As those knowledgeable in US law
would know, conservatorship is the legal act of appointment by a judge of an
individual or group deemed to be of responsible character to manage the
day-to-day life or financial state of another person, usually an adult, due to
physical or mental deficiencies. That has been the state of things with Jamie
Spears, father of Pop Princess-turned-Controversy magnet Britney Spears, as the
former has been managing the latter’s finances since 2008 following Britney’s
publicized breakdown. Spears has been fighting to be freed from conservatorship
these past years. Following the court allowing her to appoint her own lawyer
Wednesday, the Pop icon is taking the legal battle to her dad.
PEOPLE.com tells us that Britney Spears is now planning her next
move in her court struggle to remove her father Jamie as her financial conservator
of over a decade. This renewed burst of activity comes in the wake of a court
decision this past Wednesday, July 14, to allow Spears to hire an attorney of
her own choosing after the resignation of her previous (court-appointed) lawyer,
Sam Ingham. Britney’s new counsel, Mathew Rosengart, is helping her push for
Jamie’s dismissal as conservator while also petitioning court to waive certain
requirements in termination of her conservatorship.
Previous court testimonies of
Spears have outlined what is tantamount to an exploitative and abusive conservatee-conservator
relationship between the recording artist and her father, who managed both her
daily personal and financial affairs since 2008. Only in 2019 did Jamie step
down as conservator in a personal capacity, but he retains control of Britney’s
finances, even after co-conservator group Bessemer Trust withdraw from these
duties earlier in July. Spears plans to file a petition for the court to remove
Jamie, even to the point of filing formal charges against him.
One sticking point in Britney
Spears’ march to financial freedom outside conservatorship is the requirement
that she undergo a mental health evaluation, for the court to consider if she
is ready to resume direct control over her money matters. Britney is hoping to
convince the court to forgo that step, something her new lawyer Rosengart is
pushing for on her behalf. If this will not be allowed however, then Britney is
going for the minimum of ousting her father from conservatorship duties. Jamie
has publicly stated that he will not step down and counter-pushed for the court
to investigate his daughter’s claims of being abused.
The ongoing legal battle between younger
and elder Spears has got notable celebrities and fans on the corner of the Pop
sensation once ridiculed by controversy, under the overall movement of “#FreeBritney.”
Some politicians have even questioned the legal process of conservatorship,
with discussion on whether it might be modified or done away with altogether.
Image courtesy of Variety
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