Lisa Marie Presley’s ex-husband Michael Lockwood has been appointed legal guardian of their twin daughters — amid insider concern that this is the last thing the tragic star wanted.
Musician Lockwood, who was reportedly left near penniless after his bid to overturn a postnup was denied in his bitter divorce from Elvis Presley’s daughter, filed a petition to become 14-year-old Harper and Finley’s legal guardian ad litem, back in March.
LA Judge Lynn Healey Scaduto granted the request Thursday as Lockwood’s lawyer Scott Rahn said his client was “ready, able, and willing to protect their interests.”
During the hearing, Judge Scaduto asked if the musician, 61, had any pre-existing relationships with the parties involved in the case, and Rahn claimed that they were all on good terms.
“Lockwood has a good, collegial, familial relationship with all of the parties involved,” he said. “He is not only legally bound but also morally bound to protect [the twins’] interests.”
Despite this, a source previously told Pvnew that Lockwood was not invited to Lisa Marie’s funeral following her sudden death from cardiac arrest, at age 54, in January.
The source added that Lisa Marie’s mother, Priscilla Presley, ended up getting him into the ceremony at Graceland in Memphis.
It’s not known whether Lisa Marie left any provision for who would care for her daughters following her death.
Lisa Marie filed for divorce from Lockwood in 2016 after 10 years of marriage, and the pair spent years fighting over finances and were locked in a contentious custody battle for the twins up until her death.
In March, Lisa Marie’s attorney, Gary Fishbein, told Judge Joseph Lipner the case should be dismissed as his client is “sadly no longer with us.”
Full custody will go to Lockwood unless another family member disputes the ruling in probate court. The judge has not yet officially granted the request for dismissal.
Along with granting the guitarist guardianship of Elvis’ youngest granddaughters, the move allows Lockwood to represent the girls in an ongoing probate case over their mother’s multi-million dollar trust
Lockwood is close to Priscilla, who is currently challenging an amendment to her daughter’s estate that put Lisa Marie’s child Riley Keough in charge.
The change removed Priscilla as well as Lisa Marie’s former business manager Barry Siegel as co-trustees and gave control of the trust — including Graceland and a 15% stake in Elvis Presley Enterprises (EPE), which together brought in a reported $110 million in 2022 — to oldest daughter Keough, 33, and son Benjamin Keough, who has since passed away.
Lisa Marie sold the bulk of her father’s estate to SFX Entertainment in 2004, including the rights to her father’s name and image, but kept Graceland.
Pvnew is told she signed a 99-year lease and that there is currently 81 years left on the house and artifacts inside.
Priscilla, who claimed she didn’t know about the 2016 amendment until after Lisa Marie’s death, argued it should be voided because of several factors, including that Lisa Marie had not informed her of the changes as required by the terms of the trust.
“Lisa would be pissed!” said one longtime friend of Lisa Marie, who was close to her for more than 12 years, previously told us. “She would be so upset that Priscilla is doing this. Riley is an amazing trustee … and Lisa’s youngest daughters are in the best of hands with her.”
Priscilla and Keough will face the same judge who released Britney Spears from her conservatorship — as a source who knows the family said: “Riley never wanted a war.”
Judge Brenda Penny will oversee the hearing on May 16, after Priscilla requested the date be postponed from April 14.
The move comes as a source who knows the family confirms that Keough and Priscilla recently had lunch in Beverly Hills.
Despite everything, Presley has tried to dampen down reports of a family feud.
Speaking on stage in Newcastle, England last week at an “Evening with Priscilla Presley” event, she told host Edith Bowman that the rumors of a family battle that had “come out of Memphis” were “not true.”
