A judge in California on Tuesday (March 22) ended actress Amanda Bynes’ nearly nine-year conservatorship, according to attorneys involved with the case.
A tentative ruling published Friday by the Ventura County Superior Court and reviewed by the Los Angeles Times had indicated in advance that termination was imminent.
"In the last several years, I have been working hard to improve my health so that I can live and work independently, and I will continue to prioritise my well-being in this next chapter,” Bynes told People on Tuesday in a statement released by her attorney, David A. Esquibias.
The She’s The Man star wasn’t the only one in good spirits after the decision.
"Lynn Bynes is very happy that the conservatorship has been terminated and looks forward to Amanda’s future endeavours,” said Tamar Arminak, the attorney for Amanda Bynes’ mother, in a statement Tuesday. "She will always support Amanda and will always be proud of the progress Amanda has made.”
Last month, the Easy A actor, who’s now retired from acting, filed a request to end the conservatorship of her person and estate.
"Petitioner has provided facts that the conservatorship is no longer needed. The Capacity Declaration filed 02/22/22 concludes that conservatee has capacity [to] give informed consent to any form of medical treatment,” the tentative ruling by Judge Roger L. Lund said. "The court determines that the conservatorship is no longer required and that grounds for establishment of a conservatorship of the person no longer exist.”
The document stated plainly: "The court intends to grant the petition for termination and order the conservatorship of the person of Amanda Bynes be terminated.”
A decision regarding the status of a trust belonging to Bynes and handled by her father was also mentioned, apparently in the context of her February request, which the L.A. Times has not seen. It appears that the trust, which is not part of the conservatorship, is beyond Lund’s purview.
"As the trust is not part of the conservatorship estate, a petition for accounting would need to be filed in a separate trust case for the court to entertain such a request. However, based on the Conservator/Trustee’s response filed 3/10/2022, perhaps an accounting by the trustee can be arranged outside of a formal court case,” the document said.
Bynes, who turns 36 in April, was placed under a conservatorship in late 2013, while she was undergoing court-ordered psychiatric care after reportedly starting a small fire that July in the driveway of a Thousand Oaks home.
Prior to that, Bynes had engaged in a range of erratic behavior - including hit-and-run and DUI incidents - before she was finally diagnosed with mental illness. Her parents said in mid-2013 that she was paranoid, using drugs and had spent US$1.2mil in only a few months.
She has since gotten sober, graduated from the Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising and is engaged to Paul Michael. Bynes has been communicating with fans via her latest Instagram account, which has more than 95,000 followers. – AP
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