Lisa Marie Presley Nasty Custody Battle with Ex Michael Lockwood: What Happens Now The Singer's Dead?

Before she died, Lisa Marie Presley fought tooth and nail to get custody of her 14-year-old twin daughters from her ex-husband, Michael Lockwood.

After getting married in 2006, they eventually split, and had a nasty five-year custody battle that came with their divorce.

According to TMZ, the proceedings took so long because allegations of drug use and child abuse were thrown into the mix, but in the end, Presley gained 60% custody of Harper and Finley, while Lockwood was left with the remaining 40%.

Now that the singer just passed away, California law states that Lockwood would naturally gain full custody of the kids, unless he's deemed not fit to be a parent.

Despite the cut-and-dry situation, it gets a little more complicated for two separate reasons.

Enter Danny Keough, Presley's ex-husband, and the father of her two older children, Riley and Benjamin.

According to reports, Keough began living with Presley again in 2020 after the death of their son. He began to take care of the twins during this time and was like a father figure to them, which is also probably why he claims that he wants to be granted custody of the twins.

Wild Card

Entertainment Tonight reported that while Lockwood may gain full custody of Harper and Finley, and that Keough's case of getting custody is futile, the twins are, in fact, old enough to decide for themselves.

"The twins are now 14 years old," said Mitra Ahouraian, an entertainment lawyer. "They have preferences in terms of where they wanna go to school, who they wanna live with. So the court is definitely gonna honor that."

In a previous interview with Presley, she admitted that her twins do have preferences. "If something goes down, Harper will want daddy, and if something goes down with Finley, she wants me."

Other family members who might also join the custody battle are Presley's mother, Priscilla, and her 33-year-old daughter, Riley.

The custody battle over the twins does not only have the twins themselves at stake but also Graceland.

According to reports, Presley will pass down her father's iconic property in Memphis, Tennessee to her three daughters, which is probably why it's a lot more than just "who gets the kids on the weekends?" with this family.

Tags

Lisa Marie Presley, Death, Custody battle