Britney Spears in conservatorship win: is she really free?
The star’s father will no longer have control over her finances and personal affairs
Britney Spears is celebrating a major victory in her battle to end the conservatorship that has given her father control of her life for almost 13 years.
In a ruling that may “pave the way” for the singer to regain her freedom, said The Guardian, Los Angeles judge Brenda Penny ordered that Jamie Spears be suspended immediately from his daughter’s conservatorship.
After hearing arguments from both sides for nearly two hours on Wednesday, Penny said it was in Spears’ “best interests” to remove her father from the legal agreement, adding that the “current situation is untenable” and “reflects a toxic environment which requires the suspension of James Spears”.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
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.
The ruling came a few months after Jamie Spears had himself filed to end the conservatorship and to allow another guardian to replace him.
Shortly after the judgment, Britney posted an Instagram video of herself having a flying lesson, captioning it: “On cloud nine right now.”
Does this mean her conservatorship is over?
Not yet. The court said there will be a further hearing on 12 November at which the termination of the conservatorship will be discussed.
During yesterday’s court hearing, Penny suspended the conservatorship the American star had with her father, but a separate conservatorship overseen by an accountant chosen by Spears’ legal team was kept in place, reported the BBC.
Penny ruled that Spears’ care be turned over to the accountant, John Zabel, “forthwith”, adding that it “is in the best interest of the conservatee”.
Zabel will now act as her temporary fiduciary conservator, overseeing her finances and estates in place of Spears’ father.
Vivian Thoreen, Jamie Spears’ lawyer, objected to Zabel’s appointment, calling him a “stranger” to the case, but Spears’ own lawyer argued that Zabel should oversee her financial affairs until allegations of conservatorship abuse against her father had been fully investigated.
Jamie Spears’ conservatorship initially covered both his daughter’s financial affairs and her personal care. But this was taken over on a temporary basis by care professional Jodi Montgomery in 2019, when Spears’ father stepped down as her personal conservator for “health reasons”, said the BBC.
Montgomery has signalled “that she would support an end to the conservatorship” and “could work with Spears’ team on the process”, said The Guardian.
What happens next?
The pop star’s lawyer, Mathew Rosengart, has said he is prepared to submit a termination plan at Spears’ next hearing to ensure an “orderly transition” out of the conservatorship, which the star wants to end entirely, reported The New York Times.
“My client wants, my client needs, my client deserves an orderly transition,” he told the judge.
But terminating a conservatorship without a medical evaluation is “unlikely”, reported The Telegraph. Both Spears and her father have requested a mental evaluation, but this “could take several months to complete”, said the paper.
And it is usually “very difficult” for people to have conservatorships entirely removed once they are placed under the arrangement, said The Guardian, but the star could be helped by the fact that lawyers on both sides of the case, as well as current conservators, seem to support ending the arrangement entirely.
It may be that when the termination plan is presented to the judge, they “immediately” approve the plan – but it is far from certain.
If the arrangements are dissolved, the star would no longer have the professional conservators currently in place overseeing her financial affairs, medical care or personal life.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Today's political cartoons - December 21, 2024
Cartoons Saturday's cartoons - losing it, pedal to the metal, and more
By The Week US Published
-
Three fun, festive activities to make the magic happen this Christmas Day
Inspire your children to help set the table, stage a pantomime and write thank-you letters this Christmas!
By The Week Junior Published
-
The best books of 2024 to give this Christmas
The Week Recommends From Percival Everett to Rachel Clarke these are the critics' favourite books from 2024
By The Week UK Published
-
The chemtrails conspiracy: what are the claims?
In the Spotlight Theorists believe governments, big businesses or the UN may be behind a large-scale secret plot
By Julia O'Driscoll, The Week UK Published
-
The teenage gorilla with an addiction to smartphones
In the Spotlight Amare, the 16-year-old ape, has screen time cut after spending ‘hours’ looking at visitors’ phones
By The Week Staff Published
-
Alpha Men Assemble: the group threatening ‘direct action’ over vaccines
In the Spotlight The anti-vaxxers claim to be fighting for ‘justice, equality and freedom for everyone’
By The Week Staff Published
-
London’s sad Christmas tree
In the Spotlight This year’s annual festive gift from Norway fails to wow social media users
By The Week Staff Published
-
‘Pray to stay’: Church of England facing questions over asylum seeker conversions
In the Spotlight Tory MP vows to launch investigation into apparent ‘loophole’ in system
By The Week Staff Published
-
The breakthrough that reveals why humans are getting taller
In the Spotlight Sensor in the brain tells the body that ‘we’re great here so grow quickly’, scientists say
By The Week Staff Published
-
‘Armageddon-style’ spacecraft to crash into asteroid
In the Spotlight Mission is ‘first test for planetary defence’, says space agency
By The Week Staff Published
-
‘The time now is desperately short to regain the trust of women in the police’
Instant Opinion Your digest of analysis from the British and international press
By The best columns Published