On January 12th, 2023, tragedy struck the Presley family when
Lisa Marie suddenly passed away due to cardiac arrest. Priscilla Presley
confirmed her daughter's death in an emotional statement that read:
"It is with a heavy heart that I must share the devastating news that my beautiful daughter Lisa
Marie has left us. She was the most passionate, strong, and loving woman I have ever known."
Just a little over a week after Lisa Marie's passing, the Presley family
gathered at Graceland to pay their respects to their beloved daughter, mother, and friend.
Priscilla and other family members and friends delivered speeches at the emotional ceremony.
"Our heart is broken. Lisa, we all love you. Thank you."
During the funeral, the Presley family appeared to be leaning on
one another — but in the days to follow, the situation took another painful turn.
Being the only child of the famed musician Elvis Presley and having a musical career herself,
Lisa Marie had left behind a valuable estate. Court documents from 2010 revealed that Lisa
Marie had chosen her mother, Priscilla, and her business manager, Barry Siegel,
as trustees of the estate. However, following the songwriter's passing, Priscilla discovered
a new document, dated 2016, suggesting that Lisa Marie may have changed her mind.
Priscilla was surprised to discover a 2016 document naming Riley and Benjamin Keough as
new trustees to Lisa Marie's estate. Benjamin sadly passed away in 2020,
meaning the estate would supposedly belong to Riley. Nevertheless, Priscilla is going
to court to contest these findings. She claims the amendment seemed suspicious,
including the text and Lisa Marie's signature. In addition, she alleges that Lisa Marie never
delivered the new conditions to her, which she says was part of the 2010 contract. Although
Riley has not commented on her grandmother's actions, it's sure to have caused tension
between the two. A source even told Page Six that Priscilla's intentions are not sincere. They said:
"It's strictly a money grab. She [Lisa Marie] had no relationship with Priscilla..."
Regardless, Priscilla believes she's putting her family's best interests first. She told Page Six:
"Today would have been Lisa's 55th birthday. My wish is to protect my
three grandchildren and keep our family together."
Priscilla shared how she has supported her two children throughout her life. She said:
"From the first moment I held Lisa in my arms, I've protected, loved, and guided her,
as I have my son. Our hearts are broken, and I am having to learn to live without my only daughter."
Additional details about Lisa Marie's intentions have been revealed since Priscilla Presley spoke
out, with the managing partner at Elvis Presley Enterprises, Joel Weinshanker,
opening up about the plans she had made before her passing. Weinshanker
appeared on SiriusXM's "Elvis Radio" on February 1st to discuss the late star,
and doubled down on the fact that Lisa Marie wanted Riley Keough to inherit Graceland.
Weinshanker claimed to have discussed the matter with Lisa Marie more than once and
said her decision always came down to her two eldest children. He continued:
"There was never a question in her mind that they would be the stewards, that they would look at it
the exact same way that she did. And obviously when Ben passed, it really sat with Riley."
An unnamed friend of Lisa Marie's shared a similar
take with People magazine a few days earlier. They said:
"Lisa lived her life authentically... She wouldn't remain quiet when she was being taken advantage of.
At the end of the day, these are her wishes, and there's no question as to what her wishes were.
No one's going to be able to reinvent the last seven or eight years and say no, no, no."
Following Elvis Presley's death and the deaths of his parents,
Lisa Marie inherited Graceland. However, Elvis had stipulated in his will that
the famous house and its grounds wouldn't legally become hers until her 25th birthday,
so it was left in a trust for her until that point. After she finally inherited it,
Lisa Marie set up her own trust after the previous one automatically dissolved.
But while there's been a difficult turn of events regarding Lisa Marie's will,
Riley Keough seems to be more focused on remembering her mom. The actor has posted
several tributes to her on Instagram, including sharing a sweet photo of the
two of them on January 24th which depicted the last time they met before her death.