Britney Spears asks court to end her conservatorship
By Chloe Melas, CNN
Britney Spears‘ father, Jamie Spears, is asking the court to investigate her claims.
“Either the allegations will be shown to be true, in which case corrective action must be taken,” a petition from his attorneys, obtained by CNN, reads, “or they will be shown to be false, in which case the conservatorship can continue its course. It is not acceptable for the Conservators or the Court to do nothing in response to Ms. Spears’ testimony.”
During a hearing one week ago, Britney Spears called her court-ordered conservatorship — in place since 2008 — “abusive.” The singer said she felt forced to perform, take medication and use birth control against her will by her conservators, of which her father is one.
Spears’ father had been the conservator of her estimated $60 million estate since 2008, along with attorney Andrew Wallet, following a series of personal issues that played out publicly for the singer. Following Wallet’s resignation in 2019, Jamie Spears had been solely responsible for overseeing his daughter’s finances until Judge Brenda Penny appointed Bessemer Trust in November 2020 to serve as co-conservator.
Jodi Montogomery was appointed temporary conservator of Spears’ person in 2019, after Jamie Spears suffered a series of medical issues. Montgomery is tasked with handling Spears day-to-day care and medical decisions.
A second filing by Jamie Spears requests the court not grant Spears’ attorney’s request for Montgomery to be appointed the permanent conservator of his daughter’s person. Jamie Spears, according to the document, does not want Montogomery making decisions for his daughter because he feels it “does not reflect Ms. Spears’ wishes.”
Spears also claims that his daughter’s attorney, Samuel D. Ingham III, falsely stated earlier this year that a court order from 2014 found the singer did not have the ability to “consent to any form of medical treatment.”
“There was no such finding and there is no such order,” the filing reads. “Nonetheless, based on this false premise, Mr. Ingham seeks an order from the Court taking away Ms. Spears’ right to give informed consent for her own medical treatment.” Adding in capital letters, “Mr. Ingham should not be allowed to take away Ms. Spears’ right to consent to medical treatment.”
CNN has reached out to Ingham for comment.
Ingham has been Spears’ court-appointed attorney since 2008. In last week’s hearing, the pop star stated that she wanted a new attorney.
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