Cher has failed in her bid to have her 47-year-old son – Elijah Blue Allman – put into a court conservatorship controlling his money.
The Oscar and Grammy-winning star had argued in a petition filed in December that Allman’s large payments from the trust of his late father, rocker Gregg Allman, were putting him in danger because of his struggles with mental health and substance abuse.
Cher, 77, was married to Allman, of the Allman Brothers Band, from 1975 to 1979. She also has an older son, 54-year-old Chaz Bono, who she had with her first husband Sonny Bono.
While Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Jessica A Uzcategui denied Cher’s request, she has said she will consider a larger, long-term conservatorship at a hearing in March.
Cher observed the hearing remotely on a large screen in the courtroom throughout but did not take part in the legal arguments.
Allman was present in the courtroom with his legal team, who acknowledged his previous struggles but argued he is in a good place now, attending meetings, getting treatment and reconciling with his previously estranged wife, Marieangela King.
Cher’s lawyers argued the support Allman was getting was from people who tell him what he wants to hear and downplay the size of his problems.
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.
They also said his current apparent sobriety and mental health were illusory.
Allman’s legal team say none of this is true.
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Cher’s lawyers have made clear that she was not necessarily seeking any direct control over Allman’s money and would be happy to have a court-appointed fiduciary manage his finances.
In November 2022, Cher denied allegations she had hired men to kidnap Allman from a New York hotel room.
Court conservatorships – known as guardianships in some states – have been subjected to greater public scrutiny over recent years, following the high-profile case of Britney Spears, whose life was largely under the control of her father from 2008 until 2021.
Her conservatorship was put in place after she was said to have suffered mental health problems.
