Father of Lisa Marie Presley's youngest daughters petitions to represent them in battle over estate

CNN  — 

A court hearing was held in Los Angeles on Thursday related to the petition Priscilla Presley filed in January that challenges the validity of her daughter, Lisa Marie Presley’s will.

Priscilla Presley did not appear at the hearing, nor did her grandaughter, actor Riley Keough, who is the primary beneficiary of Lisa Marie Presley’s estate.

The court on Thursday considered an ex parte petition filed by Michael Lockwood, the father of Lisa Marie Presley’s youngest daughters, twins Finley and Harper, to be named their guardian ad litem regarding their late mother’s will.

Scott Rahn, Lockwood’s lawyer, said he is “ready, able and willing to protect their interests.”

Attorneys for Priscilla Presley and Riley Keough did not contest Lockwood being named their guardian ad litem.

Judge Lynn Healy Scaduto said she would issue a written ruling on the matter.

Lisa Marie Presley, Elvis Presley’s only child, died in January after being hospitalized following an apparent cardiac arrest at her Los Angeles home.

In a court filing obtained by CNN, Priscilla Presley’s petition disputes a 2016 amendment to her daughter’s will which states that Lisa Marie Presley removed her mother and former business manager, Barry Siegel, as co-trustees, replacing them with her children Riley and Benjamin Keough. Benjamin Keough later died in 2020.

The petition alleges that Priscilla Presley did not receive the amendment while her daughter was alive, as required by her Trust, and that the document misspells Priscilla’s name. The petition also alleged that the amendment was not witnessed or notarized and questioned the authenticity of Lisa Marie Presley’s signature.

Attorneys for Priscilla Presley filed the petition just days after Lisa Marie Presley was laid to rest at Elvis’s former residence, Graceland.

The next hearing to address the matter is scheduled for May 16.