Britney Spears’ conservator denies claim she can’t marry or have a baby
Britney Spears and her husband Sam Asghari. (Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic)
Britney Spears’ conservator Jodi Montgomery has rebuffed a slew of explosive claims made by both the singer and her father, Jamie Spears.
After the singer claimed in court that the conservatorship has barred her from marrying her boyfriend and having another baby, Jodi Montgomery, who has responsibility for her personal wellbeing, issued a statement on Wednesday (30 June) refuting this.
Through her attorney, Montogomery said that under Californian conservatorship law, court-appointed conservators of the person or estate cannot “affect the capacity” of Britney’s ability to marry.
“Britney’s choice to marry and to start a family have never been impacted by the conservatorship while Ms Montgomery has been conservator of the person,” her attorney, Laurian Wright, said.
Britney Spears’ care manager is ‘setting forth a plan’ to end conservatorship
Wright also stressed that Montgomery, the singer’s long-term care manager who was appointed temporary conservator in 2019, has “encouraged” Britney, 39, “in her path to no longer needing a conservatorship of the person”.
“Ms Montgomery looks forward to presenting a comprehensive care plan to the court setting forth a path for termination of the conservatorship for Britney, and Ms Montgomery looks forward to supporting Britney through that process,” she added.
The case of Britney’s allegedly abusive conservatorship has descended into finger-pointing between those paid to make her decisions.
Montgomery’s statement was issued after Britney’s father Jamie Spears claimed she is “fully in charge” of the star’s personal wellbeing, making her responsible for her “suffering”.
Jamie has been conservator of Britney’s estate for 13 years, a role he has been forced to share with a private wealth management firm since November 2020. On Thursday (1 July) it emerged a judge has upheld this arrangement despite Britney’s request for her father to be removed.
He was also conservator of her person until he was replaced by Montgomery in 2019, having stepped down due to ill health.
Jamie filed legal documents Wednesday morning blaming Montgomery squarely for Britney’s litany of grievances about the conservatorship.
He is “concerned”, the statement said, that Montgomery “does not reflect Ms Spears’ wishes” and wants the judge Brenda Penny to investigate Britney’s “serious allegations”.
Montgomery brushed his concerns aside, stressing that she is a “tireless advocate” for Britney.
#FreeBritney activists protest at Los Angeles Grand Park during a conservatorship hearing for Britney Spears on June 23, 2021 in Los Angeles. (Rich Fury/Getty Images)
“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,” the statement read.
It comes after Britney told a judge that she had not known she needed to petition the court to be released from her conservatorship, raising suspicion and concern over her court-appointed lawyer, Samuel Ingham.
“I want changes, I deserve changes. I was told I have to be sat down and evaluated again,” she said. “Ma’am, I didn’t know I could petition the conservatorship to end. I honestly didn’t know that.”
As she took aim at her management team, caretakers and family, she singled out her father specifically as responsible for her “abusive” and “traumatising” conservatorship.
While describing his daughter’s testimony as “heartfelt”, Jamie Spears has called the courts to launch an inquiry into the accuracy of Britney’s claims.
“It is also imperative for the proper functioning of conservatorship proceedings before this Court that all parties be provided a full and fair opportunity to respond to allegations and claims asserted against them,” the filings stated.
As much as many of Britney’s claims predated Mongomtery’s appointment, Jamie’s attorney said that Montgomery had been ‘fully in charge of Ms Spears’s day-to-day personal care and medical treatment”.
“Mr Spears is simply not involved in any decisions related to Ms Spears’s personal care or medical or reproductive issues,” his lawyers continued, before adding that Jamie is “concerned” about his daughter’s care and management.
“Mr Spears is unable to hear and address his daughter’s concerns directly because he has been cut off from communicating with her.”
