Britney Spears’ dad stepping down as conservator of singer’s estate fed up ‘of unjustified attacks’
Britney Spears’ dad Jamie agrees to step down as conservator of singer’s estate but insists he’s done nothing wrong and says it’s just because he’s fed up ‘of unjustified attacks’
Jamie Spears, 69, has been in charge of his daughter’s estate since 2008On Thursday he filed a court document agreeing to step down as conservatorJamie will assist with ‘an orderly transition to a new conservator,’ his lawyers say Britney Spears has been trying since last year to remove him from her affairsThe pair have not spoken since before Christmas and she criticized him in courtJamie has paid himself $16,000 a month for the last 13 years to run her financesHe said Thursday he was stepping down as a result of the condemnation of him
Britney Spears‘s father has agreed to step down as her conservator, in a huge victory for the singer as she battles to end a 13-year conservatorship.
Jamie Spears, 69, has been paying himself $16,000 a month since 2008 to manage his daughter’s multimillion dollar fortune.
On Thursday he announced that he would stepping down, as his daughter has long demanded, provided Judge Brenda Penny asked him to and there was a plan in place for Britney’s care.
His lawyers write that Jamie will assist with ‘an orderly transition to a new conservator.’
In the court documents, obtained by TMZ, his lawyers write: ‘There are, in fact, no actual grounds for suspending or removing M. Spears as the Conservator of the Estate … and it is highly debatable whether a change in conservator at this time would be in Ms. Spears’ best interests.
‘Nevertheless, even as Mr. Spears is the unremitting target of unjustified attacks, he does not believe that a public battle with his daughter over his continuing service as her conservator would be in her best interests.’
Jamie Spears, pictured with Britney in 2015, on Thursday resigned as her conservator. He said that he was stepping down because he did not feel the continued public battle was in her best interests
Jamie, 69, is pictured in 2008 leaving Los Angeles County Superior Courthouse – when her conservatorship was introduced. After 13 years, it now finally seems to be coming to an end
Britney Spears is seen with her brother Bryan and her father Jamie in February 2016. She posted the image to Instagram with the caption: ‘The fam!’
Jamie, who has always insisted he was acting in the best interests of his superstar daughter, said that he will work with the legal teams to bring the complex case to an end.
‘So, even though he must contest this unjustified Petition for his removal, Mr. Spears intends to work with the Court and his daughter’s new attorney to prepare for an orderly transition to a new conservator,’ his lawyers wrote.
Jamie, is not believed to have spoken to his daughter since before Christmas, said that he will continue to want the best for her.
‘Regardless of his formal title, Mr. Spears will always be Ms. Spears’ father, he will always love her unconditionally, and he will always look out for her best interests,’ the lawyers said.
Britney is pictured on stage in London in August 2018, during the Piece of Me tour
The court filings come as Britney’s former bodyguard claimed she is living ‘like an inmate in a golden prison’ as the singer has her phone calls monitored and is not allowed out unsupervised
Britney’s parents Jamie and Lynne are seen in November 2012. They had divorced in 2002
Jamie then attacked his ex-wife Lynne, who he divorced in 2002 after 30 years of marriage.
Jamie claims that Lynne has had scant involvement in Britney’s life, and pointed out that Britney refused to even see Lynne when she was at a mental health facility in 2019.
Jamie said in the court documents that he stepped in at a dire moment, when she was ‘in crisis, desperately in need of help’ 13 years ago.
His lawyers wrote: ‘Not only was she suffering mentally and emotionally, she was also being manipulated by predators and in financial distress.
‘Mr. Spears came to his daughter’s rescue to protect her.’
He says he has never forced her to do anything, including performing.
Britney’s lawyer, Mathew Rosengart, who was appointed in July – replacing a court-appointed attorney – told TMZ: ‘We are pleased but not necessarily surprised that Mr. Spears and his lawyer finally recognize that he must be removed.
Mathew Rosengart, Britney Spears’s lawyer, was appointed on July 14 to represent her – replacing the court-appointed Sam Ingham
‘We are disappointed, however, by their ongoing shameful and reprehensible attacks on Ms. Spears and others.
‘We look forward to continuing our vigorous investigation into the conduct of Mr. Spears, and others, over the past 13 years, while he reaped millions of dollars from his daughter’s estate, and I look forward to taking Mr. Spears’s sworn deposition in the near future.
‘In the interim, rather than making false accusations and taking cheap shots at his own daughter, Mr. Spears should step aside immediately.’
Less than a week ago, Jamie was arguing in court that he should not step aside.
On August 6 he claimed in a court filing that Britney is struggling so much with her mental health that court-appointed professional Jodi Montgomery, who overseas the pop star’s life decisions, recommended hospitalizing her on emergency psychiatric hold.
In court documents, Spears said Montgomery had called him, distraught, last month and sought his help with his daughter’s mental health struggles.
He claimed that Montgomery had explained that Britney was not taking her medications properly and refused to see some of her doctors and that she was ‘spiraling out of control’.
But Montgomery and her lawyer said in response that Jamie ‘misrepresented and manipulated’ the call to use it to his own advantage’.
Jamie stepped aside from the part of the conservatorship that controls his daughter’s life decisions in 2019, with Montgomery taking over, though her official status remains temporary.
Jamie said on August 6 that the call for his urgent removal was ‘ironic’, considering the call he received from Montgomery on July 9.
‘Ms. Montgomery sounded very distraught and expressed how concerned she was about my daughters’ recent behavior and overall mental health,’ Jamie said in a personal declaration included with his court filing.
‘Ms. Montgomery explained that my daughter was not timely or properly taking her medications, was not listening to the recommendations of her medical team, and refused to even see some of her doctors.
‘Ms. Montgomery said she was very worried about the direction my daughter was heading in and directly asked for my help to address these issues.’
Jamie said they discussed the possibility of hospitalizing Britney on an emergency psychiatric hold.
Montgomery acknowledged, in a statement through her attorney Lauriann Wright, having concerns about Britney Spears’ behavior and mental health, but said Jamie Spears’ stepping down would only help.
The statement said ‘having her father Jamie Spears continuing to serve as her Conservator instead of a neutral professional fiduciary is having a serious impact on Ms. Spears’ mental health.’
At no time during the phone call did Montgomery suggest Britney Spears qualifies for a psychiatric hold, the statement said.
The fighting between those involved in the conservatorship has grown increasingly heated, and increasingly public, since Spears’ dramatic testimony at a hearing on June 23, when she told a judge ‘ I just want my life back.’
In July, Britney told a court in LA that she wants her father charged with conservatorship abuse.
Speaking on the phone, an emotional Britney said: ‘I would like to charge my father with conservatorship abuse. I want to press charges against my father today. I want an investigation into my dad.’
She described once again the torment of her conservatorship, in a repeat of her explosive June 23 testimony.
Britney claimed her father and others involved in the conservatorship had threatened her, and added: ‘There should be no threats to me at all, ever. I have serious abandonment issues.’
She said that her car keys, hair vitamins and coffee had been taken from her.
She tearfully told Judge Brenda Penny, according to Sky News: ‘Ma’am, that’s not abuse, that’s just f****** cruelty. Excuse my language but it’s the truth.’
Britney then told the court: ‘I thought they were trying to kill me. If this is not abuse, I don’t know what is.’
The court filings come as Britney’s former bodyguard claimed she is living ‘like an inmate in a golden prison’ as the singer has her phone calls monitored and is not allowed out unsupervised.
