Priscilla Presley accused of 'pulling the plug' on daughter Lisa Marie to gain control of Elvis' estate
MEMPHIS, TENNESSEE: Priscilla Presley is facing serious allegations from her former business partners, who claim she ended her daughter Lisa Marie Presley’s life support to gain control of the Presley family name and estate.
Lisa Marie, the only child of Priscilla and the late rock-and-roll legend Elvis Presley, died in January 2023 at the age of 54 after suffering cardiac arrest at her California home.
Lawsuit claims Priscilla Presley sought control over trust and Graceland
According to documents obtained by The New York Post, Brigitte Kruse and Kevin Fialko, heads of Priscilla Presley Partners, allege the 80-year-old “ultimately wanted to control” her daughter’s trust and Graceland, the Memphis mansion once owned by Elvis Presley.
Kruse and Fialko are suing Priscilla, who was married to Presley from 1967 to 1973, for breach of contract and fraud, seeking at least $50 million in damages.
They allege Priscilla knew Lisa Marie planned to remove her as sole trustee and “pulled the plug within hours of Lisa being admitted” to the hospital.
“Priscilla knew that Lisa’s death neutralized the threat of Lisa’s efforts to have Priscilla removed as the sole trustee of Lisa’s irrevocable life insurance trust, and Priscilla ultimately wanted to control the Promenade Trust and Graceland,” the lawsuit states.
“At her house the following week, Priscilla allegedly exclaimed, ‘I’m the queen. I’m in charge of Graceland.’”
Priscilla Presley attorney calls accusations ‘disgusting’
Priscilla’s attorney, Marty Singer, condemned the lawsuit, calling it “shameful” and “salacious.”
"Accusing a grieving mother of contributing to her daughter’s death is not savvy advocacy – it’s disgusting," Singer said.
The complaint alleges that on January 12, 2023, Lisa Marie went into cardiac arrest and was rushed to West Hills Hospital.
Instead of following her medical directive to “prolong her life,” the suit claims, Priscilla took the opportunity to regain control of the Presley estate, even though Lisa Marie’s daughter and heir, Riley Keough, had not yet arrived.
Priscilla Presley accused of calculated media control after Lisa Marie's death
The filing further alleges that Priscilla quickly took control of the public narrative following Lisa Marie’s death.
Kruse and Fialko claim she pressured Kruse to issue a carefully worded statement designed to present her as the grieving matriarch and bolster her position in anticipated estate disputes.
"It is with a heavy heart that I must share the devastating news that my beautiful daughter Lisa Marie has left us," her statement read.
The filing also claims that under her 1973 divorce agreement from Elvis, Priscilla was supposed to stop using the Presley surname.
Marie inherited the estate in 1993, then valued at about $100 million. After her death, Priscilla challenged a 2016 amendment that removed her as trustee in favor of Riley Keough and Benjamin Keough, who died in 2020. In 2023, following a legal battle, Keough was granted sole ownership of the estate.
Kruse and Fialko allege Lisa Marie had a “tumultuous and tenuous” relationship with her mother and had even considered suing her over the trust before her death.
