A court battle between Riley Keough and her grandmother Priscilla Presley over the Presley family trust has been festering for months, but the actress has kept mute. Ms. Keough had not spoken publicly on the stories of familial conflict, which Ms. Presley has attempted to quell.
On Tuesday, attorneys for Ms. Keough and Ms. Presley said at a court in Los Angeles that their clients had settled the case, but that the terms of the agreement would be kept private.
Judge Lynn Scaduto has scheduled a hearing on August 4 to officially approve the settlement agreement and has given the attorneys until June 12 to submit any further requests, such as a move to have the settlement agreement put under seal.
Ms. Keough’s attorney, Justin B. Gold, declined to comment more, saying only that their client “Riley is content” with the result.
Ms. Keough’s first official reaction to the struggle for the family’s residual portion of Elvis’s legacy was the arrangement mentioned in court on Tuesday.
Priscilla Presley challenged a 2016 change to the trust in court documents, just two weeks after Lisa Marie Presley’s unexpected death at age 54 in January. Priscilla and the family’s former business manager Barry Siegel had their trusteeships revoked by that modification, which was ostensibly authorised by Lisa Marie. In the case of Lisa Marie’s death, the trust named Ms. Keough and her brother, Benjamin Keough, as co-trustees. (In 2020, at age 27, Mr. Keough passed away.)
Priscilla’s solicitors stated in her petition that the modification was null and void since it was never handed to her during Lisa Marie’s lifetime, as was required by the trust’s terms. The court documents also said that Lisa Marie’s signature on the amendment was “inconsistent” with her typical handwriting, suggesting that it may be forged. Priscilla filed paperwork with the court requesting trustee status.
In February, as media attention to the family issue grew, Priscilla published a statement pleading with the public to “allow us the time we need to work together and sort this out.”
The legal team representing Ms. Keough did not respond to Priscilla’s petition in any public court documents. Mr. Gold did not respond to the petitioner’s legal claims on Tuesday.
Ms. Keough and her minor children, Finley and Harper Lockwood, are the beneficiaries of the trust, and the parties have agreed that Lisa Marie’s fourth husband, Michael Lockwood, from whom she pursued a contentious divorce for years (it was finalised in 2021).
Fans of Elvis know all about his divorces, lavish spending, and legal troubles, so they aren’t surprised by reports of family strife in the Presley household. Despite all the scandals that have been exposed, the Elvis brand still brings in over $100 million annually.
The Presley family’s portion of these profits goes into the Promenade Trust. Graceland and the Elvis Presley Enterprises shares it still owns are worth tens of millions of dollars. The New York Times stated that Lisa Marie received $1.25 million from the trust in the year before to her death.
