The wife of Cher’s son Elijah Blue Allman is fighting the superstar’s bid to place him under a court-ordered conservatorship, arguing that if anyone should oversee his finances while he’s in a locked psychiatric facility facing criminal charges, it should be her.
In a new filing obtained by Rolling Stone, Allman’s wife, Marieangela King Allman, argues that the only son of Cher and the late Allman Brothers singer Gregg Allman is in no immediate danger while confined in New Hampshire. King Allman says she dismissed divorce proceedings earlier this year at her husband’s urging and therefore should be given priority if a judge determines he needs help managing his affairs. She is asking a California judge to reject Cher’s pending petition to place a professional fiduciary in charge of Allman’s finances.
“This action is not protective intervention but part of an adversarial campaign of stripping me of my role as Elijah’s spouse and ability to fulfill that role and attempting to dictate the care and estate of Elijah, her adult child, through intentional insulation and familial gatekeeping,” King Allman says in her new filing, which she submitted in Los Angeles County without a lawyer. She says Allman “vehemently opposed” Cher’s prior effort to be named his conservator amid concerns his life was at risk due to “severe mental health and substance abuse issues.”
“I am extremely concerned that appointment of a conservator hand-selected by petitioner is equally not in Elijah’s best interests and will be viewed by Elijah as further punishment and an effort to interfere with his autonomy, rather than an attempt to help him,” she says in the filing. “In Elijah’s fragile mental state, this would jeopardize his chances of hopeful recovery.”
At a hearing in April, Cher’s lawyer told the court that Allman ended up in custody in New Hampshire after traveling there “to apparently visit a friend” and going on “some sort of a spree” that led to his arrests for allegedly making criminal threats at a school and breaking into a woman’s house.
According to a bail order obtained by Rolling Stone, Allman was arrested on Feb. 27 at St. Paul’s School in Concord, New Hampshire, on suspicion of trespassing, criminal threats, and simple assault. Local outlet WMUR 9 News reported that Allman allegedly slipped onto campus, claiming he was a prospective parent, turned belligerent, and poked a student with his cane.
Allman was booked and released, then arrested again two days later for alleged burglary in Windham, New Hampshire, after a woman called police saying she was “hiding in a closet” because someone had broken into her home, according to a police affidavit obtained by Rolling Stone. Officers arrived to find a shattered glass door and Allman “seated on the living room couch smoking a cigarette,” the police report said.
In her new filing, King Allman says that while Cher’s conservatorship petition has been pending, Allman’s brothers Devon Allman and Chaz Bono sought appointment as Allman’s guardians at a New Hampshire proceeding, “again without my knowledge or any notice to me.” She says she only learned of the proceeding after the New Hampshire court issued an order granting their appointment subject to the posting of a bond. King Allman says she flew to New Hampshire and was told the court’s failure to serve her with the guardianship petition in advance was an “error.” She is now fighting the guardianship as well.
King Allman argues that her status as Allman’s wife gives her “statutory preference” over other members of his family. She says their finances are “substantially intertwined” and that “Elijah’s financial and health issues directly affect me.” She also claims lawyers have advised her that she could be jointly responsible for Allman’s outstanding tax bill.
“I am ready, willing, and able to serve as conservator to the best of my ability, working with Elijah’s existing professionals and fiduciaries. With the professional trustee of the Allman estate, Elijah’s CPA and manager, and myself, I am certain we will do what is right by Elijah to stabilize the expenditures and address the outstanding financial issues,” she says in her new filing.
The next hearing on Cher’s petition to obtain a conservatorship is set for Sept. 1. Cher’s lawyer, Justin Gold, did not immediately respond to Rolling Stone‘s request for comment on Wednesday.
Cher initially filed for a conservatorship over Allman in 2023, alleging he “urgently needed” protection. She and Allman reached a private settlement in 2024, but she revived her petition in April, claiming Allman failed to live up to his promise to hire a business manager. She alleged his life has been derailed again by ongoing substance abuse, and he desperately needed court supervision.
“Elijah’s situation has become dire on multiple fronts. His mental health has severely deteriorated, his financial situation is terrible, and his drug dependency is at its worst,” her new petition filed April 15 in probate court and obtained by Rolling Stone said. She called Allman “gravely disabled,” pointing to his back-to-back arrests in New Hampshire.
A judge declined to issue an emergency conservatorship at a hearing in late April, citing a possible issue with jurisdiction. The judge is set to hear further arguments at the hearing next month.