After 13 long years, Britney Spears‘ conservatorship with her father finally came to an end on Friday.
“The court finds and determines that the conservatorship of the person and the estate of Britney Jean Spears is no longer required,” ruled Judge Brenda Penny at a Los Angeles court, reports Variety.
While the conservatorship has been fully terminated with immediate effect, the judge said accountant John Zabel, who served as a temporary conservator following the suspension of the singer’s father, would retain “limited administrative power” as part of the termination plan.
Additional hearings in the case are scheduled for December 8 and January 19.
39-year-old Spears had been in what she termed an “abusive” conservatorship with her father since 2008 following the American pop singer’s public meltdowns during her divorce and custodial battle with Kevin Federline. The arrangement gave her father control over her financial affairs, estate, and her personal life, and the singer fought a lengthy court battle to end it.
After opposing all his daughter’s attempts to remove him from the conservatorship for a long time, on September 7, Jamie Spears had unexpectedly filed a petition to end the conservatorship.
However, he did not step down immediately. The singer’s attorney Mathew Rosengart termed the move an effort by Jamie Spears to delay his ousting long enough to obtain a settlement under which his legal fees would be paid out of his daughter’s estate.
Rosengart then filed a petition to suspend him from the conservatorship based on the surveillance allegations in the documentary Controlling Britney Spears, and on September 29, Jamie Spears was suspended from the conservatorship with immediate effect.
After Friday’s ruling, Rosengart addressed the media and mentioned that despite Jamie Spears’ lawyers stating that “he would profusely cooperate,” he had refused to appear for deposition under oath and his team had not responded to any document request. Rosengart added that it was up to the singer to decide if they would continue investigating her father.
He further noted that they filed a termination plan on Monday, which is under seal. Though the details of this plan were not disclosed in the court room, Rosengart mentioned that he has put in place a “safety net” for both Britney Spears’ personal and financial affairs.
Soon after the ruling ended her conservatorship, Spears took to her Instagram page to express her happiness. Using the hashtag ‘FreedBritney‘, she shared a video of her fans celebrating outside court on Friday and wrote, “Good God, I love my fans so much it’s crazy! I think I’m gonna cry the rest of the day! Best day ever… praise the Lord… can I get an Amen? #FreedBritney”
Her fiance, actor Sam Asghari, also took to the social media platform and wrote, “History was made today. Britney is Free!”
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Several celebrities extended their best wishes to Spears on the occasion, including singer and actor Paris Hilton, Australian rapper Iggy Azalea, Welsh singer ad songwriter Marina, American drag queen Alaska Thunderfuck, and American actor Harvey Guillen.