Lisa Marie Presley’s ex-husband Michael Lockwood, a guitarist and music producer, has been granted legal guardianship of their twins, allowing him to represent the girls amid an ongoing battle for Presley’s multi-million-dollar trust.
The ruling was delivered Thursday after Judge Lynn Healey Scaduto considered Lockwood’s petition to be appointed the guardian ad litem (a court-appointed representative of a child’s best interests) of the former couple’s 14-year-old twins Harper Vivienne Ann Lockwood and Finley Aaron Love Lockwood.
According to People, Lockwood’s lawyer, Scott Rahn, said his client is “ready, able and willing to protect their interests.”
When Scaduto asked if Lockwood had any preexisting relationships with the other parties involved in the dispute, Rahn said, “Lockwood has a good, collegial, familial relationship with all of the parties involved. He is not only legally bound but also morally bound to protect [the twins’] interests.”
Lawyers representing Priscilla Presley, who initiated the dispute, and Riley Keough, who is the sole executor, did not object to the request.
The next hearing in the trust saga is scheduled for May 16.
Lockwood filed to be appointed the guardian ad litem in March, two months after Lisa Marie, who was the only child of Elvis and Priscilla Presley, died after suffering cardiac arrest. Both Harper and Finley signed forms consenting to Lockwood being appointed to represent them at the time.
“There is no conflict regarding appointment because the proposed guardian is not a beneficiary of the trust instrument at issue,” Lockwood said.
In 2016, Lisa Marie amended her will, naming her two eldest children, Riley and son Benjamin Keough, as co-executors. She filed to dissolve her 10-year marriage to Lockwood that same year.
Benjamin died by suicide in 2020, leaving Riley Keough as sole executor of Lisa Marie’s estate, which includes the 17,552-square-foot Graceland mansion and a 15% stake in Elvis Presley Enterprises.
In the weeks following Lisa Marie’s death, her mother (and Keough’s grandmother), Priscilla Presley, asked a judge to invalidate the 2016 amendment that swapped Presley and Barry Siegel (Lisa Marie’s former manager) as co-trustees of the trust, with Riley and Benjamin Keough. She argued her daughter’s signature could have been forged and that she should have been informed of the change in executor, if the amendment was legitimate.
In January, Lockwood told People, “We are all reeling from the sudden passing of Lisa Marie Presley, the mother of my two beautiful twin daughters Harper and Finley. Nothing prepares us for such an unexpected tragedy. It is incomprehensible.”
“The most important thing to me at this time is to take care of my daughters, making sure they always feel safe and loved,” he added. “Both of them have incredible spirit and they will carry our family’s legacy on for the rest of their lives. Since they were born, Harper and Finley have brought me profound joy and I remain devoted to them. We ask for privacy at this incredibly difficult time.”
