In a surprise move, Britney Spears’ father Jamie Spears filed a petition on Tuesday to end the 13-year conservatorship of his daughter, NBC News reported.
The 39-year-old pop singer has been in a conservatorship under her father since 2008, which she has termed “abusive.” She entered into the conservatorship or guardianship with her father following several public meltdowns. It gave him control over her financial affairs, estate, and her personal life.
Up until very recently, Jamie Spears had opposed all moves by his daughter to end the conservatorship.
However, in the petition filed on Tuesday at the Los Angeles County Superior Court, the pop singer’s father said that Spears is “entitled to have this Court now seriously consider whether this conservatorship is no longer required.” He also mentioned that her circumstances have changed “to such an extent that grounds for establishment of a conservatorship may no longer exist.”
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“The conservatorship has helped Ms Spears get through a major life crisis, rehabilitate and advance her career, and put her finances and her affairs in order. But recently, things have changed. Ms Spears is now outspoken in her frustration with the level of control imposed by a conservatorship, and has pleaded with this Court to ‘let her have her life back’,” the petition further said.
In his filing, Jamie Spears also argued that as per the probate code, it is not necessary for his daughter to undergo a new psychological evaluation to terminate the conservatorship.
After a prolonged legal battle, Jamie Spears had finally agreed to step aside from the conservatorship on August 12 in a sudden about turn after objecting to his daughter’s requests and denying her claims all along. He had said at the time that he intended to work with the court to assure “an orderly transition to a new conservator.”
He had also claimed then that there were “no urgent circumstances” justifying his immediate suspension.
Following this, Mathew Rosengart, the first attorney chosen by Britney Spears herself, had submitted to the Los Angeles County Superior Court on August 31 that her father was demanding a pay-off to exit from the conservatorship.
Making it clear that the singer was not inclined to wait for her father’s eventual step-down and seeking his suspension if he did not pick up the pace with his exit, Rosengart had said, “Mr Spears’ blatant attempt to barter suspension and removal in exchange for approximately $2 million in payments, on top of the millions already reaped from Ms Spears’ estate by Mr Spears and his associates, is a non-starter.”
In the petition filed on Tuesday, Jamie Spears said, “If the public knew all the facts of Ms Spears’ personal life, not only her highs but also her lows, all of the addiction and mental health issues that she has struggled with, and all of the challenges of the conservatorship, they would praise Mr Spears for the job he has done, not vilify him.”
“But the public does not know all the facts, and they have no right to know, so there will be no public redemption for Mr Spears,” the petition read.