Britney Spears’ dad Jamie loses sole control of singer’s estate in legal battle over conservatorship
BRITNEY Spears scored her first legal victory against father Jamie Spears during a tense court battle over the singer’s ongoing conservatorship.
On Thursday, a judge ruled that Jamie will no longer have sole control over his daughter’s multi-million dollar fortune following public outcry supporting the #FreeBritney movement.
Last year, the legendary pop star filed a petition with Los Angeles Superior Court to remover her dad, Jamie, as the sole conservator over her estate.
Britney, 39, proposed a financial institution take place of her father to handle her massive net worth and assets.
Her longtime attorney, Sam Ingham, said last year that Britney was “afraid” of Jamie and urged the judge to let a professional bank handle her finances.
Judge Brenda Penny denied Britney’s petition but did appoint Bessemer Trust as a co-conservator along with Jamie.
Today, Jamie’s attorney, Vivian Thoreen, explained how the co-conservatorship would be delegated on their end however, the judge rejected the proposal.
Britney’s lawyer argued the nature of a co-conservatorship would significantly reduce Jamie’s role to be more “fair” with a third party financial firm.
The celebrity attorney said: “The fact my client does not want her father as a conservator is well known.
“Removal is a separate issue and the court has declined to move him and I appreciate that ruling procedurally.
“Having two conservators will reduce the power of one conservator and the question now is how they exist and together.”
He continued to explain: “It seems reasonable to me that the two conservators should work together to work out how the investments are handled.
“It is not appropriate for Mr. Spears to be able to delegate investments elsewhere than the co-conservator.
“Mr. Spears should not retain the ability to pull the plug and arrange for the investments to be made elsewhere.”
Firing back, Jamie’s attorney responded: “There’s no intent or desire to create unequal power or decision-making as between the two, your honor.
“This is a way to make it consistent and to not take away powers that Mr. Spears as a conservator had.”
Jamie’s legal team also brought up that “Mr. Spears’ position was made at his daughter’s request,” though this occurred back in 2008.
The family patriarch’s objection was denied by the judge and he will now have to work with Bessemer Trust as the team creates a budget and investment proposal for Britney’s estate together following today’s hearing.
Though the financial trust will also have a hand in Jamie’s control over his daughter’s fortune moving forward, he still remains part of the conservatorship as the ongoing #FreeBritney movement rages on.
After the release of the Framing Britney Spears documentary last week, fan efforts demanding the hit maker’s freedom has ramped up globally.
People from all over the world – including stars such as Sarah Jessica Parker, Andy Cohen and Miley Cyrus – have publicly announced their support to Free Britney.
The film took a deep dive into the pop princess’ conservatorship – which was implemented in 2008 after she had a mental health breakdown.
The arrangement put her financial and personal assets, along with her estate, under the control of her father Jamie Spears and lawyer Andrew Wallet, who has since resigned.
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Britney’s father temporarily stepped down as her conservator due to “personal health reasons,” as Jodi Montgomery was made temporary conservator until January 20, 2020.
The move came after Britney’s ex-husband, Kevin Federline, filed a police report against Jamie, claiming he abused their oldest son, Sean Preston, during an August 24 incident. No criminal charges were filed against Jamie.
Jamie is forbidden from seeing Sean Preston, 15, and Jayden James, 14, for three years after K-Fed was granted a temporary restraining order.