By Andrew Dalton in Los Angeles
OS ANGELES (AP) — Cher has filed a petition to become a temporary conservator overseeing her son's money, saying the 47-year-old's struggles with mental health issues and addiction have left him unable to manage his assets and potentially put his life in danger.
The Oscar and Grammy winning singer and actor on Wednesday filed the petition in Los Angeles Superior Court that would give her temporary control of the finances of Elijah Blue Allman, her son with musician Gregg Allman.
Cher's petition says that Elijah Allman is entitled to regular payments from a trust fund. But “given his ongoing mental health and substance abuse issues,” she 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,” the petition says.
Reached through his attorney, Elijah Allman said in a phone call with The Associated Press, "I am well, and able, and of sound mind and body."
He declined to say whether he planned to oppose the petition, or give any further comment.
A court-ordered conservatorship is “urgently needed,” Cher's filing says. A judge scheduled a January hearing on the issue.
The filing explicitly seeks to keep control of Elijah Allman's finances from his wife, Marieangela King, from whom he filed for divorce in 2021.
The two remain legally married. A filing from King in October says the couple had agreed to pause the divorce proceedings and work on their marriage, but she had not seen him in person in six months.
Cher's petition says the couple'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.”
Emails seeking comment from an attorney for King and representatives for Cher were not immediately returned.
Cher has two sons, one from each of her marriages — 54-year-old Chaz Bono with the late Sonny Bono, and Elijah Allman, who is the former singer and guitarist of the band Deadsy and is known professionally as P. Exeter Blue.
Conservatorships, known in some states as guardianships, allow courts to give relatives or others control over a person's money and, at times, their life decisions after they are deemed not competent to make such decisions for themselves.
The issue became widely known when what began as a temporary conservatorship over Britney Spears became a years-long legal saga and fight with her father.
Feature image from Asssociated Press by Chris Pizzello
