13 March 2023 , 21:43
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Priscilla Presley could win her legal battle against granddaughter Riley Keough as Elvis' ex-wife seeks to invalidate an amendment made to Lisa Marie Presley's will.
The pair have gone head-to-head over Lisa Marie's trust, after a 2016 amendment removed Priscilla and Lisa Marie's former business manager Barry Siegel as trust managers.
A legal expert has claimed Priscilla could triumph in the case if a court determines "improper procedure" was followed.
Mike Mandell told The Mirror: "The trust apparently required that any changes made to the trust (e.g. the 2016 amendment) would need to be delivered to Priscilla Pressley during Lisa Marie’s lifetime.
"According to Priscilla, this did not occur.
Priscilla Presley vows to 'protect' grandkids on Lisa Marie Presley's birthday
"If this is true and a court determines that this was the only process for the amendment, then the 2016 amendment could be invalidated based on improper procedure."
Priscilla Presley is locked in a legal battle with Riley Keough (Charbonneau/REX/Shutterstock)He added: "If the trust’s exclusive process for the amendment required that Priscilla be notified, and she wasn’t, then it would likely (and should be) invalidated.
"But if there were other ways to amend the trust (without providing notice) or if it comes out that Priscilla was notified, then the amendment should likely withstand this procedural argument."
Mike's explanation comes after Priscilla was reportedly "locked out" of Graceland by Riley.
Riley has reportedly "changed the locks on the upstairs doors and archives" whilst on a trip to Memphis.
Riley is Lisa Marie's eldest daughter (Getty Images for ELLE)
Priscilla has reportedly been locked out of Graceland (Getty Images North America)Angie Marchese, Priscilla and Lisa Marie had the only keys, according to RadarOnline, but now Elvis' former partner finds herself locked out of the estate.
Priscilla is asking a judge to set aside a change made to Lisa Marie's trust as she claims the amendment document misspelled Priscilla's name and had a signature that appeared unusual.
In a filing to the Los Angeles Superior Court, her lawyers said that she only became aware of the "purported 2016 amendment" after Lisa Marie's death.
Priscilla argues that the amendment was never delivered to her during her daughter's lifetime, as required by the will.
Mike told us: "We know what Priscilla is alleging, but without hard evidence, it’s hard to say what should happen here.
Priscilla Presley almost became a Kardashian when marriage to Elvis ended
Lisa Marie died back in January (Damian Dovarganes/AP/REX/Shutterstock)
She was 54 years old (Corbis via Getty Images)"On one hand, it’s strange that Priscilla wouldn’t be notified in 2016 that she was no longer a trustee, which means she continued to act as one for over six years, until just finding out now.
"On the other hand, before this 2016 amendment, Priscilla was named as a co-trustee with Lisa Marie’s former business manager, Barry Siegel, who Lisa Marie sued in 2018 for reckless mismanagement of her trust.
"So, in my opinion, it would make sense to amend her trust to get rid of Siegel (as she did in the 2016 amendment), which would counter Priscilla’s authenticity claims and suggest the amendment that removed Siegel and Priscilla as trustees was valid."
He said the legal battle between Priscilla and Riley could end up being quite costly.
"If the parties want to argue that the amendment is valid, then it could be drawn out for years, and then the lawyer fees can get very high (ranging from tens of thousands to over $100,000)."