Lisa Marie Presley was back in court on Friday to bring the bitter divorce and custody battle between herself and her ex-husband, Michael Lockwood, to an end. Presley, 52, attended the court hearing in downtown Los Angeles in person. The hearing was initially scheduled for Monday but was postponed when Presley suffered a “medical emergency.” She said she was doing better on Friday.
On Wednesday, The Sun obtained court documents explaining the delay. “The matter is not called for hearing. Counsel for Petitioner represents that Petitioner cannot appear this date due to a medical emergency,” the documents state. No further details on Presley’s health were provided. On Friday, a sheriff’s deputy asked Presley if she was “feeling better,” reports The Daily Mail. “Much better, thank you,” Presley replied.
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Lockwood, 59, and Presley were married for 10 years before Presley filed for divorce in 2016. Lockwood arrived at the trial conclusion 10 minutes late. The hearing was closed to the public, but in court documents obtained by the Mail, Lockwood previously claimed Presley was using the Church of Scientology’s “Fair Gaming” tactic to keep their 11-year-old twin daughters Harper and Finlay away from him. He accused Presley’s lawers of using “hyper-aggressive litigation” in the divorce proceedings and making “baseless salacious allegations.”
Lockwood is also worried Presley would return to using drugs and alcohol after her 27-year-old son Benjamin Keough took his own life in July. “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,” Lockwood said. He claimed their children told him that Presley walked around the house while holding a gun in 2017. “There was at least one gun on the premises of her home at the time of her son’s suicide and it is unclear where the gun was kept or whether Finley and/or Harper might have access to this gun or others,” Lockwood said. Therefore, he believes there is a “significantly higher risk to the safety of the children” and he should be given full physical custody of their children “at this time.”
The music producer also claimed he was in dire financial straits. He claimed he made just $1,000 a month and has “minus $371” in his bank account. He can not pay his attorney, which he argued Presley should pay for. Lockwood said he also owes over $700,000 in legal fees from his unsuccessful 2018 court battle, in which he tried to get a judge to nullify their pre-nuptial agreement.
Presley has also said she is in financial trouble and is still in a separate legal battle with her former manager Barry J. Seigel, whom she accused of eating into her $100 million trust fund from the late Elvis Presley. Seigel countersued, claiming Presley had “uncontrollable spending habits” and ran through her fortune herself.
