The 80-year-old former wife of Elvis Presley \u201cultimately wanted to control\u201d her daughter\u2019s trust and Graceland, according to the suit, obtained by The Independent. Priscilla Presley\u2019s lawyer labeled the complaint as \u201cmalicious character assassination.\u201d<\/p>\n Brigitte Kruse and Kevin Fialko, the heads of Priscilla Presley Partners, are suing her for breach of contract and fraud; they\u2019re seeking at least $50 million.<\/p>\n Lisa Marie Presley was hospitalized in 2023<\/a> after suffering a cardiac arrest. She died in January 2023 at the age of 54.<\/p>\n Her mother was aware that she was preparing to remove her as the sole head of her trust and \u201cpulled the plug within hours of Lisa being admitted\u201d to the hospital, the suit alleges.<\/p>\n open image in gallery<\/p>\n Priscilla Presley is sued by her former business partners, who accused Elvis\u2019 ex-wife of pulling her daughter\u2019s life support to gain control of the family name and estate in a $50 million lawsuit (Invision)<\/p>\n \u201cPriscilla knew that Lisa\u2019s death neutralized the threat of Lisa\u2019s efforts to have Priscilla removed as the sole trustee of Lisa\u2019s irrevocable life insurance trust, and Priscilla ultimately wanted to control the Promenade Trust and Graceland,\u201d the filing says. \u201cAt her house the following week, Priscilla exclaimed, \u2018I\u2019m the queen. I\u2019m in charge of Graceland.’\u201d<\/p>\n Marty Singer, Presley\u2019s lawyer, slammed the lawsuit as \u201cmeritless\u201d in a statement.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is, without a doubt, one of the most shameful, ridiculous, salacious, and meritless lawsuits I have seen in my practice. This is nothing more than a sad and vicious attempt to falsely tarnish the reputation of an eighty year old woman in blatant retaliation for bringing a lawsuit to redress the wrongful conduct of Brigitte Kruse, Kevin Fialko, and their co-conspirators.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAccusing a grieving mother of contributing to her daughter\u2019s death is not savvy advocacy; it is malicious character assassination, and should be broadly condemned. These fabricated claims have absolutely no validity and we are confident this case will be dismissed,\u201d Singer continued.<\/p>\n Priscilla and Elvis divorced in 1973. The lawsuit claims that the divorce agreement states \u201cshe was supposed to stop using the surname \u2018Presley\u2019\u201d and was not mentioned in the late singer\u2019s will. <\/p>\n When Lisa Marie came into her inheritance in 1993, Elvis\u2019 estate was valued at around $100 million, the filing says. <\/p>\n Lisa Marie was the sole heir to her father\u2019s Memphis estate. Following her death, Priscilla filed a petition challenging a 2016 amendment to the trust, which had removed her as a trustee and instead listed two of Lisa Marie\u2019s children \u2014 Riley Keough, an actress, and Benjamin Keough, who died in 2020 \u2014 as co-trustees, the suit says. <\/p>\n Riley Keough, the star of Daisy Jones and the Six, has acted as sole trustee of the estate since August 2023<\/a>.<\/p>\n The mother and daughter had a \u201ctumultuous and tenuous\u201d relationship, evidenced by Lisa Marie refusing to walk the red carpet or sit with her mother at the Golden Globes to celebrate the nominations for the 2022 \u201cElvis\u201d movie, the lawsuit alleges. Around this time, Lisa Marie was \u201cthreatening to sue\u201d Priscilla over the trust dispute.<\/p>\n Kruse and Fialko \u201cworked to keep the family together\u201d and, along with Priscilla\u2019s publicist, ensured the pair sat together during the awards show, which occurred just two days after Lisa Marie died, the suit says. <\/p>\n open image in gallery<\/p>\n Priscilla Presley (R) and her daughter Lisa Marie Presley (L). Lisa Marie died in 2023 after suffering cardiac arrest (AFP via Getty Images)<\/p>\n Authorities have not claimed any wrongdoing in Lisa Marie\u2019s death. The LA County medical examiner\u2019s autopsy report determined she had died from complications from surgery.<\/p>\n \u201cThe obstruction was in the form of a strangulated small bowel caused by adhesions that developed after bariatric surgery years ago,\u201d the autopsy report said. \u201cThis is a known long-term complication of this type of surgery.\u201d<\/p>\n Lisa Marie\u2019s advanced care directive instructions said she wanted her \u201clife to be prolonged as long as possible within the limits of generally accepted health care standards,\u201d but Priscilla didn\u2019t adhere to her wishes, the filing says. <\/p>\n Riley Keough was then made the sole trustee. Priscilla then challenged the amendment that had removed her as trustee in a matter that was later settled.<\/a><\/p>\n On behalf of Presley, Kruse and Fialko brokered a deal with Keough that gave the grandmother a $2.4 million payout and \u201ca seven-figure deal for Priscilla\u2019s son, Navarone,\u201d the complaint states.<\/p>\n \u201cThe evidence will establish that the real victims here are my clients, who invested millions and years of hard work into revitalizing Priscilla Presley\u2019s brand, only to be betrayed and falsely accused once the money was on the table and every personal and business issue had been resolved,\u201d Jordan Matthews, an attorney for Kruse and Fialko, said in a statement.<\/p>\n This week\u2019s complaint marks the latest in an ongoing legal battle between the former business partners. <\/p>\n In a 2023 lawsuit, Kruse alleged Priscilla abruptly \u201ccut off all communication\u201d after Kruse had helped Priscilla \u201cdig herself out of impending financial ruin,\u201d accused her of breach of contract and other wrongdoing, according to a filing obtained by Billboard<\/a>. <\/p>\n Last July, Priscilla sued Kruse, Fialko and two other business partners, accusing them of elder abuse and fraud. The group \u201cmeticulously planned\u201d a scheme to \u201cto drain her of every last penny she had,\u201d her lawyer alleged at the time.<\/p>\n open image in gallery<\/p>\n From family feuds to \u2018fraudulent\u2019 foreclosure sale claims, the future of Graceland has been a point of contention for years (Copyright 2019 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)<\/p>\n For years, the future of Graceland has been a point of contention.<\/p>\n The King of Rock \u2018n Roll bought the Memphis estate in 1957. More than six decades later, fights over the fate of the estate have ensued. <\/p>\n Nearly one year after the legal battle between Priscilla and her granddaughter had settled, there was an attempted foreclosure auction on the estate.<\/p>\n![\"Priscilla](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Lisa_Marie_Presley_Death_22956.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"Priscilla](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/GettyImages-71342342.jpeg\")
<\/p>\n![\"From](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Graceland_Fraud_65628.jpg\")
<\/p>\n