Amanda Bynes is aiming to end her conservatorship after nearly nine years. Bynes’s mother, Lynn Organ, was granted temporary conservatorship in 2013 after the actor allegedly set a driveway on fire and was hospitalized on an involuntary psychiatric hold. Organ then gained full conservatorship in 2014.
Variety confirms that Bynes filed a petition on Feb. 23 to end her conservatorship. The actor also filed a capacity declaration on Feb. 22, as California requires all conservatees to provide updated information on their mental state from their physician or other medical practitioner. A hearing is set for March 22 in Oxnard, Calif.
Organ’s lawyer, Tamar Arminak, told Variety that Organ supports the termination, and she expects the conservatorship will come to an end on or around the upcoming court date.
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“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,” Arminak said.
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Bynes’ assets are part of a separate trust overseen by her father, and are not subject to the conservatorship.
According to the petition, Bynes is pursuing a bachelor’s degree from the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising, and has been living in a “structured community for women” since 2020.
Her psychiatrist also reports that she “has no apparent impairment in alertness and attention, information and processing, or ability to modulate mood and affect, and suffers no thought disorders,” according to the filing.
“Ms. Bynes contends her condition has improved, and protection of the court is no longer necessary,” her attorney, David A. Esquibias, wrote.
A status report regarding Bynes’ health was filed and approved by a California court last September, with a future update scheduled for January 2023. Esquibias told People at the time that this status report did not mean her conservatorship was being extended through 2023 and that her conservatorship “will terminate when it is no longer convenient for Amanda.”
Esquibias has given several updates on Bynes over the years. Just before her 35th birthday in April 2021, the lawyer said Bynes was “doing great” and added, “She lives by the beach, attends school and is enjoying meditation and Soul Cycle classes.”
Bynes has remained out of the film and television spotlight for over a decade. Her last film credit is the 2010 comedy “Easy A,” also starring Emma Stone. Bynes got her start as a Nickelodeon child star thanks to her breakthrough role as an “All That” cast member, which led her to getting her own popular comedy series “The Amanda Show.” Bynes’ crossover into film included hits such as “What a Girl Wants,” “She’s the Man” and “Hairspray.”