A Judge Has Ended Amanda Bynes' Conservatorship

The former Nickelodeon star was first placed under the conservatorship in 2013 after a series of legal issues and an apparent mental health crisis.

A judge terminated Amanda Bynes' conservatorship on Tuesday just weeks after the former Nickelodeon star filed paperwork to end the more-than-eight-year legal arrangement that put her mother in control of her life.

Bynes, now 35, petitioned the Ventura County Superior Court in California to end her conservatorship last month. Her attorney David Esquibias said in a statement to People at the time that Bynes believes that "her condition is improved and protection of the court is no longer necessary."

Bynes' request to end the conservatorship was supported by her conservator, her mother Lynn Bynes, according to her attorney Tamar Arminak, who told BuzzFeed News last month that her client was "very proud of Amanda and the progress she has made" and that the petition was "based on professionals’ opinion and assessment of the situation."

"[Lynn] looks forward to seeing the next chapter in Amanda’s life as her mother, not her conservator," Arminak said in February.

BuzzFeed News uncovered abuse, neglect, and death across the US guardianship industry. Read our investigative series "Beyond Britney" here.

Bynes wasn't present in court Tuesday, but Judge Roger L. Lund told those present, "She’s done everything the court has asked over a long period of time.”

Bynes' parents first asked the court to place her under the conservatorship in 2013 while she was involuntarily hospitalized for a mental health evaluation after authorities said she set a fire in front of a home in Thousand Oaks, California. In court documents, her parents said Bynes appeared to have a substance abuse problem and had grown "extremely paranoid." Earlier that year, Bynes had been arrested in New York City after police said they caught her throwing a bong out the window of her apartment. And in 2012 she was charged with driving under the influence after allegedly clipping a sheriff deputy's cruiser in West Hollywood.

Bynes, who became famous as a child actor with her All That spinoff The Amanda Show and starred in a number of hit teen comedies in the 2000s, largely stayed out of the public eye over the course of the court-mandated arrangement. During Britney Spears' fight to be freed from her conservatorship last year, Bynes' case received renewed attention. In the past, the actor had criticized her parents and said that she was able to take care of her own affairs. But when asked about her case in September, Esquibias told the Daily Beast that there was "no comparison" between Bynes' and Spears' conservatorships.

In a 12-second Instagram video earlier this month, Bynes publicly addressed her legal situation for the first time in years as she thanked everyone for their "love and support."

"My court date is coming up in two weeks," she said. "I want to thank you all so much for your love and support. Peace out."

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