Amanda Bynes’ Conservatorship Terminated After Nearly 9 Years

A new chapter. Amanda Bynes is officially free from her conservatorship.

A judge put an end to the 35-year-old actress’ nine-year adult guardianship on Tuesday, March 22, TMZ reports.

The decision comes after the star’s mother, Lynn Bynes, submitted a declaration of support for Amanda’s request to terminate her conservatorship earlier this month, according to documents exclusively obtained by Us Weekly on Monday, March 21.

The former child star was first placed under a temporary conservatorship in August 2013 amid a series of mental health and substance abuse issues. The decision came shortly after Bynes was hospitalized and placed on a psychiatric hold for setting a fire in a neighbor’s driveway.

In August 2014, Lynn was named the conservator of her daughter’s health care and personal matters. Four years later, a judge ruled to extend the conservatorship through August 2020. In August 2021, the conservatorship of her estate was terminated, but her mother still had legal control of her person, meaning she could make medical decisions for her daughter.

More recently, however, Lynn made it clear that she understood her daughter was able to make such decisions independently. In the March court docs, Lynne explained that her decision to support Amanda was “in light of and solely based on the capacity declaration” signed by Dr. Kimberly Brown, who works at Cedars Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles.

The Easy A actress petitioned to end her conservatorship on February 23 and filed a mental capacity declaration stating that she is mentally fit to look after herself. In court documents obtained by Us Weekly at the time, Amanda’s psychiatrist noted that the former Nickelodeon star has “no apparent impairment in alertness and attention, information and processing or ability to modulate mood and affect and suffers no thought disorders.”

The petition also detailed the All That alum’s 2020 move to a structured facility for women before she transitioned to an “an independent living environment” where she has consistently tested negative for “illicit substances in her system.”

In her filing, the What a Girl Wants star stated that she “desires to live free of any constraint” in the future.

Shortly after filing to end her conservatorship, the She’s the Man actress thanked her fans for their support. “What’s up Instagram, Amanda Bynes here,” the California native said in an Instagram video posted on March 8. “My court date is coming up in two weeks. I want to thank you all so much for your love and support. Peace out.”

One day later, the former Amanda Show star revealed that she was having her heart face tattoo removed ahead of her conservatorship hearing. “Tattoo removal progress,” she captioned an Instagram video shared on March 9. She first debuted the ink in December 2019 in a photo shared on her since-deleted Instagram account.

Amanda’s lawyer, David Esquibias, exclusively told Us last year that the What I Like About You alum had been hoping for her freedom for some time.

“She’s doing great,” the attorney explained in September 2021. “Everyone would love to see Amanda not under a conservatorship. I think that is the goal between myself, her mother, her father and her care providers. Amanda would love to be unconserved. She’s expressed it over and over. The timing is not right at the moment, so she’s working toward that direction. We all are working toward that direction, and one day we all hope to see it.”

Days ahead of her conservatorship being terminated, an insider exclusively told Us that the fight to end the legal guardianship has Amanda excited for the future.

“She’s doing great both physically and mentally,” the source said earlier this month.

“It’s beyond gratifying to know her parents and of course [fiancé Paul] Michael are by her side,” the insider continued. “Her folks are very happy for her. They adore Amanda and always prayed and believed there would be an end to those dark and unhappy days when she was struggling. Seeing her display so much courage and heart makes them proud.”

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