Pricilla Presley Filed a Court Action Disputing Her Late Daughter Lisa Marie’s Trust

In late January, Priscilla Presley filed a court action in LA County Superior Court in California disputing the trust of her late daughter, Lisa Marie Presley, daughter of Elvis Presley. Specifically, the court filing disputes who is in charge as Trustee of her late daughter’s trust estate based on a 2016 amendment to Lisa Marie’s trust.

The trust amendment removed Priscilla Presley as a successor Trustees and named Lisa Marie Presley’s two oldest children, Riley Keough and Benjamin Keough, as co-Trustees if Lisa Marie died or became incapacitated. Lisa Marie’s son, Benjamin Keough, died in 2020, leaving Riley as the only remaining successor Trustee.

The 2016 amendment’s authenticity is the subject of the court filing. The petition claims that there was a failure to notify Priscilla Presley of the change as required, there was a misspelling of Priscilla Presley’s name in the amendment signed by her daughter, there was an unusual looking signature by Lisa Marie Presley, and there was a lack of a witness or notarization on the amendment.

The petition requests that the judge declare the amendment invalid. The filing further states that business manager, Barry Siegel, intended to resign, which, according to the prior terms of the trust, would have left Lisa Marie’s mother and daughter, Priscilla Presley and Riley Keough, as co-Trustees.

The fact that the amendment was not witnessed or notarized may lead to its invalidity and make the prior trust provisions of the trust the operative ones with Priscilla and Riley acting together as co-Trustees. I suspect that the 2016 amendment may not have been drafted by an attorney due to the lack of notarization or witnesses on the amendment.