Cher has filed for a conservatorship of her 47-year-old son Elijah Blue Allman due to his substance abuse issues and mental health. According to People, which obtained documents filed in Los Angeles Superior Court yesterday, the singer is requesting to be the sole conservator of her son’s estate as he is “substantially unable to manage his financial resources.”
The filing states that a conservator is “urgently needed… to protect Elijah’s property from loss or injury,” explaining that he is “currently unable to manage his assets due to severe mental health and substance abuse issues.”
“Elijah is entitled to regular distributions from the Trust, but given his ongoing mental health and substance abuse issues, [Cher] 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 document reads, per People.
It adds that Allman’s estranged wife, Marie Angela King, cannot be his conservator because “their tumultuous relationship has been marked by a cycle of drug addiction and mental health crises.”
The filing follows reports earlier this year that Cher had hired four men to kidnap her son to keep him from reconciling with King. The singer responded to the rumors in a statement to People, confirming it was “not true.”
The accusation emerged in September in newly surfaced divorce documents regarding Allman — Cher’s son with Gregg Allman — and King. According to the documents, the couple filed for divorce in 2021, but in Nov. 2022, they allegedly reconnected for 12 days. It was during this period, on Nov. 30 — their wedding anniversary — that four men allegedly entered their New York hotel room and abducted Allman.
On Dec. 4, 2022, King wrote a declaration stating, “I am currently unaware of my husband’s wellbeing or whereabouts. I am very concerned and worried about him.” She also said one of the four men said “they were hired by petitioner’s mother,” adding: “Since August 2022, I have been told that I am not allowed to see or speak to [Allman], who is currently in lockdown at a treatment facility that is undisclosed to me. I am also told [Allman] has no access to his phone.”
Beyond denying the alleged abduction, Cher declined to speak any further on the issue. She did, however, offer an additional statement regarding her son’s long struggles with substance abuse.
“I’m not suffering from any problem that millions of people in the United States aren’t,” she said. “I’m a mother. This is my job — one way or another, to try to help my children. You do anything for your children. Whenever you can help them, you just do it because that’s what being a mother is. But it’s joy, even with heartache — mostly, when you think of your children, you just smile and you love them, and you try to be there for them.”
This week’s court filing confirms that Cher has “worked tirelessly to get Elijah into treatment and get him the help he needs.”
“[Cher] loves Elijah immensely and has always acted with his best interests in mind,” the filing states. It also notes that the singer has been “unable to discuss his preferences concerning the appointment of a temporary conservator” because of his “current mental and physical health issues.”
A hearing for a temporary conservatorship order is set for Jan. 5, 2024. A hearing on a permanent order will follow on March 6, 2024.