The world of celebrity estates often holds fascinating stories. One such tale revolves around the iconic Elvis Presley and the subsequent inheritance and dispute over the estate of his daughter, Lisa Marie Presley. In this two-part series, I delve into the intricacies surrounding the Presley legacy, starting with Lisa Marie’s inheritance that set the stage for the recent legal battle over her estate.
Elvis Presley’s Legacy and Lisa Marie’s Inheritance
The King of Rock ‘n’ Roll’s death in 1977 sparked numerous discussions, not only about his musical contributions but also about the vast estate he left behind. His Will left his estate to three beneficiaries – his father (Vernon Presley), his grandmother (Minnie Mae Presley) and Lisa Marie. Both Vernon and Minnie Mae died within a few years of Elvis, leaving Lisa Marie as the sole beneficiary of the estate.
Under the terms of Elvis’ Will, Lisa Marie was not entitled to receive her share in the estate until she reached the age of 25. This meant that those assets were held in trust for Lisa Marie, presided over by Priscilla Presley (her mother), the National Bank of Commerce in Memphis, and Joseph Hanks (Elvis’ former accountant) as trustees. Due to Elvis’ spending and a hefty tax bill levied on the estate after his death, the estate was drastically reduced and unable to maintain Graceland.
As a result, Priscilla created Elvis Presley Enterprises (EPE) in 1981 – a company with a professional management team, intended to manage the assets and conduct the business of the estate. While the Presley family retained ownership of Graceland, they opened it to the public under EPE, transforming Elvis’ legacy into a highly profitable brand.
Lisa Marie became entitled to receive her share of the estate in 1993, but rather than receiving it outright, she opted to create a revocable living trust (the Promenade Trust), retaining Priscilla and the National Bank of Commerce as co-trustees. In addition to holding Graceland and all of Elvis’ personal assets, this trust held 100% of the shares in EPE. Together, Lisa Marie and Priscilla continued to build on the success of the Presley estate throughout the 1990s. However, Lisa Marie suffered some very public financial difficulties in 2005, when the Promenade Trust sold 85% of its holdings in EPE; she subsequently suffered through four costly divorces.
Lisa Marie’s Estate Dispute
As mentioned above, Lisa Marie’s assets were held in a revocable living trust, which allows an individual to retain an element of control over their own assets during the course of their life, but outlines who should receive those assets, and who should be responsible for dealing with the distribution, upon their death. This popular US estate planning method is often adopted in favour of holding assets personally and executing a Will to address same, as it allows the estate to avoid commencing the court-supervised probate process following the death of the individual. On that basis, Lisa Marie did not have a Will.
In 2010, Lisa Marie restated the terms of her trust. She clarified that she wished for her mother and Barry Siegel to act as trustees, and deal with the distribution of her assets upon her death. Following Lisa Marie’s passing in January of this year, Priscilla sought to challenge an alleged amendment to Lisa Marie’s trust arrangement (signed in 2016), which sought to remove Priscilla and Barry as trustees of the trust, replacing them with Lisa Marie’s daughter, Riley Keough, and son, Benjamin Keough. Benjamin Keough died in 2020, making Riley Keough the sole trustee.
Stay tuned for part two later this week as I delve further into the dispute over Lisa Marie’s estate and its recent settlement.