Cher’s bid to control son’s money denied by judge

Cher wants to be the legal guardian of her son, who does not agree with her, but a judge on Friday said no for now and will revisit the matter in a few weeks.

The judge, Jessica A. Uzcategui of the Los Angeles Superior Court, said Cher and her lawyers did not provide Elijah Blue Allman and his lawyers enough time and documents to prepare their defense, and set another hearing for Jan. 29.

The singer and actor, who has won Oscars and Grammys, asked the court last week to take over the money matters of Elijah Blue Allman, 47, because he has problems with drugs and mental health that make him unable to handle his finances and put him at risk of buying drugs.

Allman gets money from a trust that his late father, musician Gregg Allman, left him. At Friday’s hearing, Cher’s lawyer Gabrielle Vidal said a payment from the trust was coming soon, and creating a conservatorship right away was “a life-and-death proposition.” But Uzcategui said “I am not persuaded.”

She mentioned that Cher and her lawyers did not want to give information to Allman and his lawyers when they reached out on Thursday. Cher’s lawyers said they were worried about privacy and gave the information to Allman’s lawyer appointed by the court instead.

Allman said in a document filed before the hearing that he did not need a conservatorship. He admitted he had issues with drugs and spending, but said he was seeing a doctor, had been clean for over three months, was going to Alcoholics Anonymous meetings and was ready to take drug tests.

“I do not need her unsolicited help or support at this time,” the document said, even though he understood and appreciated that his mother, the proposed conservator, was trying to do what was best for him and loved him.

Allman was in court on Friday but only briefly spoke to answer the judge’s questions. His lawyers did not say anything after the hearing.