Graceland Foreclosure: What to Know About the Drama Around Elvis Presley’s Home
Graceland foreclosure news broke yesterday (May 20) to the shock of many Elvis Presley fans. The mansion belonging to the late music icon has long operated as a museum following Presley’s death in 1977. Now, its future is seemingly up in the air.
Here’s a current breakdown of what is known about the Graceland foreclosure.
What Led to the Graceland Foreclosure Notice?
According to CommercialAppeal.com, there are three “Notice of Foreclosure Sale” listings for Graceland dated for May 5, 12 and 19. In these listings, it states Lisa Marie Presley, the only child of Elvis and Priscilla Presley, allegedly signed a Deed of Trust with Naussany Investments and Private Lending LLC worth $3.8 million. This amount of money was reportedly a loan that used Graceland as collateral.
This loan has reportedly defaulted and has not been paid on since the sudden passing of Lisa Marie Presley in January 2023.
As a result of the default, the listing states Graceland will be auctioned off on May 23 at 11 AM in front of the Shelby County Courthouse in Memphis “to the highest and best bidder for cash, in bar of all equities of redemption, homestead, dower, and all other rights or exemptions of every kind all of which were expressly divested in said Deed of Trust.”
Will Graceland Be Auctioned Off on May 23?
As of publishing, no. After Lisa Marie Presley’s death, her daughter, Riley Keough, inherited Graceland. Following initial listing news of the Graceland foreclosure, Keough and her legal team filed a lawsuit against Naussany Investments and Private Lending LLC on May 15.
In the lawsuit, Keough claims her mother did not borrow $3.8 million from Naussany Investments and Private Lending LLC, nor did she give a deed of trust to Graceland to the company.
Is There Evidence of Potential Fraud in Riley Keough’s Lawsuit?
Keough claims that the documents used as evidence of the reported loan were forgeries and that her mother did not actually sign the documents.
Her lawsuit contains two pieces of evidence that could lead to the Graceland foreclosure notice actually being part of a scam.
The strongest piece of evidence is a signed affidavit from Kimberly Philbrick, the notary public who reportedly acknowledged the signing of the documents for the $3.8 million loan. The signed affidavit in Keough’s lawsuit shows that Philbrick states she “did not notarize” the loan document, has “never met Lisa Marie Presley” nor “ever notarized a document signed by Lisa Marie Presley.” Philbrick’s affidavit also notes, “I do not know why my signature appears on this document.”
The other piece of evidence has to do with language included in the documents involved in the alleged $3.8 million loan, which was reportedly notarized in Florida in May 2018. The language in question involves either physical or online presence for any document notarization. However, online notarization of any documentation in the State of Florida didn’t begin until 2020, and such language in notarization documents wasn’t included prior to 2020.
What Happens Now?
Per CBS Memphis affiliate WREG and USA Today, the next step in the Graceland foreclosure drama is set for Wednesday, May 22. On that day, there will be an injunction hearing in Shelby County Chancery Court with both parties of this legal matter.
