her financial situation emerged in 2018 when she sued Siegel claiming he had mismanaged her finances, causing her confidence to plummet from $100 million to $14,000 in cash by 2016. .
The lawsuit also claimed Lisa Marie racked up $500,000 in credit card debt, according to Reuters.
Beginning in 2005, Lisa Marie suffered an “11-year odyssey to financial ruin”, according to the lawsuit.
“Lisa suffered damages in an amount that has not yet been fully determined, but is believed to exceed $100 million.”
The suit follows her divorce from musician Michael Lockwood being finalized in 2021.
During the divorce proceedings, Lisa Marie claimed she was in debt for $16 million, most of it from unpaid taxes, according to TMZ.
Priscilla attributed the root cause of her financial troubles to a 2005 deal to sell an 85% stake in the Elvis Presley Estate (EPE) to CKX, an entertainment company that also owned the TV show “American Idol.”
She received $50 million plus shares of CKX, while retaining a 15% stake in EPE, as well as Graceland stock, The Associated Press reported at the time.
CKX was later sold to Apollo Global Management for $509 million.
Lisa Marie’s lawsuit claimed Siegel put his own financial interests ahead of his own, alleging he bought a $9million English house using trust money.
Meanwhile, Siegel countered in his own lawsuit that Lisa Marie’s financial troubles were due to his own missteps. The litigation claimed she had “twice squandered” her inheritance and blamed her “wastefully”, Reuters said.
But Lisa Marie, who was nine when her father died, remained the sole owner of Graceland and her 15% stake in EPE likely continues to generate steady income.