Jamie Spears, Britney Spears’s father, was officially suspended as conservator of her estimated $60 million estate on Wednesday.
Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Brenda Penny called the situation “untenable” and appointed John Zabel, a certified public accountant, as a temporary replacement to oversee her finances, CNN reported. Penny said the suspension was in the singer’s best interest and noted that the ruling was unable to be appealed.
“Britney deserves to wake up tomorrow without her father as her conservator,” Mathew Rosengart, her attorney, said during the court hearing.
Rosengart described her father as a “cruel, toxic, and abusive man” and said the singer wanted him removed from the estate.
“It is what my client wants, it is what my client needs, it is what my client deserves,” he said.
Rosengart mentioned details from Controlling Britney Spears, a new documentary from The New York Times that reveals new information about her life under conservatorship.
“We learned Mr. Spears did something unfathomable,” Rosengart said. “He instructed a security team, paid for by my client, to place a listening device in Britney’s bedroom.”
But in response, Vivian Thoreen, the attorney for Jamie Spears, said the documentary details were “not evidence, it’s rhetoric,” CNN reported.
Rosengart said the pop icon would like an orderly transition and a plan to terminate her conservatorship altogether in the next 30 to 45 days. She didn’t attend Wednesday’s hearing.
Penny set a court date to consider the request on Nov. 12. Another hearing was scheduled for Dec. 13 to address other details of the case. Jamie Spears’s attorneys have until Dec. 30 to provide financial records from the past 13 years, according to CBS News.
Jamie Spears has served as conservator of the singer’s estate since 2008. He was also the conservator of her person, overseeing her health and medical issues, until he stepped aside from that role in 2019. At that time, Jodi Montgomery, a professional fiduciary, was appointed as conservator of her person and remains in that position.
Britney Spears’s supporters celebrated outside of the courthouse on Wednesday as the developments unfolded. Sam Asghari, her fiancé, credited her fans for the changes in the case.
“Free Britney! Congratulations!!!!!!!!!” he posted on Instagram. “She did this. Her fanbase is called the army for a reason.”
Sources
CNN: “Jamie Spears suspended as conservator of Britney Spears.”
The New York Times: “‘Controlling Britney Spears’ Reveals New Details of Her Life Under Conservatorship.”
CBS News: “Britney Spears’ father Jamie Spears suspended from conservatorship.”
Instagram: @samasghari, Sept. 29, 2021.
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