Where Priscilla Presley And Riley Keough Stand After Their Legal Battle

Lisa Marie Presley's unexpected death in February caused her family a lot of pain — and also some legal drama. Just two weeks after Elvis Presley's only child died at 54, her mother, Priscilla Presley, contested her will, ET reported. Priscilla objected to a 2016 amendment that replaced her and former family business manager Barry Siegel for Lisa Marie's children, Riley and Benjamin Keough, as trustees of the 1993 trust Lisa Marie established to protect her interests in the Elvis estate.

Because Benjamin died in 2020, Keough was the one Priscilla took to court. In her lawsuit, Priscilla questioned the validity of the amendment, which she argued may not have been included by her daughter. She also argued it violated the terms of the trust, which required she be notified of changes to the will. Priscilla and Keough settled their dispute in May. While they kept the details of the agreement confidential, Riley agreed to pay a reported sum of $1 million to her grandmother, in addition to covering her legal fees, the New York Times reported.

Priscilla will also be kept as a paid adviser for 10 years, though the amount she'll receive for the role is unclear. Amid the legal proceedings, Priscilla denied there was any bad blood in the family because of it. "We are just fine," she said during her "An Evening with Priscilla Presley" tour in April. Despite her assertions, Keough and Priscilla reportedly stopped talking. But they seem to be in a better place now.

Riley Keough learned not to take Priscilla Presley's lawsuit personally. "Things with Grandma will be happy," Keough told Vanity Fair in its September issue. "They've never not been happy." Keough's use of future tense suggests the situation made and still makes her uncomfortable. "Riley wants to keep the family together and keep Lisa Marie's legacy in a positive light, but she feels that her grandmother's actions are pushing the family apart," a source told ET in February.

Keough has come to understand Presley's side. "We are a family, but there's also a huge business side of our family," she said. Priscilla argues she never questioned Lisa Marie's decision to prioritize her children. "Riley is now the executor, which should be right, obviously, being her daughter," she told The Hollywood Reporter in August. However, Priscilla denied she and Keough ever feuded. "Riley and I are on good terms. We were never not on good terms. That was all publicity," Priscilla said.

Indeed, Keough sees the role Priscilla played in making the Elvis estate into what it is. "She was a huge part of creating my grandfather's legacy and Graceland. It's very important to her," she said. Still, Keough never expected Priscilla's devotion would get in between them. "None of that stuff has really ever been a part of our relationship prior. She's just been my grandma," she explained. They've apparently come out the other side. "I'm there for her. She knows that," Priscilla said.

Priscilla Presley may believe Lisa Marie Presley's will was fraudulently altered, but the timing of the contested amendment doesn't help her case. Lisa Marie and Priscilla's relationship had never been smooth, but it reportedly went downhill in — you guessed it — 2016. That was the year Lisa Marie filed for divorce from Michael Lockwood, which ignited a messy custody battle over their twin daughters, Finley and Harper.

Lisa Marie and Lockwood's split fractured her relationship with Priscilla, who reportedly sided with her then son-in-law. Mother and daughter remained barely on speaking terms until Lisa Marie's death, even if the two appeared cordial with each other at the many events ahead of the release of the "Elvis" biopic. The bitterness also reached Riley Keough. "Riley was always on her mom's side when it came to Michael," a source told People. In fact, Keough was already angry with her grandmother before she even filed the lawsuit against her.

That's because Lockwood apparently showed up uninvited at Lisa Marie's memorial with the help of Priscilla. "He came to Memphis under the pretense that he had to chaperone the twins — and he forced his way in with Priscilla's help," a friend of Lisa Marie's told the outlet. "The last thing Lisa Marie would have wanted was for Michael to be there." And Keough reportedly agreed with the friend. "It bothered her that her grandmother and Michael flew to the funeral together," the insider detailed.