Jamie Spears suspended as conservator of Britney Spears
By Chloe Melas and Cheri Mossburg, CNN
Britney Spears scored a legal victory Wednesday in her fight to regain control of her life.
A Los Angeles judge suspended Jamie Spears, the singer’s father, as conservator of her estimated $60 million dollar estate and designated a temporary replacement to oversee her finances until December 31.
Mathew Rosengart, attorney for Britney Spears, described the elder Spears as a “cruel, toxic and abusive man,” adding his client wants him out “today.”
“Britney deserves to wake up tomorrow without her father as her conservator,” Rosengart said. “It is what my client wants, it what my client needs, it is what my client deserves.”
He cited behavior he called “unfathomable,” based on reporting by the New York Times. Rosengart accused the elder Spears of placing a recording device in his daughter’s bedroom, an allegation a representative for Jamie Spears did not respond to when previously contacted by CNN.
“We learned Mr. Spears and did something unfathomable,” Rosengart said. “He instructed [a] security team, paid for by my client, to place a listening device in Britney’s bedroom.”
In response, Vivian Thoreen, attorney for Jamie Spears, said “It’s not evidence, it’s rhetoric.”
Rosengart said the singer would like an orderly transition and an opportunity to put a plan in place to terminate her conservatorship all together in the next 30 to 45 days.
Over the summer, Britney Spears made a powerful plea to end the court-ordered arrangement, describing the way her father has managed her conservatorship as “f—ing cruelty.”
“I just want my life back. It’s been 13 years, and it’s enough,” Spears said in June.
Jamie Spears has served has conservator of his daughter’s estate since its inception. He was also the conservator of her person, overseeing her health and medical issues until he stepped aside in 2019. That’s when Jodi Montgomery was appointed conservator of Spears’ person, a position she still holds.
Judge Penny appointed John Zabel, a certified public accountant, as the temporary conservator of the singer’s estate.
Another hearing will be set, possibly before the end of the year, to consider terminating the conservatorship.
More to come, court hearing ongoing
The-CNN-Wire
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