Judge denies Britney Spears’ plea to remove father from conservatorship
Britney Spears. (Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic)
A judge has shot down Britney Spears’ request to have a wealth management firm appointed as her sole conservator, thereby removing her father Jamie from his role.
Los Angeles judge Brenda Penny refused Wednesday (30 June) to approve wealth management firm Bessemer Trust as the sole conservator of Spears. The “Gimme More” singer’s lawyer, Samuel Ingham III, filed the request to remove her father, Jamie, back in November 2020, by appointing Bessemer Trust to the role.
Britney’s father has been her conservator since 2008, in which time he has maintained significant control over her personal and financial decisions. When calling for Jamie to be removed in November, Ingram described how Britney Spears was “afraid of her father” and how she would not to perform again if her father remained in control of her career.
Judge Penny refused to end Jamie’s solo role in the conservatorship, ruling: “The conservatee’s request to suspend James P Spears immediately upon the appointment of Bessemer Trust Company of California, NA, as sole conservator of estate is denied without prejudice.”
However, the judge agreed to Bessemer Trust’s role as co-conservator of Britney Spears’ estate.
The court filing also stated the court found Spears to be “substantially unable to manage his or her financial resources or to resist fraud or undue influence”.
Britney Spears with her father, Jamie, in Hollywood, California in 2008. (Jean Baptiste Lacroix/WireImage)
The filing comes just a week after the 39-year-old singer gave a shocking and emotional testimony before the court last week where she described her conservatorship arrangement as “abusive”. Britney Spears also described how every facet of her life is controlled, her reproductive rights are denied and likened the arrangement to being “sex trafficked”.
According to recent reports, Spear’s father has called for an “investigation” to be made into the explosive claims the “Toxic” singer made in court last week. New court documents, obtained by Variety, said that Jamie was “greatly saddened to hear of his daughter’s difficulties and suffering, and he believes that there must be an investigation into those claims”.
Variety reported the filings are in response to Ingham’s request earlier this year to appoint Jodi Montogomery as a permanent conservator for Spears. Montgomery briefly stepped in to take over the role in 2019 after Jamie had to step back due to health concerns.
Jamie claimed in the new documents that he is “concerned that the petition to appoint Jodi Montgomery” “does not reflect her [Britney Spears] wishes”. According to the documents obtained by Variety, he placed much of the blame for Spears’ explosive claims during her court testimony at Montgomery’s feet.
“Ms Spears told the court on June 23 that she is opposed to being under a conservatorship and revealed her ongoing disputes with Ms Montgomery about her medical treatment and other personal care issues,” the document claimed.
However, Montgomery’s lawyer LaurieAnn Wright said in a statement to Page Six that Britney Spears’ “choice to marry and to start a family [has] never been impacted by the conservatorship while Ms Montgomery has been conservator of the person”.
“I can state unequivocally that Jodi Montgomery has been a tireless advocate for Britney and for her well-being,” Wright said.
“While she does not control Britney’s financial assets, she is responsible for her personal care, and if Britney wants any issue brought up to the court, Ms Montgomery is and has always been ready, willing, and able to do so.”
