Britney Spears’ estranged father, Jamie Spears, filed a petition Tuesday to end the conservatorship that has controlled the pop star’s life for the past 13-plus years, Page Six can confirm.
Jamie, 69, chalked his sudden change of heart up to “recent events related to this conservatorship,” including Britney, 39, speaking out against her legal situation during court hearings earlier this summer, being able to hire a lawyer of her choosing for the first time in more than a dozen years and driving on her own, which the conservatorship once restricted her from doing.
Through his lawyer, Vivian Lee Thoreen, Jamie indicated that his daughter’s “circumstances have changed to such an extent that grounds for establishment of a conservatorship may no longer exist.”
“Ms. Spears has told this court that she wants control of her life back without the safety rails of a conservatorship,” the petition continued, conceding that Britney “wants to live her life as she chooses without the constraints of a conservator or court proceeding.”
The termination would need to be approved by Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Brenda Penny, who presides over the case.
Jamie’s petition noted that the “court has the authority to end this conservatorship without ordering a psychological evaluation” of Britney, in keeping with her wishes.
In a statement to Page Six, Britney’s attorney, Mathew Rosengart, called Jamie’s filing “a massive legal victory” and “vindication” for the star.
“Having exposed his misconduct and improper plan to hold his daughter hostage by trying to extract a multimillion-dollar settlement, Mr. Spears has now effectively surrendered. There is no settlement,” Rosengart said Tuesday, referencing an alleged $2 million payout that Jamie had previously requested to step down as conservator.
“To the extent Mr. Spears believes he can try to avoid accountability and justice, including sitting for a sworn deposition and answering other discovery under oath, he is incorrect, and our investigation into financial mismanagement and other issues will continue,” Rosengart added.
The news comes more than two months after the “Overprotected” singer told Penny that she wanted the legal arrangement to end.
Britney pleaded to regain control of her personal affairs and estate during the bombshell June 23 court hearing, which led to the resignation of her court-appointed attorney, Samuel D. Ingham III, whom she claimed had never informed her that the conservatorship could end.
During her 24-minute court testimony, the Grammy winner called Jamie an “abusive” conservator and laid out a number of accusations against him, including that he had forced her to go on tour in 2018 and sent her to a mental health facility against her will in 2019.
Britney also claimed her conservators forbade her from having her birth control device removed and once put her on lithium “out of nowhere,” a drug she described as so strong that she “couldn’t even have a conversation” with her parents.
“I shouldn’t be in a conservatorship if I can work and provide money and work for myself and pay other people. It makes no sense,” argued the “Piece of Me” singer, who performed a four-year, 248-show Las Vegas residency and judged a season of “The X Factor” while under the conservatorship.
Jamie was named Britney’s main conservator in February 2008 after her public breakdown and divorce from Kevin Federline, with whom she shares sons Sean Preston, 15, and Jayden James, 14. He shared the role with an attorney, Andrew Wallet, for many years.
Wallet resigned from the case in March 2019, and Jamie temporarily stepped down as Britney’s conservator of the person that September due to his ailing health. A licensed fiduciary, Jodi Montgomery, has been filling in for Jamie ever since, though he still oversees how Britney spends her multimillion-dollar fortune as the conservator of her estate.
Prior to her dad petitioning for the conservatorship’s termination, Britney had requested to have Jamie removed, with Ingham saying in November 2020 that his then-client was “afraid of her father” and would not perform again with him in charge.
More recently, during a July 14 hearing, the “Crossroads” star told Judge Penny that she wanted her dad to be charged with “conservatorship abuse.”
Jamie has denied mismanaging Britney’s life and career, saying on numerous occasions that he “loves” and “misses” his estranged daughter.
The next hearing in the case is scheduled for Sept. 29.
