What’s Next for Britney Spears and the Conservatory Case?

Three weeks after Britney Spears denounced conservatism, which has long controlled her personal life and finances, for misconduct in her business life. a fiery court speech, a Los Angeles judge said the singer could hire his own lawyer Wednesday.

Judge Brenda Penny upheld Miss Spears’ selection. Mathew S. Rosengart, a prominent Hollywood lawyer and former federal prosecutor, who is expected to take a more aggressive approach and press for an end to conservatism, according to a person briefing on the matter.

At the hearing on June 23, Miss Spears spoke He spoke at length about his life for the first time within the scope of the regulation put into effect in 2008 due to mental health and possible substance abuse concerns and said that he wanted it to end. Since his statements to the court, a number of court applications have been made by those involved in the management of the conservatory.

One of the most pressing questions leading up to Wednesday’s hearing concerned the legal representation of Ms. Spears. When conservatism was enforced in 2008, a judge ruled that the singer could not retain her own lawyer; Samuel D. Ingham III, a court-appointed attorney, has represented him ever since.

In his speech on June 23, Ms. Spears raised questions About whether Mr Ingham is doing enough to educate and support him. In a particularly shocking claim, Ms Spears said she didn’t know it was possible for her to petition the conservatory to dissolve it.

After Miss Spears spoke last month, Mr Ingham asked the court to resign. Loeb & Loeb, a law firm Mr. Ingham had recently hired to assist him, also submitted a letter of resignation. On Wednesday, Judge Penny upheld the resignations of both Mr Ingham and Loeb & Loeb.

Here are the remaining four questions as the case continues.

1. Will the Court Examine Ms. Spears’ Account?

Days after Ms Spears told the court she had been abused in her conservatory – forced to take mood-stabilizing drugs and prevented from removing her birth control device, she blamed her treatment on her management team, her caregivers. and his family – his father, James P. Spears, called for an investigation.

Mr. Spears was the key player in the deal from the very beginning. “She loved control,” Ms. Spears said in her speech, describing her as someone who gave approval to everything in her life.

In their court filing, Mr Spears’ lawyers, requesting that his daughter’s account be heard as evidence, said, “It is crucial that the court confirm whether Ms Spears’ statement is true in order to determine what corrective action, if any, should be taken. taken.”

They also sought to distract Mr Spears from questions about her health, arguing that after the end of 2019 she was “not involved in any decisions regarding Mrs Spears’ personal care or medical or reproductive issues”. to communicate with him.

Lawyers for Jodi Montgomery, a professional guardian who temporarily took over Ms. Spears’ personal care from her father in 2019, gave a strong response, describing Mr Spears’ request as “procedurally flawed” and “completely inappropriate”. A thinly veiled attempt to clear his name.”

On Wednesday, Mr. Rosengart, along with Ms. Montgomery’s lawyer, was unable to agree on how best to conduct an investigation.

2. Who will be responsible for Ms. Spears’ finances?

Ms. Spears’ fortune, currently estimated at around $60 million, is controlled by her father (sometimes with a co-protector) for the entire conservancy; The Bessemer Trust, a wealth management firm, was appointed co-custodian last year after Ms Spears requested her father be sacked.

About a week after the June 23 hearing, Bessemer Trust asks for his resignation, citing Ms Spears’ criticisms of the arrangement, according to court documents. When the firm became aware of Ms. Spears’ desire to end conservatism, the filing said that Bessemer no longer wanted to be involved. On Wednesday, Judge Penny upheld her resignation.

The question now is whether Mr Spears will be allowed to remain the sole custodian of Ms. Spears’ property, despite both her lawyer’s formal request and Ms Spears’ own emotional defense of her dismissal. “I’m here to get rid of my father,” Ms Spears said in court on Wednesday.

Mr Rosengart asked the singer’s father to resign from the conservatory immediately, but Mr Spears’ lawyer rejected the request, finding it inappropriate.

3. Should Miss Spears’ Guardian Be Given Security?

Since Ms Spears’ speech, she said in a court filing that there had been “a marked increase in the number and seriousness of threatening posts” about Ms Montgomery on social media and other communications that threatened violence or death against her.

As a result, Ms. Montgomery asked the court to demand that Ms. Spears pay the security of her property, if Mr Spears approves. A court hearing on her behalf said Ms Montgomery had sent threats to the security company Mr Spears was using and recommended that she be protected 24/7.

Mr Spears objected to this arrangement. In her own court filing, the lawyers claimed that Ms. Montgomery’s security services would exceed $50,000 a month for an indefinite period – calling the expense unreasonable. She also argued that such payments would set a standard for anyone who received threats as a result of high-profile litigation, by which Ms Spears must cover the costs of security.

“Ma’am. Mr. Spears’ lawyers said Montgomery is not the only person involved in this conservatism that has received threatening communications and/or death threats.”

4. Is the Conservatory Graduation Request On The Way?

The legal intrigue that followed the June 23 hearing all raises the same question: Will Ms. Spears formally appeal for the dissolution of the conservatory?

In court Wednesday, Ms. Spears reiterated her desire to end conservatism without further psychiatric evaluations. Now that he has a new lawyer, it’s only a matter of time before he submits the official paperwork to end the deal.

After that, it’s possible that someone else representing conservatism – most likely Ms. Spears’ father – will appeal the termination and trigger a case before the judge makes a final decision.

Chris Johnson, a California foundation and estate attorney who was not involved in the Spears case, said that judges tend to rely heavily on the opinions of medical professionals when considering whether to terminate a conservatory, and Ms Spears would do so. probably needs to be reevaluated.

“In many cases, getting rid of a conservatory can be more difficult than installing it,” said Mr Johnson.