Los Angeles, Sep 14 (IANS): Legendary actress-singer Cher has retracted her plea seeking conservatorship of her son Elijah Blue Allman.
The veteran singer, 78, filed for a conservatorship of her son, citing his alleged substance abuse issues. The conservatorship battle went on for nine months, reports ‘People’ magazine.
A conservatorship is a legal arrangement where a court appoints a person to manage the affairs of another person who is unable to do so themselves.
The mother and the son have now reached a private agreement.
A statement shared by her son’s attorneys, accessed by ‘People’, read, “The 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”.
While neither Allman, 48, nor Cher appeared in court on Friday, September 13, Rolling Stone reports that the musician's lawyer, Gabrielle Vidal, said that they "privately resolved this matter" and that Cher wished to dismiss her petition without prejudice. This means she reserves the right to file again if needed.
As per the documents filed in the Los Angeles Superior Court, Cher claimed that a conservator was "urgently needed ... to protect Elijah’s property from loss or injury" due to him being "currently unable to manage his assets due to severe mental health and substance abuse issues”.
Cher claimed that Allman's wife, Marieangela King, was not fit to be his conservator because "their tumultuous relationship has been marked by a cycle of drug addiction and mental health crises”.
She further argued 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 singer filed the conservatorship documents in last December, and later requested immediate temporary conservatorship in early January, which was denied by a judge who said Allman's legal team had not been given enough time to review all documents.