Britney Spears’ father agrees to step down as conservator ‘when the time is right’
Jamie Spears has agreed to step down from his long time role as conservator of his daughter Britney Spears’ estate “when the time is right,” according to court filings.
Jamie Spears’ departure would mark a significant development in the singer’s long fight to be freed from her father’s control. The developments come nearly two months after the singer spoke in court and called for an end to the controversial arrangement that has controlled her life for 13 years, giving her father and others authority over her personal life and career.
In a court filing on Thursday, a lawyer for Jamie Spears wrote that Jamie “does not believe that a public battle with his daughter over his continuing service as her conservator would be in her best interests”, adding, “Mr Spears intends to work with the court and his daughter’s new attorney to prepare for an orderly transition to a new conservator.” The filing said that Jamie had “already been working on such a transition” with his daughter’s previous lawyer.
The filing continued, “Mr Spears continues to serve dutifully, and he should not be suspended or removed, and certainly not based on false allegations. Mr Spears is willing to step down when the time is right, but the transition needs to be orderly and include a resolution of matters pending before the court.” His lawyer asked a judge to deny the petition seeking his removal.
Mathew Rosengart, a lawyer for the singer, told the Guardian in an email on Thursday that the filing was “a major victory for Britney Spears and another step toward justice”, but also urged Jamie to “step aside immediately”.
He continued, “We look forward to continuing our vigorous investigation into the conduct of Mr Spears, and others, over the past 13 years, while he reaped millions of dollars from his daughter’s estate, and I look forward to taking Mr Spears’ sworn deposition in the near future.”
Britney Spears has repeatedly accused her father of “conservatorship abuse” and has alleged the conservatorship forced her to work against her will and controlled personal health decisions and whether she could marry or have another child.
The filing from Jamie Spears’ attorney on Thursday said he had been subject to “unjustified attacks” and false allegations. The filing addressed claims from Britney Spears’ mother, Lynne Spears, who has also called for Jamie Spears to be removed.
Britney Spears has spoken twice in open court in recent months, pleading to regain control of her life and for her father to lose his legal authority over her. In the most recent hearing, on 14 July, she said:“I’m here to get rid of my dad and charge him with conservatorship abuse … I was always extremely scared of my dad.”
In that hearing, appearing by phone, the singer called for her father to be investigated, and for a restraining order to be issued against him.
She issued disturbing accusations against those involved in the conservatorship: “They were always trying to make me feel like I’m crazy, which I’m not,” the singer said. She also reiterated claims she first issued in a previous appearance, including that she was forced to take medications against her will. “I think they were trying to kill me,” she said.
Jamie Spears stepped downas a personal conservator in 2019 and since then has been in charge of the singer’s finances. Attorneys for Jamie Spears and Jodi Montgomery, the licensed conservator who took over and controls her medical care, have feuded in recent court filings, casting blame on each other for the mistreatment the singer has alleged in her recent remarks.
The way the conservatorship is set up, the singer has to pay her father, his attorneys and all other parties involved in the arrangement.
At the 14 July hearing, Vivian Thoreen, Jamie Spears’ lawyer, defended his record, saying, “He loves his daughter and only wants the best for her.” Thoreen questioned the veracity of the singer’s claims: “Many of her characterizations or memories are just incorrect,” Thoreen said.
For the first time in her 13-year struggle, Britney Spears last month was able to hire her own lawyer , instead of working with a court-appointed attorney. At his first appearance, Rosengart pleaded with Jamie Spears to voluntarily resign, saying, “Does anybody really believe that Mr Spears’s involvement in the case is in the best interest of Ms Spears?”
In his statement on Thursday, Rosengart asked Jamie Spears to stop making false accusations and “taking cheap shots at his own daughter”, accusing him and his lawyers of “ongoing shameful and reprehensible attacks on Ms Spears and others”.
Although Britney spoke publicly about her case for the first time in June, records suggest that she has been objecting to her father’s control and the broader conservatorship arrangement for years.
Earlier this week, the judge, Brenda Penny, denied a request to expedite a hearing on whether to remove Jamie Spears.