Britney Spears' father agrees to step down as conservator of her estate

Britney Spears has scored a major win in her conservatorship battle, as her father Jamie Spears has agreed to step down as conservator.

Jamie Spears revealed he will step down as conservator of her estate in new court documents, TMZ reported on Thursday. His lawyer reportedly says that while it's "highly debatable whether a change in conservator at this time would be in Ms. Spears' best interests," Jamie does "not believe that a public battle with his daughter over his continuing service as her conservator would be in her best interests."

The pop star has long been fighting to have her father removed from the conservatorship she has been under since 2008, an arrangement she spoke out against in bombshell court testimony in June. "This conservatorship is abusive," Spears said at the time, alleging she has been "told right now in the conservatorship, I'm not able to get married or have a baby." She has also suggested that her father should be charged with "conservatorship abuse," and she filed to have him removed as conservator. The singer's efforts to remove her father from the conservatorship were a major component of the #FreeBritney movement. She has also been pushing to end the conservatorship.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

In the new court documents, Jamie Spears' lawyer reportedly says he will work "with the court and his daughter's new attorney to prepare for an orderly transition to a new conservator," adding that "​regardless of his formal title, Mr. Spears will always be Ms. Spears' father, he will always love her unconditionally, and he will always look out for her best interests."

Britney Spears' lawyer, Mathew Rosengart, said in a statement to Variety "we are pleased" by the news, calling it "vindication for Britney" and adding, "We look forward to continuing our vigorous investigation into the conduct of Mr. Spears, and others, over the past 13 years."