Riley's grandmother has objected to the actress being named a co-trustee of Lisa Marie Presley's trust.
Riley Keough "is disappointed" that Priscilla Presley is challenging Lisa Marie Presley's trust. A source tells ET that Riley feels that Priscilla's challenge to the late Lisa Marie's will goes against "her mom's wishes."
"Riley wants to keep the family together and keep Lisa Marie's legacy in a positive light, but she feels that her grandmother's actions are pushing the family apart even more," the source says. "It's upsetting to her as she does want to have a relationship with Priscilla, but at this point in time they are not close."
As for Lisa Marie, the source says that she "did not have a healthy or close relationship" with Priscilla prior to her death, adding that things were "very complicated" between them.
"Lisa Marie was struggling, and it definitely put a strain on her relationship with her mother," the source says. "Lisa Marie always felt Priscilla was trying to have control over her."
Given that, the source says that Lisa Marie "always meant for her children to inherit her trust." Lisa Marie was also mom to Benjamin, who died in July 2020.
"Lisa always wanted Riley and Benjamin to be the beneficiaries of the trust and that was no secret," the source says, adding that the late singer's "children meant the world to her, and she would do anything for them."
Following Lisa Marie's death on Jan. 12, her rep confirmed to ET that Graceland, the former home of her father, Elvis Presley, would go to her three daughters: 33-year-old Riley, and 14-year-old twins Harper and Finley.
It later came to light that Riley and Benjamin were named co-trustees of Lisa Marie's trust in 2016. However, Priscilla is contesting "the authenticity and validity" of Riley's appointment, claiming that "there are many issues surrounding" it.
Amid the legal challenge, Joel Weinshanker, a Managing Partner at Elvis Presley Enterprises, spoke out in favor of Riley maintaining her trustee role in the wake of Lisa Marie's death.
"When Elvis passed away, he left everything to his little girl. He did so knowing that she would be the one to keep his legacy going," he said during an appearance on SiriusXM's Elvis Radio. "I can tell you that [Lisa Marie] has, without falter, no matter what else was happening in her life, in her career, always been the one to look at what was best for Elvis... regardless of what somebody else was trying to do, regardless of what another family member [was trying to] do."
"We just want to think about what Lisa would've wanted and that's what's best for Elvis. She never had a doubt in her mind that that's Riley," Joel added. "There's no question on anyone's mind [because] Lisa had spoken [about] it, there's numerous amounts of written information, she had talked to so many of her friends about it. There was never a question, and anybody who's speaking differently isn't looking out for Elvis, isn't looking out for Lisa, certainly isn't looking out for Riley."
In a statement to ET on Friday, Priscilla spoke out about the situation.
"I loved Elvis very much as he loved me. Lisa is a result of our love," Priscilla said. "For anyone to think anything differently would be a travesty of the family legacy and would be disrespectful of what Elvis left behind in his life."
"There is an individual that bought their way into the family enterprise that is trying to speak on behalf of our family. This person is not a representative of Elvis or our family," she added, without sharing whom she was referring to. "Please allow us the time we need to work together and sort this out. Please ignore 'the noise.' As I have always been there for Elvis' legacy, our family and the fans, I will continue to forge a pathway forward with respect, honesty, dignity, integrity and love."
Priscilla did not identify the individual she referenced in her statement.
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