A judge has suspended Jamie Spears as the conservator of his daughter Britney Spears’ estate, effectively ending his 13-year reign controlling every aspect of Britney’s life and career.
During the hearing, which some fans and #FreeBritney supporters hoped would be the singer’s last, Judge Brenda Penny essentially had three options: end Spears’ conservatorship altogether, suspend Jamie and appoint a temporarily successor, or deny any changes to the arrangement and continue with the status quo.
“The current situation is not tenable,” Judge Penny ruled, adding that Jamie’s suspension was “in the best interest of the conservatee.”
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In addition, TMZ reports that Jamie must turn over all books and records associated with the conservatorship. To that point, Britney’s lawyer, Mathew Rosengart, actually asked the judge not to end the conservatorship today, but rather in 30 to 45 days so that Britney’s legal team can determine whether any “corruption” took place under Jamie’s watch.
The court appearance was the pop star’s first since Jamie agreed to step down as conservator and petitioned the court earlier this month to end his daughter’s conservatorship amid mounting pressure and public outcry. While Jamie’s actions appear helpful to his daughter’s case, the two petitions actually contradicted one another, adding another level of confusion to the proceedings and Judge Penny’s decision.
By asking for an orderly termination of the conservatorship, Jamie sought to avoid having to turn over fiduciary records pertaining to his management of the estate, argued Rosengart, who previously called for an investigation into Jamie’s conduct. Rosengart has accused Jamie of using Britney’s estate as a slush fund to cover his own expenses, including paying his own legal fees to prevent Spears from exiting the conservatorship. Rosengart also accused Jamie of using his voluntary departure from the conservatorship as a form of extortion, as he demanded that the estate pay $2 million in outstanding feeds.
The hearing also arrives days after the premiere of Controlling Britney Spears, the New York Times’ follow-up to its bombshell Hulu documentary Framing Britney Spears, which brought major attention to the newly-engaged singer’s legal nightmare following its February unveiling. The new doc included allegations that Jamie had bugged Britney’s home and cellphone against her knowledge, a point which Rosengart repeatedly brought up during today’s hearing.
Developments in Spears’ case have domino’d in recent months — from the pop star breaking her silence with harrowing public testimony at a June court appearance to the resignations of her longtime manager Larry Rudolph and her court-appointed attorney — allowing Spears to finally hire counsel of her choosing for the first time — as well as the withdrawal of Bessemer Trust as the co-conservator of her financial fortune.
John Zabel, an accountant, will temporarily replace Jamie as the conservator of Britney’s estate, while Jodi Montgomery, who manages the singer’s day-to-day wellbeing and medical decisions, will remain in her role for the time being. A decision on the longterm fate of the conservatorship — and whether to terminate it permanently — will be heard during a future hearing likely sometime in October or November.
