Elvis Presley’s granddaughter Riley Keough has been named the sole trustee of the family estate and now owns Graceland, after a battle with her grandma Priscilla.
The appointment was approved during a hearing earlier today before Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Lynn Healey Scaduto, Deadline reported.
Her grandmother Priscilla Presley had filed a petition to challenge the validity of her late daughter Lisa Marie Presley‘s will in January
The two had been at loggerheads since the death of Lisa Marie in January of this year at the age of 54. Riley is Elvis’ only surviving grandchild, after her brother Benjamin killed himself three years ago.
The legal action disputed a 2016 amendment to Lisa Marie’s will that excised Priscilla as trustee of the estate.
Riley Keough speaks onstage during Deadline Contenders Television at Directors Guild Of America on April 15, 2023
Riley Keough, Lisa Marie Presley and Priscilla Presley at a special screening of ELVIS, Memphis, TN, 11 June 2022
The family state of the Presley’s is now in the hands of Keough, the granddaughter of Elvis Presley
Attorneys for Priscilla said she only became aware of the amendment after the death of her daughter.
The amendment removed Priscilla and Lisa Marie’s former business manager Barry Siegel, and replaced them with Lisa Marie’s children Riley and Benjamin Keough.
Benjamin died in 2020 after shooting himself dead in the family’s mansion, with sources revealing he had been struggling at the time.
Keough reached an agreement with her grandmother in June of this year, and agreed to pay her $1.4 million.
She will now preside over the sub-trusts for her half sisters Harper and Finley Lockwood, daughters of Lisa Marie’s fourth husband Michael Lockwood.
For her role, Priscilla Presley will be a special adviser to the trusts and receive a monthly payment for her role.
Priscilla will also be allowed to be buried at Graceland, the Memphis home of Elvis Presley, which Keough will now own.
The last known picture of Lisa Marie was taken just days before she passed away at the 80th Annual Golden Globe Awards
Priscilla will also be allowed to be buried at Graceland, the Memphis home of Elvis Presley, which Keough will now own
Keough’s lawyer had previously said she would invest the money ‘in a manner consistent with the needs of the beneficiaries, and not influenced by the desire of a Trustee.’
The whole rancorous legal battle came in the wake of the death of Lisa Marie who died suddenly at the age of 54 at her Calabasas home.
Sources close to Keough previously told DailyMail.com that she was ‘still grieving’ the loss of her mom and was angry when her grandmother filed a legal challenge to the will.
When the legal tussle broke out between Keough and Priscilla, Keough ‘was hoping they could reach a settlement quickly,’ the source added.
The source said the tension with Priscilla ‘has been very tough for’ Keough, who is mother to a baby daughter with husband Ben Smith-Petersen.
Keough always supported her mother during her drawn out, often nasty divorce and child custody disputes with her fourth husband, musician Michael Lockwood, 62, father of Lisa Marie’s twin, 14-year-old daughters, Finley and Harper.
Finley Lockwood, Lisa Marie Presley, Priscilla Presley, Riley Keough and Harper Lockwood Three Generations of Presley’s Hand and Footprint Ceremony, Los Angeles, California, 21 Jun 2022
Lisa Marie Presley poses for her first picture, in the lap of her mother, Priscilla, on Feb. 5, 1968, with her father, Elvis Presley
It’s been reported that Priscilla and Lisa Marie were ‘barely speaking’ just before the latter’s death after Priscilla sided with Lockwood over custody of the twins.
Multiple sources told People that the mother and daughter were not on speaking terms, despite appearing at multiple events together, including the premiere for the Elvis biopic starring Austin Butler.
‘Riley was always on her mom’s side when it came to Michael (Lockwood),’ one source told the magazine. ‘It bothered her that her grandmother and Michael flew to (Lisa Marie’s) funeral together.’
