Priscilla Presley, 80, is facing a $50 million lawsuit from two former business partners who allege she ended life support for her daughter, Lisa Marie Presley, in order to secure control of her family name, her trust, and the Graceland estate, as reported by The New York Post.
The suit, filed by Brigitte Kruse and Kevin Fialko of Priscilla Presley Partners, claims Priscilla acted within hours of Lisa Marie’s hospital admission in January 2023 to “pull the plug” while aware that her daughter had been preparing to remove her as sole trustee.
Lisa Marie, the only child of Priscilla and Elvis Presley, died on Jan. 12, 2023, at age 54 after suffering cardiac arrest at her California home.
The filing alleges that Lisa Marie’s death “neutralized the threat” of her efforts to have Priscilla removed from the Promenade Trust, which controls Graceland. According to the lawsuit, Priscilla told associates the following week:
“I’m the queen. I’m in charge of Graceland.”
Priscilla’s attorney, Marty Singer, strongly denied the claims, calling them “one of the most shameful, ridiculous, salacious, and meritless” lawsuits he has seen.
He said the filing is a “sad and vicious attempt” to tarnish the reputation of an elderly woman in retaliation for her own legal action against Kruse and Fialko.
Last year, Priscilla filed suit alleging that Kruse and others committed financial abuse and stole $1 million from her.
The current lawsuit also points to her divorce agreement with Elvis in 1973, which it claims included a provision for her to stop using the “Presley” surname — something the plaintiffs allege she ignored.
Lisa Marie inherited her father’s estate in 1993, valued at roughly $100 million. A 2016 trust amendment removed Priscilla as a trustee, naming Lisa Marie’s children Riley Keough and Benjamin Keough as co-trustees.
Benjamin died in 2020. After Lisa Marie’s death, Riley Keough was granted sole ownership of the estate in 2023 following a legal dispute with Priscilla.
The plaintiffs allege Lisa Marie’s relationship with her mother had become “tumultuous and tenuous” in the period before her death, with threats of legal action over the trust.
They also claim Priscilla disregarded her daughter’s wishes to have her life “prolonged as long as possible within the limits of generally accepted health care standards.”
An official autopsy found no foul play, determining the death was due to a small bowel obstruction caused by adhesions from prior bariatric surgery — a known long-term complication of that procedure.
Kruse and Fialko say they negotiated a $2.4 million settlement for Priscilla and a separate seven-figure deal for her son, Navarone, as part of resolving disputes with Riley Keough.
Their attorney, Jordan Matthews, said, “The evidence will establish that the real victims here are my clients, who invested millions and years of hard work into revitalizing Priscilla Presley’s brand, only to be betrayed and falsely accused once the money was on the table.”
Lisa Marie Presley had two children, Riley and Benjamin, with her first husband, Danny Keough, and 16-year-old twins Finley and Harper with her fourth husband, Michael Lockwood.
