Elvis Presley’s widow disputes late daughter’s will

Elvis Presley’s widow Priscilla has disputed their late daughter’s will, claiming that an amendment which would remove her as a trustee is invalid, court documents show. Lisa Marie Presley died suddenly in Los Angeles earlier this month from cardiac arrest at the age of 54. 

According to court documents, Lisa Marie had in 2010 named her mother Priscilla and former business manager Barry Siegel as co-trustees of her estate, both during her lifetime and in the event of her death. But Lisa Marie appears to have amended that plan in 2016 to remove them, and to declare that her older children Riley and Benjamin Keough should inherit the trust in the event of her death. 

According to a filing last week by her lawyer, Priscilla Presley only “discovered” the changes after her daughter died on January 12. The “purported amendment” should be declared invalid because it was never delivered to Priscilla Presley during her daughter’s life, it misspells Priscilla’s name, and Lisa Marie’s signature “appears inconsistent” with her usual signature, alleges the filing seen by AFP.  The petition, filed last Thursday, calls on the Los Angeles superior court to rule the amendment invalid, and for the previous version of the will to be administered. The financial stakes in a future court battle over Lisa Marie’s inheritance would be high. Lisa Marie was Elvis’s only child. She previously controlled Elvis Presley Enterprises, although she sold the bulk of shares in the company to a private equity firm in 2005. She retained control of Graceland, the estate her father owned and where he was found unconscious in August 1977.  Her son Benjamin Keough died by suicide in 2020. 

Her oldest daughter Riley Keough, 33, is an actor who has appeared in “Mad Max: Fury Road” and recent indie hit “Zola.”  Lisa Marie was also survived by teenage twin daughters Harper and Finley. They stand to co-inherit Graceland with Riley, a representative for the Tennessee mansion and fan pilgrimage destination told People magazine. 

The financial stakes in a future court battle over Lisa Marie’s inheritance would be high. Lisa Marie was Elvis’s only child.

Priscilla Presley, who divorced Elvis in 1973 after six years of marriage, also had an acting career, including roles in the “Naked Gun” films, and television series “Dallas.”  

On Tuesday, NBC News cited an email from an “unnamed friend” of Lisa Marie calling the court challenge a “money grab” and alleging that Priscilla “had no relationship” with her daughter at the time of her death. Priscilla Presley’s representatives did not immediately respond to AFP’s request for comment. AFP