Presley family feud grows as Michael Lockwood gets custody of twins
EXCLUSIVE: Presley family feud grows as Priscilla sides with Lisa Marie’s ‘outsider’ husband after he’s granted full custody of twin girls – leaving granddaughter Riley Keough furious over ‘losing’ her sisters
- Michael Lockwood was granted full custody of 14-year-old twins Harper and Finley after Priscilla, 77, raised no objections
- Riley Keough, 33, is said to be angry over ‘losing’ her teen half-sisters to ‘outsider’ Lockwood
- Lockwood is said to be aligned with Priscilla over her questioning the validity of Lisa Marie’s trust, which could see him also lining up against Riley in court
The Presley family feud between Priscilla and her granddaughter Riley Keough over Lisa Marie’s multi-million dollar estate hit a new level of bitterness on Tuesday.
A brief court hearing at Los Angeles family court officially ended the seven-year child custody battle Lisa Marie had waged against her ex-husband Michael Lockwood, 61, when he was granted full custody of their twin daughters Harper and Finley, now 14.
Priscilla, 77, didn’t raise any objection to Lockwood getting full custody of her granddaughters, and Riley – who took her mother Lisa Marie’s side during the messy divorce and custody fight – is said to be angry over ‘losing’ her teen half-sisters to ‘outsider’ Lockwood.
The star of Amazon Prime series Daisy Jones and the Six was already furious with her grandmother for challenging Lisa Marie’s will, which gives control of her rich Promenade Trust to Riley, 33.
And to make matters worse, musician Lockwood – who reportedly angered Riley by ‘crashing’ Lisa Marie’s funeral – is said to be aligned with Priscilla over the trust, which could see him also lining up against Riley in court.
The Presley family feud between Priscilla and her granddaughter Riley Keough over Lisa Marie’s multi-million dollar estate has intensified
Michael Lockwood (left) was granted full custody of 14-year-old twins Harper (in green) and Finley (in white). Lockwood and Presley shared custody of their daughters at the time of her death in January at the age of 54
Tuesday’s court hearing acknowledged that Lockwood now has ‘de facto’ full custody of the twins, judicial assistant Gus Morales told DailyMail.com
Under California law, when one parent dies, the other retains full custody, unless the court finds the father or mother to be an unfit parent.
Lockwood – who was not in court Tuesday – and Presley shared custody of their daughters at the time of her death in January at the age of 54.
And since the girls’ grandmother, Priscilla – with whom the twins have been reportedly spending a lot of time recently – nor any other family members have filed legal documents claiming Lockwood is an unfit parent, full custody automatically goes to him.
Riley always supported her mother during her drawn-out, often nasty disputes with Lockwood.
It’s been reported that Priscilla and Lisa Marie were ‘barely speaking’ just before her death after Priscilla sided with Lockwood over custody of the twins.
Multiple sources told People that the mother and daughter were not on speaking terms, despite appearing at multiple events together, including the Elvis biopic.
‘Riley was always on her mom’s side when it came to Michael (Lockwood),’ one source told the magazine. ‘It bothered her that her grandmother and Michael flew to (Lisa Marie’s) funeral together.’
Priscilla also helped Michael wedge his way into the ceremony, despite her late daughter’s wishes.
‘Michael was not invited,’ a close friend of Lisa Marie told People. ‘He came to Memphis under the pretense that he had to chaperone the twins – and he forced his way in with Priscilla’s help.
‘The last thing Lisa Marie would have wanted was for Michael to be there.’
Lockwood and Lisa Marie had one of the most toxic breakups in Hollywood, with the pair publicly battling for custody over Finley and Harper for years. Riley always sided with her mother
Lisa Marie is pictured with her daughters last June at a ceremony honoring three generation of Presleys in Hollywood
Riley is said to be angry over ‘losing’ her teen half-sisters to ‘outsider’ Lockwood
Last week Lockwood threw his hat into the ring of controversy surrounding the probate case involving Lisa Marie’s estate and her Promenade Trust.
The twins are beneficiaries of the estate and their guitarist and song-writer father filed a request to be appointed their ‘guardian ad litem’ which would give him the authority to represent Harper and Finley in the probate case.
A judge is scheduled to rule on Lockwood’s request at a hearing on April 13.
Lisa Marie – whose marriage to Lockwood lasted 10 years – had two life insurance policies, one for $25million and another one for $10million.
The trust has become a major source of resentment and friction in the Presley family, with Priscilla challenging Lisa Marie’s decision in 2016 to remove her and her ex-manager Barry Siegel as trustees and replace them with Riley.
The will contains the rights to the Graceland mansion and a 15 percent stake in Elvis Presley Enterprises.
As well as replacing Priscilla as executor and cutting her out of the will, Lisa Marie’s 2016 amendment also named her two adult children, Riley and Benjamin Keough, as her only heirs.
Lisa Marie shared Riley and Benjamin with first husband Danny Keough, 58. Benjamin committed suicide in 2020 leaving Riley as sole heir.
Just days after Lisa Marie’s memorial service, Priscilla filed a petition questioning the ‘authenticity and validity’ of the trust and claiming that Lisa Marie’s signature was ‘inconsistent.’
The grandmother-of-four also claimed she was not aware Lisa Marie had changed the trust in 2016 until after her daughter passed away.
If Priscilla’s petition is granted, she and Riley would be made co-trustees of Lisa Marie’s estate. That petition is also due to be heard at the April 13 hearing.
Riley always supported her mother during her drawn-out, often nasty disputes with Lockwood
Lisa Marie’s will contains the rights to the Graceland mansion and a 15 percent stake in Elvis Presley Enterprises
Just days after Lisa Marie’s memorial service, Priscilla filed a petition questioning the ‘authenticity and validity’ of the trust
After she filed for divorce in 2016, Lisa Marie – Elvis’ only child – and Lockwood spent years fighting about finances and were still negotiating up until her death.
Lockwood asked the divorce court in 2018 to order Lisa Marie to pay him $263,000 a year in spousal support so that he could ‘enjoy a lifestyle closer to my marital status of living’ – which included lavish entertaining, expensive vacations and flying on private jets.
He tried to persuade the judge to tear up a post-nuptial agreement – in which he and Lisa Marie both signed away their rights to the other’s property and spousal support if they divorced.
But Lockwood ended up on the losing end, not getting a penny from Lisa Marie after openly admitting that he hadn’t read the post-nup and claiming his attorney at the time failed to explain it to him.
The judge upheld the post-nup and threw out Lockwood’s case, telling the court, ‘If Lockwood elected not to read the post-nup and accept the consequences that it would be upheld, that is his choice.’
Even after their divorce was finalized in 2021, the former couple continued to spar over custody and child support of Finley and Harper.
Before her death, Lisa Marie and her ex were sharing custody and she was reportedly paying him $6,000 a month in child support.
But Lockwood – who is now re-married to hair stylist Stephanie Hobgood – was claiming $40,000 a month, insisting Lisa Marie had more money than she revealed in court documents and saying his legal battles over the divorce and child custody had cost him more than $1million.
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