Table of Contents
The custody battle over Lisa Marie Presley’s twin daughters has been a highly publicized and contentious legal battle. Presley died of a cardiac arrest on January 12, 2023. After her sudden death, you might be wondering about the custody of her daughters. Here’s a short overview of their custody legal proceedings and who currently has the twins.
What are Lisa Marie Presley’s children’s names?
Lisa Marie Presley’s twin daughters are named Harper Vivienne Ann Lockwood and Finley Aaron Love Lockwood. They were born on October 7, 2008.
Are Lisa Marie Presley’s twins identical or fraternal?
Lisa Marie Presley’s twin daughters, Harper and Finley, are fraternal twins. This means that they were conceived from two separate eggs fertilized by two separate sperm. Fraternal twins can be of the same or different genders and do not share the same genetic makeup as identical twins, who are formed from a single fertilized egg that splits into two embryos.
Lisa Marie Presley’s custody battle: A small history
Before her sudden demise, Lisa Marie Presley and ex-husband Michael Lockwood had been ongoing since 2016, about seven years, when she filed for divorce. Michael Lockwood was Lisa Marie Presley’s fourth husband. She filed for divorce in March 2016, and they were granted that divorce on May 26, 2021.
The custody fight was contentious, and very public, with both parents accusing each other of drug use, neglect, and a lot of shenanigans.
The first public ousting was that Lisa Marie checked herself into a drug rehab later in 2016 because of her addiction to prescription pain medication, and she lost custody during this period. (Read more celebrity moms who lost custody.)
After Lisa Marie alleged discovering a significant amount of child pornography on his computer, the custody of their children was taken away from both parents in 2017, and Priscilla Presley was granted custody. This accusation was determined to be false, and Lockwood was cleared of everything following a children and youth investigation.
In 2020, after the tragic death of Benjamin Keough, Presley’s 27-year-old son from another marriage, Lockwood was granted temporary custody of the twins. He wrote in court documents that Lisa Marie “may not be capable” of helping the twins in the aftermath of their brother’s death. The availability of guns (Benjamin committed suicide by firearm) also played a role.
At the time of Lisa Marie’s death, custody was split 60% with Presley and 40% with Lockwood. They shared joint legal custody.
Who currently has custody of the twin daughters?
Their father, Michael Lockwood, was granted full custody of the twins following Lisa Marie’s death in January. The twins were in his custody at the time of her death. The twins basically did not leave his custody since their mother died.
Lockwood was granted custody on Tuesday, March 14, 2023. Priscilla Presley was rumored to be present during the custody hearing that granted Lockwood full custody and did not raise an objections.
Why is this important? Because of the multi-million dollar trust. Priscilla was supposed to be one of the co-trustees along with and Lisa Marie’s former business manager Barry Siegel as co-trustees in 2010. However, a 2016 amendment put the trust in the hands of her actress daughter Riley Keough and her late son Benjamin Keough.
Lockwood and Priscilla have allegedly joined forces against Riley Keough over who has control over the trust. Lockwood currently has a stake in the trust dispute because he has sole custody of his daughters with Lisa Marie.
The role of the court in the custody battle
The court has played a crucial role in determining the temporary custody of the children and will ultimately decide who will be granted permanent custody. The court will consider various factors, including the children’s best interests, the parents’ ability to provide a stable and safe environment, and any evidence of abuse or neglect.
Lockwood and Presley had their share of public antics, with custody going back and forth, and even involving Priscilla. However, at the time of Lisa Marie’s death, Lockwood already had joint legal and shared physical custody of Harper and Finley.
The closest two people in a potential custody fight would be Priscilla and Danny Keough, Lisa Marie’s ex who was living with her and the twins at the time of her death following the death of Benjamin. Danny Keough thought of himself as their stepfather.
Priscilla already was in favor of Lockwood having custody.
As for Danny Keough … Despite what other sources might tell you, a stepparent can have custody rights if he or she was living with the children at the time of death and stood in loco parentis. That means the stepparent was considered a parent (in lieu). Common examples could be that Danny Keough did things with the twins sans Lisa Marie, such as take them to a doctor’s appointment.
The applicable word here is stepparent. Just because Danny Keough thought of himself as a stepparent doesn’t mean he was a stepparent.
Under California Family Code §3101(d)(2), a stepparent is someone who is legally married to the child’s biological parent. In other words, Danny Keough was considered a roommate, not a stepparent, because he was not married to Lisa Marie Presley at the time of her death.
A California court may grant reasonable visitation to the stepparent as long as the court finds that visitation with the stepparents is in the child’s best interest.
As for Lockwood … he already had joint custody with Lisa Marie. Short of someone coming out and saying he was unfit, I don’t see a court handing custody over to someone else.
Unless, of course, the twins wanted it. A minor child’s preferences are usually taken into consideration for any custody award, with the reasons and the age of the children coming into play. Basically, a court will listen to a 14-year-old child’s wishes. So if Finley and Harper want to live with Danny Keough … a court will listen. Unless that reason is because they like ice cream, or some other such nonsense.
