Cher has withdrew her conservatorship petition for control of son Elijah Blue Allman’s finances, attorneys for Allman said in a statement.
Cage & Miles, LLP, said Sept. 14 that their team “successfully defended Elijah, resulting in Cher voluntarily dismissing her petition.”
“This outcome allows the parties to focus on healing and rebuilding their family bond, a process that began during mediation and continues today,” the statement said.
TODAY.com has reached out to representatives for Cher but did not immediately hear back. Rolling Stone reported that Cher’s lawyer said at a hearing Friday, “The parties have privately resolved this matter.”
Cher filed for the conservatorship in December 2023, claiming her son is “currently unable to manage his assets due to severe mental health and substance abuse issues,” court documents obtained by NBC News showed.
Cher petitioned to be the temporary conservator to receive payments from the trust on her son’s behalf because allowing the payments to go straight to him “will undoubtedly result in the loss of such assets,” the singer’s team said in the initial court documents.
The filing also noted that two of Allman’s half-siblings had nominated Cher to act as a temporary conservator. Allman is Cher’s only child with second husband Gregg Allman, the legendary co-founder of The Allman Brothers Band, to whom she was married from 1975 to 1979. Gregg Allman, who struggled with substance abuse issues for years in the ‘70s and ‘80s and died in 2017, had five children, including Elijah Blue, with five different women.
Cher also shares son Chaz Bono, 55, with her first husband, Sonny Bono.
Cher’s petition for conservatorship was denied twice in January 2024.
A Los Angeles Superior Court judge ruled on Jan. 5 that Elijah Blue Allman, 48, and his legal team did not receive documents in sufficient time to make their case, leading to the initial decline of Cher’s filing.
A second hearing was scheduled for Jan. 29, where the judge again denied Cher’s petition for a conservatorship, a spokesperson for the court confirmed to NBC News at the time.
Allman expressed opposition to his mother’s petition in a supplemental declaration filing in court on Jan. 22 in which he stated that he has been drug-free since October, passed four different tests for drugs and alcohol in January, and has been regularly attending Alcoholics Anonymous meetings.
“I have been living a sober life, reconciling with my spouse, paying my bills, and paying attorneys to secure my ability to maintain independent of my mother’s control,” he stated in the court filing. “I remain free of illicit substances and remain capable of and committed to managing the money I receive quarterly from the trust left by my late father.”
Why did Cher file for conservatorship of Elijah Blue Allman?
In a filing in Los Angeles County Superior Court on Dec. 27, the music icon said she is concerned any funds distributed to her son from a trust set up by his late father, music legend Gregg Allman, “will be immediately spent on drugs, leaving Elijah with no assets to provide for himself and putting Elijah’s life at risk.”
Cher said in the initial documents that the latest payment from the fund was set to be distributed to her son by Dec. 31, and a temporary conservator was needed to protect that money from being spent on drugs “given his ongoing mental health and substance abuse issues.”
“Elijah is currently unable to manage his finances and the distribution of funds directly to Elijah would not be in his best interests,” the filing stated.
Cher’s attorney said at the Jan. 5 hearing that the conservatorship is “a life-and-death proposition.”
But the judge said, “I am not persuaded,” citing Cher’s attorneys’ unwillingness to share material with Allman’s attorneys. Cher’s lawyers said they had confidentiality concerns and shared the documents instead with Allman’s court-appointed lawyer.
Allman said in a court filing before the Jan. 5 hearing that a conservatorship is not necessary. Allman was in court but spoke only to briefly answer the judge’s questions, and his lawyers declined comment after.
“While I understand that my mother, the proposed conservator, believes she is looking out for my best interests and I appreciate her love and support, I do not need her unsolicited help or support at this time,” his filing said.
Cher has “worked tirelessly to get Elijah into treatment and get him the help he needs,” and “loves Elijah immensely and has always acted with his best interests in mind,” her initial filing stated.
The “Believe” singer also alleged in the filing that Allman’s wife, Marieangela King, is part of a “tumultuous relationship” with Allman that has been “marked by a cycle of drug addiction and mental health crises.”
Allman filed for divorce from King in 2021. However, in Allman’s court filing on Jan. 22, he said he and King have reconciled and are currently living together at a home in the Westwood neighborhood of Los Angeles. He said he has directed his attorney to dismiss his petition for the dissolution of their marriage and stated that Cher objects to his reconciliation with King.
Cher said in her initial court filing that King “actively works to keep Elijah from getting clean and sober or receiving mental health treatment that he desperately needs.”
Cher alleged that King took steps to check Allman out of rehab and that she is not entitled to be the temporary conservator of his estate unless the court finds it would be in his “best interest.”
“It is not. Indeed, it would be unsafe for Elijah and his estate because Petitioner is informed and believes that the appointment of Angela as temporary conservator of Elijah’s estate would result in the immediate loss or dissipation of Elijah’s assets for self-destructive purposes,” the filing stated.
King recently stated in a filing that she lives with Allman as a “married couple.”
“I strongly disagree that Elijah has any mental health disorders; I have never seen my husband exhibit any atypical behavior while he’s been sober,” King said in the Jan. 22 court filing.
Cher added that she has not discussed the conservator arrangement with Allman because “he is unable to form or express a preference concerning the appointment of a temporary conservator for his estate.”
She proposed to set up an account on her son’s behalf at a financial institution of her choosing in the name of the conservatorship estate and “deposit all distributions received from the Trust for Elijah’s benefit,” according to the filing. The estimated value of his estate is $120,000, the filing stated.
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