Amanda Bynes’ psychiatric hold has been extended again, this time to 30-days, after a judge heard from the troubled actresses’ doctors on her serious condition. The judge has also reportedly granted her parents’ request for a temporary conservatorship that will allow them to take control of their daughter’s finances and personal effects for 30 days.
According to TMZ, doctors at the psychiatric hospital where Bynes, 27, has been a patient for the past two weeks convinced the judge that she was not well enough to be discharged or attend a status hearing on Friday (August 9) at which her lawyer was expected to argue that she was ready to go home.
The site reported that Bynes’ doctors asked the judge to come to the hospital for an emergency hearing, where the judge agreed to their request to extend her stay for 30 days. After setting a small fire in a stranger’s driveway last month, Bynes was involuntarily hospitalized for 72 hours . Doctors then recommended that the stay be extended to 14 days .
TMZ reported that, according to California law, doctors can only get a 30-day order if the patient is, “gravely disabled as a result of a mental disorder.” To date, no information has been released on what the diagnosis is for Bynes and the actress has not made any public statements about her forced hospitalization.
Read Nick Cannon’s emotional open letter to friend Amanda Bynes.
The judge also granted Bynes’ parents a temporary conservatorship, partially based on the findings of an investigator appointed to assess their daughter’s mental health, according to TMZ. A lawyer for the one-time Nickelodeon star said Bynes has stated several times that she does not believe a conservatorship is necessary.
But, due to the judge’s order, her parents will now have access to manager her finances as well as make provisions for her personal well being. The conservatorship will last until September 30, at which point the judge will make a determination on whether it should be made permanent.
The legal maneuver is similar to what Britney Spears’ father enacted for the pop singer during a difficult stretch in her life in 2008. Though the initial conservatorship would be for only 30 days, if probable cause is found to renew it, the conservatorship could be extended for a year and renewed on an annual basis.
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