The estate of Lisa Marie Presley, which has been in dispute over its control, has reportedly now been settled. Priscilla Presley, Lisa Marie Presley’s mother, had previously filed a court petition in LA County questioning the validity of her late daughter’s 2016 trust amendment to her trust.
In the 2016 amendment, the trustees upon Lisa Marie’s death were changed from Priscilla Presley and Berry Siegel to Lisa Marie’s daughter, Riley Keough and Lisa Marie’s now deceased son Benjamin Keough. Priscilla’s originally filed petition alleged that Lisa Marie’s signature was inconsistent with her usual signature, Priscilla‘s name was misspelled in the document and the document was not witnessed or notarized as required by state law.
Priscilla Presley currently serves as the trustee of the trust managing the Presley estate which owns a 15% interest in the company that controls Elvis Presley‘s intellectual property. The 2016 amendment to Lisa Marie’s trust was also never delivered to Priscilla as the current trustee after the purported change as required by the trust document.
If the agreement reached between Priscilla and granddaughter Riley is approved by the court, it will end a dispute over the control of Lisa Marie’s trust estate. The petition also alleges that Riley Keough was already set to become a co-trustee with Priscilla Presley in the original trust document should Barry Siegel resign (which reports indicate he was intending to do). Riley and her sisters are the beneficiaries of the trust along with their deceased brother Benjamin who died in 2020.
It’s good to hear that this family was able to handle this dispute without protracted litigation. Careful drafting, legal advice and a good relationship with your estate attorney can short-circuit a lot of family problems down the road.
If you, a friend or family member needs help establishing an estate plan or updating one, please reach out to our intake team at (760) 448-2220, or you can reach us on our contact page at https://www.geigerlawoffice.com/contact.cfm.
