After ten years, singer Lisa Marie Presley is saying goodbye to her marriage with guitarist and music producer Michael Lockwood. While court documents cite irreconcilable differences as the reasoning behind the musical duo's separation, it has been reported that money could be a contributing factor behind why Lisa Marie is calling it quits.
Presley filed paperwork in court just last month asking to begin divorce proceedings from her fourth husband, 55-year-old Lockwood. As news of the couple's marital collapse went public, however, the 48-year-old made the unusual move to alter her court filing, changing her request from divorce to legal separation.
While official court documentation shows that the couple have been officially separated since the middle of June, Presley's new move in court does mean that things will play out a bit different for the couple moving forward. Presley's push to scrub the petition for divorce in lieu of a legal separation filing means that, following official proceedings, Lockwood and Presley will still be married.
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However, similar to a divorce, the laws of protection behind a legal separation will allow for a full split of the couple's finances, assets and debt. Additionally, couples that have petitioned for a legal separation must negotiate spousal support as well as child support, custody and visitation rights.
Owing her initial claim to fame to her father, famous musician and actor Elvis Presley, Lisa Marie has made a name for herself in the music industry, with Lockwood often joining her on stage. As the reckoning force behind two gold albums, countless songwriting credits and several movie appearances, she has amassed a $300 million fortune — a fortune that was allegedly managed solely by Lockwood.
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Not long after the official paperwork was filed, TMZ reported that Presley's lawyer admitted that financial mismanagement on the part of Lockwood could be a contributing factor to the couple's separation. Presley's lawyer told the website that a $100,000+ credit card bill attributed to Lockwood coupled with several other money mishaps were creating marital woes for the two, although official documents make no financial faux paus.
The above mentioned money mismanagement allegedly stemmed from Lockwood's full control over the family's finances during the couple's ten year marriage, including money Presley received as the sole heir to her father, musician and actor Elvis Presley.
A representative for Presley declined to speak on money matters, but has said that the couple does have a postnuptial agreement in place. Additionally, Presley's camp has revealed that as a result of the singer's split with her husband, she "doesn't want any of his money" and isn't asking for child or spousal support. Instead, Presley is seeking out full custody of the couple's fraternal twin daughters.
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The musically inclined couple married in January of 2006 in Kyoto, Japan during a traditional Japanese wedding and later welcomed their two daughters, Harper and Finley, in October of 2008.
Lisa Marie has been married and divorced three times prior to her marriage to Lockwood — to musician and long-time friend Danny Keough from 1988 to 1994, late singer Michael Jackson from 1994 to 1996 and actor Nicolas Cage from 2002 to 2004.
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