Actor Amanda Bynes was released from a nine-year long conservatorship, on Tuesday, by a California judge who noted that the “grounds for establishment of a conservatorship of the person no longer exist.”
Bynes was first placed under the conservatorship in 2013, after she allegedly set fire to the driveway of a home in Thousand Oaks, Los Angeles. She was subsequently put on an involuntary psychiatric hold, after which her mother was granted full conservatorship the following year.
Her assets, however, were not a part of the conservatorship and were being overseen by her father.
On February 23, Bynes had filed a petition to end the conservatorship and had also filed a capacity declaration, the day before. As a resident of the state of California in the US, she was legally bound to provide updated information on her mental health.
The filed petition also included reports from her psychiatrist and lawyer, which stated that her mental health issues had improved and that she was no longer required to stay under the conservatorship.
The judge who released her from the conservatorship on Tuesday noted that Bynes had demonstrated the competency to manage her own affairs, including her mental health and other medical treatment.
The judgment comes a few months after the end of the conservatorship of pop singer Britney Spears in November 2021.
However, contrary to Spears’ case which had turned into a prolonged, bitter fight, Bynes’ parents were supportive of her decision.
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The attorney of the actor’s mother Lynn Organ had earlier said, “This conservatorship that Lynn brought has always been intended to be temporary, and Lynn is extremely happy and thrilled and proud of Amanda and ready to terminate this conservatorship based on the hard work Amanda has done.”
Amanda Bynes started her career as a child artist in the Nickelodeon series All That. She went on to have a successful film career, starring in hits like She’s the Man and Hairspray. However, she has been out of the spotlight for more than a decade. Bynes was last seen in the 2010 comedy Easy A, alongside Emma Stone.