Britney Spears’ doctors back call for father to be removed from conservatorship
Britney Spears. (Michelangelo Di Battista/Sony/RCA via Getty)
Britney Spears’ personal conservator and medical team have backed her request to remove her father from her conservatorship.
A court filing by Jodi Montgomery, Spears’ care manager and conservator of her person, seen by People, petitioned for the removal of Jamie Spears, stating that “he should not continue to act as [Britney Spears’] Conservator of the Estate, because his doing so is not in the best interest of the Conservatee.”
It comes after Spears’ new lawyer, Mathew Rosengart, filed a petition to remove Jamie from the post, which gives him control over his daughters’ business affairs and finances.
Montgomery’s filing, dated Thursday (29 July), described Jason Rubin, the forensic accountant Rosengart has nominated to replace Jamie, as “eminently qualified”.
It said: “Ms Montgomery believes in good faith that Ms Spears’ best interests are served by granting the Removal Petition and removing Mr. Spears and replacing him as Conservator of the Estate with Mr. Rubin as requested in the Appointment Petition.”
The petition explains that following the court’s recognition of Spears’ “sufficient capacity to choose her own legal counsel,” they should similarly accept that she “has sufficient capacity to make this nomination”. Montgomery also confirms that Spears’ medical team supports the move, People reported.
This new wave of support from Montgomery and Spears’ medical team comes after leaked voicemails, allegedly recorded in 2009 and now released by the star’s former manager, appear to show Spears claiming that her father tried to take her kids away.
The voicemails were shared by Sam Lufti, a controversial figure who represented Spears in 2007 but was later served with a restraining order by Spears in 2008.
In the restraining order motion, Spears’ mother Lynne alleged that Lufti “essentially moved into Britney’s home and has purported to take control of her life, home and finances”.
The recordings are said to be from 2009, when Jamie Spears was also conservator of Britney’s person. In them, a woman said to be Spears says she “wants out” of her conservatorship.
She says: “Hi, this is Britney Spears. It’s Sunday the 18th. Just so you know, I want out of this conservatorship. I’ve been blackmailed by visitation with my babies by the conservatorship.
“I’m confined, restrained, and stripped of my civil rights. And I demand the state of California to review this case because I feel it’s illegal. Bye.”
Another voicemail continues: “I’m calling again because I just wanted to make sure that during the process of eliminating the conservatorship that my father has threatened me several times, that you know, he’ll take my children away.”
Spears has two sons, Sean (15) and Jayden (14), with ex-husband Kevin Federline.
Referring to Spears’ recent testimony in court, Lufti wrote on Twitter: “Just sitting here listening to that court recording, if she hates me after she’s free I won’t blame her.”
Just sitting here listening to that court recording, if she hates me after she's free I won't blame her… I failed her, I was supposed to protect her from all this, I let her down and we both paid dearly for it – – head in hands..I'm so sorry— Sam Lutfi (@SamLutfi) July 14, 2021
“I failed her. I was supposed to protect her from all this, I let her down and we both paid dearly for it,.”
