Lisa Marie Presley and her mother Priscilla Presley place their handprints in cement at TCL Chinese theatre
Reuters

KEY POINTS

  • Lisa Marie Presley's lawsuit against her former manager Barry Siegel has resurfaced
  • In the lawsuit, she complained about Siegel lobbying for Priscilla Presley's $900,00 income a year
  • The issue resurfaced amid Priscilla's legal battle contesting the 2016 amendment in Lisa Marie's will

Priscilla Presley has been receiving a huge amount of money from Elvis Enterprises every year without a company stake, according to a report.

Lisa Marie's lawsuit against her former manager, Barry Siegel, in 2018 has resurfaced. In the court documents obtained by Page Six, Priscilla accused Siegel of "negligently" mishandling her money and noted that he "allowed (and, in fact, lobbied)" her mother's nearly $900,000 annual income even without a stake in the company.

Lisa Marie's lawyers added that Priscilla was getting paid "even though Lisa's mother has no ownership in EPE (nor was she performing any sort of executive-level work to justify the salary)."

"Siegel failed to disclose these facts to Lisa, and he did not negotiate the same salary benefit for Lisa," the complaint read.

Meanwhile, he disputed Lisa Marie's allegations, and the case dragged on for two years before it got settled out of court.

The issue resurfaced amid Priscilla's legal move to contest her late daughter's will. In a court filing obtained by CNN, she petitioned to deem the 2016 amendment dropping her as co-trustee "invalid" for several reasons.

Priscilla claimed she did not receive the amendment while Lisa Marie was alive. She also alleged that the document misspelled her name and was never witnessed or notarized. Also, Lisa Marie's signature was reportedly inconsistent.

Two experts spoke with People and weighed in on the issue. Both were convinced that Priscilla could win the case.

"The law basically says follow whatever is in the document, and then the document says this is what you have to do," Benny Roshan, who probates trusts and estates explained. "So if the court is looking at it and truly those procedures were not followed, Priscilla has a good case of arguing that this new document that essentially replaces her is not valid. That's a good point if it was never followed."

David Esquibias, a Los Angeles-based probate, trusts and estates litigation attorney, echoed the same sentiment.

"Absent other facts coming to light, such as the 2016 was delivered to Priscilla during Lisa Marie's lifetime, I think Priscilla wins," he said. "The 2010 trust explicitly makes the method of amendment the exclusive method of amendment. Therefore, under California law, that procedure must be followed, but according to Priscilla, it wasn't."

The 2016 amendment dropped Siegel and Priscilla as co-trustees and replaced them with Lisa Marie's children, Riley Keough and Benjamin Keough, who died by suicide in 2020.

A source close to the late singer told People that Lisa Marie's intent to leave her trust to her children was clear. Another anonymous pal told Page Six that Priscilla's move was allegedly "strictly a money grab."

"Lisa really didn't feel that Priscilla was doing anything in her best interest," the insider claimed, adding, "Lisa lived her life authentically... She wouldn't remain quiet when she was being taken advantage of."

Priscilla Presley, Lisa Marie Presley, Riley Keough, Finley and Harper Lockwood place their handprints in cement at TCL Chinese Theatre in Los Angeles
Reuters