Michael Lockwood Wins Custody Of Daughters With Lisa Marie Presley

Lisa Marie Presley kids — Image Credit: Invision/AP/Shutterstock

Priscilla Presley, Austin Butler and Lisa Marie Presley80th Annual Golden Globe Awards, Inside, Beverly Hilton, Los Angeles, USA - 10 Jan 2023 — Image Credit: Invision/AP/Shutterstock

Lisa Marie Presley‘s ex-husband Michael Lockwood was awarded full custody of their 14-year-old twins during a brief court hearing in Los Angeles on Tuesday, March 14, the Daily Mail reports. Lisa, who died at the age of 54 on Thursday, Jan. 12 in a Los Angeles hospital after being treated for cardiac arrest, had been in a years-long custody battle over their twin girls, Harper and Finley, when she unexpectedly passed. The pair — who wed in 2006 — divorced in May 2021 after several years of separation.

California law states that when one parent dies, the other is able to retain full custody of their children — so the ruling is no surprise. No one in the Presley family — including the twins’ grandmother Pricilla Presley — petitioned Michael’s court filing to obtain guardianship. He filed the documents in the Los Angeles County Superior Court last week, per PEOPLE. He reasoned that it was in his kids’ best interest because “the minor is a beneficiary of a trust at issue before the probate court in the above-referenced case. The minor requires appointment of a guardian ad litem to represent her interests in the proceeding,” according to court documents obtained by the outlet.

Harper and Finley’s half-sister Riley Keough, the 33-year-old daughter of Lisa Marie and actor Danny Keough, is livid that an ‘outsider’ has swooped in to obtain guardianship over the girls, according to the Daily Mail.

Riley, who stars in Amazon Prime’s brand new show Daisy Jones & The Six, has reason to be upset with Michael’s court victory. He is reportedly aligned with 77-year-old Priscilla’s belief that her daughter’s will was invalid when she died. In a court filing from January, the former wife of the late Elvis Presley submitted a petition disputing a 2016 amendment to her daughter’s will, which removed her and Lisa’s former business manager, Barry Siegel, as co-trustees. Riley and her brother Benjamin Keough, who died in 2020, replaced Barry and Priscilla.

Lisa Marie Presley Michael Lockwood — Lisa Marie Presley and Michael Lockwood were together for about a decade between 2006 and 2016, although their divorce was not finalized until 2021 (Photo: Gregorio T. Binuya/Everett Collection)

According to a person close to the famous family, Riley and her grandmother have stopped communicating due to the legal battle. “It has been a very tense and heartbreaking few weeks for both Riley and Priscilla. Riley has been mourning the loss of her mother and is heartbroken to have to deal with a trust dispute with a family member,” the insider told Entertainment Tonight in February. “Priscilla is adamant that she has a valid case and that she will prevail in court. Riley and Priscilla aren’t communicating at this time, but have been in communication through lawyers.”

HollywoodLife reached out to Michael’s attorney and Priscilla’s representative for statements regarding the report but did not receive an immediate reply.