Britney Spears is asking a California court to remove her father, Jamie Spears – who has handled decision-making for a long time in her personal and professional life – as her sole conservator for judge.
The pop star’s lawyer has asked that Jodi Montgomery, the temporary, licensed professional curator who has been overseeing her long-running case since September, be named as Pears’ personal personal affairs curator, according to court documents obtained by The Times.
“We are now at a point where the conservatory needs to be substantially changed to reflect the major changes in its current lifestyle and its stated desires,” Spears’ attorney Samuel D. Ingham III wrote in documents filed Tuesday in Los Angeles. Angeles Superior Court.
The 38-year-old entertainer is “strongly opposed” to getting her father back as what the court calls a “conservative of her person” and “strongly prefers” that Montgomery continue in that role before her appointment expires on August 22.
As for the estate, Jamie Spears has been calling the shooters since his co-conservator Andrew M. Wallet resigned in March 2019. Spears is also opposed to her father going through that function by himself and preferring to serve a “qualified corporate fiduciary” appointed to the role, the documents said.
Ingham said he expects the efforts by “Jamie Spears” to be aggressively challenged.
A remote hearing in the case is scheduled for Wednesday. To coincide, a #FreeBritney rally has been organized outside the Stanley Mosque Courthouse in downtown LA to put an end to the conservatory.
Fans and protesters of Britney Spears rallied on September 18, 2019 at their conservatory outside the Stanley Mosque Courthouse in downtown Los Angeles.
(Laura Newberry / Los Angeles Times)
The move comes as the viral #FreeBritney campaign has been gaining steam in recent weeks, with fans continuing Jamie Spears’ treatment of the “Toxic”‘s life with questions. Earlier this month, Jamie Spears launched the campaign, claiming that the pop musician was being held captive by him, claiming that the movement’s organizers were ‘conspiracy theorists’.
“Fans and lawyers claim that the conservatory was set up for financial reasons instead of treating Britney’s mental health,” organizers said in a statement to The Times. “This morning’s hearing is so important because Judge Brenda Penny will be taking on the role of Britney’s temporary conservator Jodi Montgomery and hopefully Britney can speak to the judge.”
Since 2008, when she was twice deployed to a psychiatric ward, the pop star has been under the legal care of her father, lawyers and a healthcare manager. The rare legal arrangement, intended to protect individuals who are unable to take care of themselves, allows the older Spears to negotiate, sell their property on behalf of his daughter, and control who she can see. . All their purchases are recorded in a spending report that is sent to the court on an annual basis.
In Tuesday’s documents, the singer’s lawyer summed up the life of the case in three phases. The first is “triage”, in which her conservatives “saved her from a collapse, exploitation by predatory individuals and financial ruin” when the case began in 2008. The other two phases deal with her rebellious performance years, followed by her recently declared desire to carry out.
In recent months, fans … fans of the singer’s singer have repeatedly feared that she was trampled and sent coded messages for help via her Instagram messages. her home gym was on fire, her followers bombarded her post with remarks expressing her concern for her well-being. One urged Spears to wear a specific color outfit in her next Instagram post, and when she did, it was taken as a sign that she was in fact secretly asking for help.
In May, Spears released a previously unavailable single, “Tuning,” of her 2016 album, “Glory.” Last year, she canceled her Las Vegas residence and checked into a mental health facility after revealing that her father was ill. She has not performed live since 2018.
Times staff writer Amy Kaufman contributed to this report.
