Lisa Marie Presley is still reeling from the unexpected loss of her son, Benjamin Keough. Benjamin died by apparent suicide on July 12, 2020.
While facing this ongoing and unexpected loss, Lisa Marie is also embroiled in a contentious lawsuit concerning the custody of her twins, Harper and Finley. Lisa Marie's ex-husband Michael Lockwood recently filed updated court documents that use language that appears to use the death of Benjamin as a weapon in their ongoing custody suit.
"Lisa Marie Presley's son shot and killed himself in her home (Although she was not there at the time.) With all due sympathy and respect, this creates a new and unaddressed twofold problem: the safety of the children and the greater likelihood of [Presley] to relapse into drug and alcohol dependency."
Lisa Marie has not widely shared her struggle with addiction with the press, and wielding this information in this manner could be considered a low blow. Lisa Marie filed for divorce in 2016.
Their divorce has dragged out in part because Michael's legal team continues to fight what seems to be a losing battle. In 2007, Lisa Marie and Michael signed what has been described as an "ironclad" post-nuptial agreement. They each signed away their rights to one another's property and to spousal support.
Michael tried to argue that the agreement should be torn up because he didn't read it at the time since it "didn't interest him," and he said that his attorney didn't explain the document to him. However, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Dianna Gould-Saltman decided that the agreement was still quite valid:
"The Court finds that the post-nuptial agreement signed by the parties November 28, 2007 is valid and enforceable in whole. If Respondent (Lockwood) elected not to read it (the post-nup) and accept the consequences that it would be upheld, that is also his choice."
Michael's legal team has also tried to argue that Lisa Marie destroyed his career: "Michael had death threats. Miss Presley sold his musical equipment that he uses to make a living. She turned him into a pariah in the music business." His lawyer says that in 2016, Lisa Marie was worth $2.2 million and Michael was worth "negative $3,300."
He told the court, "He had nothing — and she doesn't care. She is just looking out for herself. She had her inheritance from her father and whatever else she had and she did not want him (Lockwood) to get a piece of it."
Lisa Marie's mother, Priscilla, has done tremendous work in terms of keeping the estate of Elvis secure and in good standing.
Lisa Marie's lawyer, Gary Fishbein, was aghast: "I have been doing this for 38 years and I have never heard of anyone asking a court to void an agreement on the basis of saying, 'I didn't read that agreement,' following it by saying, 'I wasn't interested in it.' Lockwood freely and voluntarily entered into the post-nuptial agreement. He acknowledged that he was not threatened, Miss Presley did not threaten to divorce him if he didn't sign."
He also added, "Mr Lockwood said that he didn't read a single word of the post-nup because it was not interesting to him. Frankly that is mind-boggling."
After claims that Lisa Marie "hid" her wealth ($62 million) from Michael at the time of the signing, Lisa Marie's lawyer explained, "If Mr. Lockwood had bothered to read the agreement he would have known that. But he wasn't interested."
Lisa Marie and Michael were set to resume divorce proceedings on July 20, 2020. The judge in the trial has allowed almost a full month for the proceedings, and it's unclear how Benjamin's death will impact the trial now.
Last year, Lisa Marie opened up about her struggle with addiction in the forward for the book The United States of Opioids: A Prescription for Liberating a Nation in Pain.
Lisa Marie noted that both her father, Elvis Presley, and her ex-husband Michael Jackson fell victim to opioid abuse and addiction:
"You may read this and wonder how, after losing people close to me, I also fell prey to opioids. I was recovering after the [2008] birth of my daughters, [Harper] Vivienne and Finley, when a doctor prescribed me opioids for pain. It only took a short-term prescription of opioids in the hospital for me to feel the need to keep taking them."
"As I write this, I think of my four children, who gave me the purpose to heal." She decided to write the forward for "the countless parents who have lost children to opioids and other drugs."
Lisa Marie has not discussed the details of her sobriety publicly, but now that Michael Lockwood has introduced the issue in court, it will probably become a matter of public speculation.
Lisa Marie added, "[I'm] grateful to be alive today … and to have four beautiful children who have given me a sense of purpose that has carried me through dark times."
In the days that followed the news of Benjamin's death, Lisa Marie's representative shared only that the singer is "trying to stay strong for her 11-year-old twins and her oldest daughter Riley."
