Lisa Marie Presley’s Ex Claims Riley Keough Approves of Six-Figure Demand
Lisa Marie Presley's ex-husband Michael Lockwood is back in court pleading for his request for $150k in legal fees to be reimbursed by Elvis Presley's trust - run by Riley Keough - https://t.co/BNMickgAzB
- In Touch Weekly (@intouchweekly) June 21, 2024
According to recent court documents obtained by In Touch, Michael Lockwood, 63, claimed there were conversations with Lisa Marie Presley’s daughter Riley Keough, 35, about legal fees being covered over the battle for court over Lisa Marie’s estate in 2023. Michael claimed he racked up legal bills while representing his daughters and Keough's teen sisters Harper and Finley in the dispute, where grandmother Priscilla Presley took Keough to court over control of Lisa Marie’s estate. Keough settled with Presley and agreed to pay $1 million to her grandmother, as well as make regular monthly payments from the trust in exchange for Presley dropping her lawsuit and claim to the estate. In addition, Riley agreed to pay $400k to cover Priscilla’s legal fees.
In his petition, Lockwood’s lawyer said, “After Lisa Marie’s death, the Promenade Trust was the subject of litigation, primarily focused on who should be the trustee. To protect and represent their interests in this litigation, Finley and Harper sought and secured the court appointment of their father, Michael Lockwood, to serve as their Guardian Ad Litem.”
Michael said he helped Riley and Priscilla work out the settlement. His lawyer said, “from the outset, Michael and his counsel played a central role in helping keep the parties focused on resolving those issues with minimal court intervention.” He asked the court to approve his request to be reimbursed $153,647.32 spent in legal fees.
At a recent hearing two weeks ago, the judge decided not to rule on the issue until “additional evidence” was presented. In his newly filed motion, Michael revealed Riley allegedly signed off on the legal fees being paid.
It is unknown if Lockwood submitted the evidence the judge requested but his lawyer claimed, “However, at all relevant times during the settlement negotiations, the parties - specifically Riley Keough, as Successor Trustee of the Promenade Trust - understood that, following the execution of the Settlement Agreement, Mr. Lockwood would seek reimbursement for his legal fees from the Promenade Trust once approved by this Court.”
Further, he said the payment could be deducted from the “shares of the Promenade Trust established for Finley Aaron Love Lockwood and Harper Vivienne Ann Lockwood in equal shares.”
He added, “Importantly, if Mr. Lockwood’s request that his fees and costs be paid from his daughters’ share of the Promenade Trust was inconsistent with the terms or spirit of the parties’ settlement agreement, rest assured that Ms. Keough, as trustee, would have objected. She has not objected because it was anticipated that Mr. Lockwood’s fees would be paid by the trust.”
A judge has yet to rule on the matter. A hearing has been set for later this month.
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