A month after the termination of Britney Spears’ 13-year-long conservatorship with her father, the American pop singer has been granted the power to execute financial documents by herself, as per a Variety report.
“She has the power to do whatever she wants,” explained Spears attorney Mathew Rosengart to the media following the hearing on Wednesday.
39-year-old Spears had been in what she termed an “abusive” conservatorship under her father since 2008 following her public meltdowns during her divorce and custodial battle with Kevin Federline. The arrangement gave her father, Jamie Spears, control over her financial affairs, estate, and her personal life, and the singer fought a lengthy court battle to end it.
After opposing for long all his daughter’s attempts to remove him from the conservatorship, on September 7, Jamie Spears had unexpectedly filed a petition to end the arrangement.
However, he did not step down immediately. The singer’s attorney 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.
Later, based on a petition filed by Rosengart, citing the surveillance allegations in the documentary Controlling Britney Spears, Jamie Spears was suspended from the conservatorship with immediate effect on September 29.
And on November 12, after 13 long years, Spears’ conservatorship with her father finally came to an end.
While the conservatorship was fully terminated with immediate effect, the judge had said that 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, including the power of execution of the estate trust and the power to transfer assets into the trust.
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During the hearing on Wednesday, while granting Spears the power to execute documents, the court said that Zabel would continue his limited administrative powers until the next hearing on January 19. At that time, accounting matters and the petition for substituted judgement are expected to be heard.
Meanwhile, Spears’ father requested the right to access the estate plan, which was immediately objected by Zabel’s attorney.
Following the hearing, Rosengart told the media that Spears’ father has been uncooperative with their requests for certain documents that Rosengart’s firm believes will “shed light in regard to his abuses.”
Jamie Spears has also been evading deposition (out-of-court, sworn, oral testimony), the singer’s lawyer said. “But he will be deposed in this case. I look forward to taking his deposition,” he added.