The Presley family’s long and complicated battles over money, legacy, and control have taken yet another dramatic turn. More than two years after Riley Keough and her grandmother Priscilla Presley settled a highly publicized dispute over control of the family trust, Priscilla now faces explosive new accusations from her former business partners—claims that tie directly back to the death of her daughter, Lisa Marie Presley.
The new lawsuit, filed this week in Los Angeles Superior Court by Florida auctioneer Brigitte Kruse and Tennessee entrepreneur Kevin Fialko, accuses Priscilla of fraud and seeks at least $50 million in damages. But it is a single allegation buried in the filing that has cast a harsh spotlight back onto a grieving mother: that Priscilla “pulled the plug” on Lisa Marie in January 2023 after her daughter suffered a cardiac arrest, allegedly in a bid to regain control of the Presley family trust.
According to the suit, Priscilla acted despite Lisa Marie’s own advance health care directive requesting that her life be prolonged “as long as possible.” The filing claims Priscilla saw her daughter’s hospitalization as an opportunity, since Lisa Marie had been moving to formally cut her mother out of an insurance trust. Lawyers for Kruse and Fialko argue that Priscilla’s decision was motivated by money and power within the family’s already fractured financial structure.
Priscilla’s attorney, Marty Singer, called the allegation “shameful, ridiculous, salacious and meritless,” dismissing the filing as nothing more than a retaliatory smear campaign. In a sharply worded statement, Singer described the claim as “a disgusting publicity stunt” and insisted that Riley Keough “stands behind her grandmother 100 percent.” Keough, who now serves as trustee of the Promenade Trust, has not spoken publicly on the lawsuit.
At the heart of the dispute is the complicated financial world surrounding Elvis Presley’s legacy. The Presley family only has a 15 percent stake in Elvis Presley Enterprises, the company that runs Graceland while bringing in more than $100 million a year. That stake then goes through the Promenade Trust, a group that’s now in the center of the legal issues that have plagued the Priscilla since Lisa Marie’s death.
Kruse and Fialko claim they invested millions into reviving Priscilla’s brand, negotiating settlements, and rebuilding her finances, only to be abruptly cut out of deals once Priscilla secured her own multimillion-dollar payout. They claim that she kept the fact that she sold her name and likeness rights years ago from them before they made a deal. For her part, Priscilla has accused the pair of financial elder abuse, coercion, and attempting to isolate her from trusted advisors.
The latest filing ensures the Presley family’s private conflicts will remain public for years to come. A case management conference is scheduled for February 2026, setting the stage for more revelations about the intersection of grief, money, and one of America’s most famous families.
