Tristan Thompson has been granted temporary guardianship of his younger brother Amari. The NBA player previously requested guardianship of the 17-year-old, who requires around-the-clock care due to his epilepsy and other medical conditions, on Sept. 8, and the Superior Court of California, County of Los Angeles granted his request Wednesday.
Thompson, 32, will now have “all powers a parent having legal custody of a child would have,” according to court documents obtained by PEOPLE. The athlete’s request comes following the death of his and Amari’s mother, Andrea, who passed away suddenly in January. In his legal filing, Thompson said that his and Amari’s father, Trevor Thompson, had not been a part of their lives since 2014 and that he was Amari’s closest living relative.
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Immediately following the death of his mother, Thompson and Amari moved in with his ex, Khloé Kardashian, after the Cleveland Cavaliers player’s Hidden Hills home had a roof damaged by extreme weather. Thompson and Kardashian share a son, Tatum, 13 months, and a daughter True, 5. The Good American co-founder explained the arrangement in The Kardashians season finale.
“God does have a plan, and God doesn’t want him to be alone right now – and why should he be?” she said at the time. “My No. 1 slogan I always use: ‘You want to make God laugh, tell him your plans.’” The reality personality insisted that she and Thompson were not together again, despite living together. “I know it’s hard for everyone to believe. But I love, love, love Andrea. I love Tristan. I love Amari,” she explained. “This is what family does. This is the father of my kids.”
“I lost my dad and my dad was like a fairytale parent, but still I can’t wrap my head around losing my mom and I know how close Tristan and his mom are and it’s just heartbreaking. And then to be left with the responsibility of another person as well. It’s a lot…” Kardashian continued. “Tristan and I are family and we’re gonna be family for the rest of our lives. I’m grateful I’m strong enough and brave enough to be a support system for someone else who has no other support system right now. You don’t have to treat me right for me to treat you right. It’s not the way I was raised.”
