Cher files for “urgently needed” conservatorship of her son Elijah Allman

Cher has filed for temporary conservatorship of her son Elijah Allman, 47, stating that a conservatorship is “urgently needed” because he struggles with mental health issues and addiction.

The 77-year-old singer said in the petition that his alleged addiction has left him unfit to control his assets, which could put his life in danger. If granted by the Los Angeles Superior Court, the petition filed on Wednesday would give the award-winning singer and actress temporary control of her son’s finances, The Associated Press reported. Allman – Cher’s second child after Chaz Bono and the son she had with musician Gregg Allman – was once a singer and guitarist for the band Deadsy.

Allman once revealed that he started taking drugs at age 11. He had once dealt with heroin addiction, becoming sober temporarily, but had been in and out of recovery for at least a decade. His relationship with his mother has also fluctuated, states Variety.

Cher’s petition states that Allman is entitled to regular payments from his trust fund but “given his ongoing mental health and substance abuse issues,” the singer is “concerned that any funds distributed to Elijah will be immediately spent on drugs, leaving Elijah with no assets to provide for himself and putting Elijah’s life at risk.”

In response to the petition, Allman told the AP that he is “well, and able, and of sound mind and body.” Allman declined to say if he would oppose the petition for conservatorship. A judge has scheduled a hearing in January.

Moreover, the petition states that the conservatorship is meant to keep control of Allman’s finances from his wife Marieangela King, from whom he filed for divorce in 2021. The two are still legally married. 

Meanwhile, King’s court documents filed in December 2022 as part of divorce proceedings allege that while the two tried to reconcile their marriage, Cher had her son kidnapped from his New York hotel.

“After spending these 12 days together in New York, on 30 November 2022, the night of our wedding anniversary, four people came to our hotel room and removed [Mr Allman] from our room,” the filing states, adding that the men said Cher had hired them, according to the BBC. King also said she hadn’t seen her husband in six months and doesn’t know his whereabouts.

Cher denied the allegation and told Variety, “I’m not suffering from any problem that millions of people in the United States aren’t. I’m a mother. This is my job — one way or another, to try to help my children.”

The issue of conservatorships may be seen as controversial because of singer Britney Spears’ high-profile battle with a conservatorship that supposedly began as temporary and evolved into a controlling and abusive guardianship. For 12 years, the singer was kept under lock and key — all controlled by her father Jamie Spears, who benefited off of Spears’ wealth. The singer stated in court that her father was ruining her life, claiming that a team led by her father controlled her schedule, prevented her from having another baby and bullied her. Her recent memoir “The Woman in Me” details how she was forced into the situation, which was less about actually aiding her mental health and more about controlling her autonomy and assets.

With fame and wealth that exceeds her son’s, Cher wouldn’t necesarily have the same mercenary motives that Britney Spears’ father had. Instead, Cher’s petition states the Allman and King’s “tumultuous relationship has been marked by a cycle of drug addiction and mental health crises” and that she believes King “is not supportive of Elijah’s recovery.”

Ultimately, conservatorships are legal arrangements that give a third party control over someone else. They can be granted only by a court, and only a court can terminate them. The person in charge of the person’s affairs is called the conservator, or the guardian in some states. But the issue around conservatorship arises because a conservator’s powers can be broad and the person subject to one can lose the right to marry, make a will, vote or consent to medical treatment.