The wife of Cher's son, Elijah Blue Allman, is contesting the singer's bid to place him under a court-ordered conservatorship, arguing that she, not a court-appointed fiduciary, should oversee his affairs while he remains in a locked psychiatric facility in New Hampshire facing criminal charges. Marieangela King Allman claims Cher's petition is part of an "adversarial campaign" to sideline her as his spouse, warning that a conservator chosen by Cher would feel punitive to Elijah and could harm his recovery. The dispute matters because it pits Cher's concerns about her son's mental health and safety against his wife's assertion of spousal priority in managing his finances and care.

Elijah Blue Allman, the only son of Cher and the late Gregg Allman, was arrested twice in New Hampshire in late February — first for alleged trespassing, criminal threats and assault at a school, then two days later for alleged burglary after breaking into a woman's home. King Allman, who says she dropped divorce proceedings at her husband's request earlier this year, filed her objection without a lawyer in Los Angeles County. She also revealed that Allman's brothers, Devon Allman and Chaz Bono, separately sought and were granted guardianship in a New Hampshire proceeding she says she learned of only after the fact.