Keough also agreed to reimburse Priscilla Presley up to $400,000 in legal fees and costs. It will be made at the same time as a separate $1 million payment.
According to the 95-page settlement document, Keough agreed to pay to keep Presley as a “special adviser” to the trust for an unspecified amount for 10 years — or until she passes away.
The actress’s lawyer, Justin Gold, wrote in the filing that the settlement will allow the parties to save “significant legal fees by avoiding litigation, and they are likewise avoiding the spectacle of intrafamily litigation that would have been inimical to Lisa’s wishes and not in the best interests of the family.”
Gold said that Keough, as the sole trustee, will safeguard the money and invest it “in a manner consistent with the needs of the beneficiaries, and not influenced by the desire of a Trustee,” according to the court documents.
Gold and an attorney for Presley did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
A judge still needs to approve the agreement, which was filed in the Los Angeles Superior Court. It would put an end to an ongoing legal battle for Elvis Presley’s estate trust.
Keough first petitioned the court in May to approve a settlement she reached with her grandmother over the estate, which had been the source of much contention with the Presley family, according to the Los Angeles Times.
According to Wednesday’s settlement court document, Lisa Marie had appointed her mother, Priscilla, and business manager, Barry Siegel, as co-trustees of the trust in 1993.
But when her daughter passed away earlier this year, Priscilla Presley said she found an amendment to her will that replaced her and Siegel as trustees with Keough and her brother, Benjamin Keough, according to the L.A. Times. Benjamin Keough passed away in 2020.
Priscilla Presley then filed a petition to determine the validity of the will, questioning her daughter’s signature and whether it was notarized, the L.A. Times reported.
The parties entered into a settlement discussion to resolve issues over the trust, according to the court document. They reached an agreement on May 11, 2023. As of that date, Riley Keough became the sole trustee, Wednesday’s filing said.
