Priscilla Presley filed a declaration Wednesday that also praised granddaughter Riley Keough, with whom she reached a settlement agreement last month
Priscilla Presley feels her former husband and their late daughter would be happy with how she’s found peace with granddaughter Riley Keough.
In a declaration filed Wednesday in Los Angeles and obtained by , Priscilla, 78, expressed her happiness with the settlement agreement she and Keough, 34, came to last month over the estate of Lisa Marie Presley, who died in January at age 54.
“My daughter’s passing was both devastating and heartbreaking,” she wrote. “We have learned that the fans realize that we are ‘Just a Family.’ Elvis would be proud and his and Lisa’s wishes are what are most important to all of us.”
The Agent Elvis actress continued: “My granddaughter, through her counsel, along with my team worked diligently and tirelessly to resolve all misunderstandings as a family.”
Lisa Marie was the only child of rock legend Elvis Presley, to whom Priscilla was married from 1967 to 1973. She shared daughter Riley with ex-husband Danny Keough.
Priscilla filed the declaration in support of a motion that would seal the petition Riley previously filed to approve the pair’s settlement agreement. Priscilla wrote that the petition she’d filed in January as a means of staying on board as the co-trustee of Lisa Marie’s estate was “misconstrued” as “a ‘fight’ over my beloved daughter’s trust.”
The actress added that that was not her intent, and that she has since fired the law firm that filed the petition. She said her goal in filing her declaration was to “resolve all potential uncertainty” surrounding the interpretation of the Trust.
After reaching a settlement agreement in May with her grandmother, Riley petitioned the court on Monday to approve it.
“Everyone is happy. Unified and together and excited for the future,” Priscilla’s lawyer Ronson Shamoun, said in May. Added Keough’s attorney, Justin Gold: “[Riley] would not have agreed to the settlement if she was not happy with it.”
Regardless of whether the petition is approved, Priscilla’s removal as Trustee of Lisa Marie’s estate will remain in place, as she signed a settlement agreement.
Though lawyers for both Riley and Priscilla had made efforts to keep the terms of the settlement confidential, court documents obtained by seem to indicate that Riley will give her grandmother a $1 million lump-sum payment.
While nearly all mentions of the payment are redacted, one line buried deep into the 95-page filing indicates the hefty price tag.
The documents state that a $400,000 payment Riley is to give Priscilla for legal fees and costs will come “at the same time as the one million payment as stated in Paragraph 6 of this Agreement.”
The aforementioned Paragraph 6 mentions a sum to be paid to Priscilla by Riley, though the amount — which “shall be made within 10 days after Riley’s receipt of the life insurance proceeds” — is redacted. The $1 million amount was first reported by The New York Times.
Riley has become the sole trustee of her mother’s estate and, upon approval of the settlement, will become the trustee of the sub-trusts for her 14-year-old twin sisters Harper and Finley Lockwood, and she’ll also safeguard and invest the money “in a manner consistent with the needs of the beneficiaries, and not influenced by the desire of a Trustee,” the petition says.
Priscilla, meanwhile, will be Trustee of the sub-trust of her son (and Lisa Marie’s half-brother) Navarone Garibaldi, who will be granted 1/9 of the Trust, the documents state. The rest will be split among Riley, Finley and Harper.
A source told in May that Riley was “relieved to have settled the dispute.”
“She doesn’t want any drama with her grandmother,” the insider said. “She was hoping they could reach a settlement quickly… Riley is still grieving her mom. It’s been very tough for her. She wants to focus on making memories with her own daughter now. This is her priority.”