Free Britney movement, this is a potentially big day!
After more than a year of mysterious behind-the-scenes family and legal drama — and a conservatorship that has lasted 12 years — Britney Spears is finally officially asking to have her father, Jamie Spears, removed as her sole conservator, according to TMZ.
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Britney Spears’ lawyer filed court documents stating that Britney would like her father, Jamie, removed as sole conservator of her estate.
The documents, per TMZ, say Britney “strongly prefers” that Jodi Montgomery, who has been Britney’s temporary conservator for almost a year already after Jamie stepped down — though he still oversees her estate and finances — be named her new permanent conservator. The documents also state that Britney “strongly opposes” having her father return to his role as sole conservator of her person.
The documents were filed by a court-appointed attorney named Samuel D. Ingham III. “We are now at a point where the conservatorship must be changed substantially in order to reflect the major changes in her current lifestyle and her stated wishes,” Ingham says in the documents.
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It is currently unclear if Britney is seeking to have her father removed from all aspects of her conservatorship, or if she simply does not want him to be her only conservator.
“Without in any way waiving her right to seek termination of this conservatorship in the future, BRITNEY would like Ms. MONTGOMERY’s appointment as conservator of her person to be made permanent,” the documents continue, according to People.
Instead of having Jamie return as sole conservator of her estate, Britney “strongly prefers to have a qualified corporate fiduciary appointed to serve in this role,” the documents say. TMZ notes that though Jamie stepped down almost a year ago in September of 2019, he has still been exclusively managing her finances and estate during this time. During that time, Montgomery has handled other aspects of the conservatorship relating to Britney’s mental and physical health.
TMZ also speculates that the “qualified corporate fiduciary” requested by Britney’s team likely means a bank, but that all discussions about this have so far still included keeping Jamie in the mix as a co-conservator of her estate. It is unclear if Britney will ultimately fight to have her father removed from all aspects of the conservatorship or whether she may fight to end the conservatorship altogether.
The documents state that these changes are being requested “in [Britney’s] best interests,” though the team expects they will be “heavily contested” by Jamie.
After 12 years, is Britney finally seeking to end the conservatorship with this as a first step?
Of interest to fans of Britney’s music and career: The documents also claim that the “Toxic” singer “does not want to perform at this time.” The implication is that her priority at the moment is pushing through with these changes to the conservatorship.
As previously reported, Britney was placed in this conservatorship in 2008 after her public breakdown. Jamie was named as her permanent conservator of her person at the time. An attorney named Andrew Wallet was named co-conservator, and he managed her estate until he resigned last year. At that time, Jamie also stepped down as permanent conservator, though, again, he has continued to manage her estate up until this time.
The Free Britney movement sprang up as a result of concern about the long-standing conservatorship. Following Jamie’s health battle, Britney’s canceled Las Vegas residency, and a slew of other rumblings (both legal and personal), fans believe Britney, at odds with her father, has been actively seeking to end the conservatorship or at least have Jamie removed as conservator. And though we still clearly don’t have the full picture, it seems things are, at last, starting to move.
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