LOS ANGELES (CelebrityAccess) – UPDATE: A judge on Monday rejected Cher’s request that her adult son be put into a court conservatorship controlling his money.
“We are thrilled that the court saw that he does not need a temporary conservatorship,” Allman’s lawyer said as he stood alongside him outside the courthouse. “He’s got a lot of support; he’s doing great.”
Cher observed the hearing remotely. She appeared on a large screen in the courtroom throughout but did not take part in the arguments.
Allman was in the courtroom with his attorneys, who acknowledged his previous struggles but argued that he was in a good place now, attending meetings, getting treatment, and reconciling with his previously estranged wife.
Cher’s attorneys argued that the support Allman was getting was from people who told him what he wanted to hear and downplayed the size of his problems. They said his current apparent sobriety and mental health were misleading. They said he suffers from bipolar disorder, has been recently homeless, and that having large amounts of money might lead to access to drugs that could endanger his life.
Court conservatorships, known as guardianships in some states, have come under far greater scrutiny in recent years after a temporary conservatorship imposed on Britney Spears in 2008 ended up leaving her without control of her money and major life affairs for nearly 14 years.
Original Story Below – Publishing January 8, 2024
LOS ANGELES (CelebrityAccess) – International icon Cher has filed for a temporary legal conservatorship of her adult son Elijah Blue Allman, whose dad is the late rocker Gregg Allman. She cites the reasoning due to his alleged substance abuse issues and time in active addiction.
The petition was filed in Los Angeles Superior Court the week after Christmas and obtained by CNN. According to the petition, Cher is seeking to be the sole conservator of her son’s estate, alleging that he is “unable to manage his assets due to severe mental health and substance abuse issues.”
The petition argues that Cher is best suited to be the sole conservator and includes signed affidavits from other family members supporting the request. It specifically seeks to keep control of Allman’s finances from his estranged wife Marieangela King, with Cher writing in the petition that “their tumultuous relationship has been marked by a cycle of drug addiction and mental health crises.”
Cher alleges that King has been a destructive presence in Allman’s life and is impeding efforts to have him get the help he needs with drugs, including recently trying to check him out of a treatment center where he was receiving much-needed medical care. She concludes that if King were to be appointed conservator, Allman’s estate would suffer “the immediate loss or dissipation of Elijah’s assets for self-destructive purposes,” according to the documents.
Elijah Blue, 47, is the child of Cher and the late rocker Gregg Allman. Allman and Cher were married from 1975 – 1979. Allman passed in 2017 at the age of 69 due to liver cancer.
The petition also states that Elijah is set to receive funds from a trust by the end of the year. It also states that the 77-year-old singer and actress has “worked tirelessly to get her son into treatment and get him the help he needs. Petitioner loves Elijah immensely and has always acted with his best interests in mind,” the filing states.
Elijah doesn’t agree as, according to court documents filed this week in Los Angeles and obtained by NBC LA, Elijah is objecting “to the appointment of my mother as the proposed temporary conservator on the following grounds: a conservatorship of the estate is not necessary at this time, no reason exists for the appointment of a conservator, the proposed conservator is not entitled to priority, and proposed conservator is unfit to serve.”
“I understand that a temporary conservatorship is appropriate when an immediate appointment is required to ensure the proposed conservatee’s well-being and/or to protect the proposed conservatee’s estate during the pendency of the general conservatorship petition,” the filing states. “Immediate appointment of a conservator is not necessary in this case. There is simply no emergency that requires it.”
King previously accused Cher of hiring men to kidnap Allman in a forced intervention, claiming in a 2022 divorce filing that she was unable to contact her estranged husband and had been told by “one of the four men who took him that they were hired by his mother.”
A hearing for a temporary order is scheduled for Jan. 5, 2024.
