Riley Keough agrees to pay her grandmother Priscilla Presley a $1.4 million settlement
Elvis Presley’s granddaughter has agreed to pay his wife Priscilla $1.4 million to take control of the family trust.
Riley Keough, 34, has been at odds with her grandmother Priscilla, 78, since the death of Riley’s mother Lisa Marie Presley in January, aged 54.
The pair reached a deal in May, but the terms were confidential.
It emerged on Wednesday that Keough had paid her grandmother $1 million to relinquish control of Lisa Marie’s estate.
She also paid $400,000 to cover Presley’s legal fees, according to Peoplewho obtained the documents.
Presley lost the right to be buried next to her husband at Graceland, she says The New York Post.
Attorneys for Priscilla Presley and Riley Keough (pictured in 2016 in Hollywood) announced in a Los Angeles courthouse last month that the two had “reached out.” It emerged on Wednesday that Presley would receive $1.4 million from Keough for control of Lisa Marie’s estate
Lisa Marie is photographed two days before her death at the Golden Globe Awards in LA
On Monday, Keough filed paperwork asking the court to finalize the settlement regarding her late mother’s trust, some five months after Lisa Marie’s death from multiple cardiac arrests.
Keough’s lawyers said finalizing the deal would prevent “the spectacle” of the family fighting its way through the courts, which was not what Lisa Marie would have wanted.
“By settling the pending claims in Priscilla’s petition, the parties save significant legal costs by avoiding litigation, and they also avoid the spectacle of intra-family lawsuits that would go against Lisa’s wishes and not be in the best interest of the family.” wrote Keough’s attorney, Justin Gold.
Presley, in a statement to The New York Postinsisted she had not sued her granddaughter.
“My family has resolved any confusion regarding our plea in court and request for interpretation of documents following the untimely death of my daughter Lisa Marie,” she said.
“While the media labeled such a plea as a lawsuit, I want to make it clear that no lawsuit has ever been filed against my beloved granddaughter.
“As a family, we are happy that we solved this together. My family and I hope everyone will allow us the privacy we need to properly grieve Lisa Marie and spend personal time together.
“We love and appreciate you all and the Presley family is stronger than ever.”
Riley Keough, 34, has officially become the sole trustee of her mother’s estate after reaching an agreement with her grandmother, Priscilla Presley
Keough is not only the sole trustee of Lisa Marie’s estate, but is also the subtrust for her 14-year-old twin sisters Harper and Finley Lockwood.
Keough intends to invest the money “in a manner consistent with the needs of the beneficiaries and unaffected by the wishes of a trustee,” her attorney said.
The latest transaction involving the Santa Monica, California resident comes after she and her grandmother Priscilla, 78, came to an agreement in May after lawyers for both parties at a Los Angeles probate court announced that a settlement had been reached.
After the difficult months-long legal battle, Keough “wants no drama with her grandmother,” according to sources close to the actress.
“Riley is relieved to have settled the dispute over her mother’s estate,” an insider told People.
Elvis Presley’s granddaughter is “still grieving for her mother,” who died shockingly at the age of 54 in January after suffering cardiac arrest at her home in Calabasas.
When the legal battle between Keough and Priscilla broke out, Keough hoped they could settle quickly,” the source said.
The source said the tension with Priscilla was “very hard for” Keough, who is mother to a baby girl with husband Ben Smith-Petersen.
“She now wants to focus on making memories with her own daughter,” the insider told the magazine. “This is her priority.”
Riley Keough, Lisa Marie Presley and Priscilla Presley were photographed at the Memphis premiere of Elvis in June 2022
Priscilla’s attorney Ronson Shamoun told DailyMail.com she was happy when the settlement was reached, and that “the families are happy and united and together and excited for the future.”
When asked if Keough was happy with the settlement, her attorney Justin Gold told DailyMail.com, “She wouldn’t have agreed to the settlement if she wasn’t happy with it.”
Just two weeks after Lisa Marie’s death in January, her mother Priscilla filed a legal challenge against her daughter’s will, giving her daughter Keough control of Lisa Marie’s wealthy Promenade Trust.
Keough, who was reportedly furious when her grandmother went to court to protest the will, has not objected to Priscilla’s challenge.
Keough always supported her mother through her lengthy, often vexing divorce and custody disputes with her fourth husband, musician Michael Lockwood, 62, father of Lisa Marie’s twin, 14-year-old daughters, Finley and Harper.
It has been reported that Priscilla and Lisa Marie “barely spoke” 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 didn’t get along despite appearing at multiple events together, including the premiere of the Elvis biopic starring Austin Butler.
“Riley was always on her mother’s side when it came to Michael [Lockwood],” a source told the magazine.
“It bothered her that her grandmother and Michael flew over [Lisa Marie’s] buried together.’