Judge Denies Britney Spears' Request to Remove Father From Conservatorship

[brooklynite]

Source: Variety

A judge has shot down Britney Spears’ request to have her father removed from her conservatorship.

New court documents that were filed by the Los Angeles Superior Court on Wednesday show that the judge has denied the request by Spears’ attorney, Samuel Ingham III, to remove her father, Jamie Spears, as her sole conservator.

“The conservator’s request to suspend James P. Spears immediately upon the appointment of Bessemer Trust Company of California as sole conservator of estate is denied without prejudice,” the court documents state.

Samuel Ingham III had filed the request to remove Spears’ father back in November 2020, stating that his client was “afraid of her father” and would refuse to perform again, if her father continued to be in charge of her career. At that time, Judge Brenda Penny declined to suspend her father from the conservatorship, though she did not rule out future petitions for his removal or suspension. Also, at that time, the judge appointed financial company Bessemer Trust as a co-conservator.

Read more: https://variety.com/2021/music/news/britney-spears-conservatorship-request-denied-remove-father-1235009486/

[FarPoint]

1. I sense this is not the correct finding...

Sure, she may blow all her money but it's her life....I think she should be let go and try to be independent.

Maybe she needs a better lawyer????

[COL Mustard]

4. I'm Not A Fan Of Her Music Or Her Antics

But c'mon, man, she's almost 40. Let her live her life as long as she's not hurting herself or her kids. Geez.

[Warpy]

10. Dunno. One drug she's complained about is lithium, meaning she's bipolar

Part of me hates seeing a 39 year old woman under daddy's thumb, but another part of me knows extended family with bipolar illness who go off their meds and destroy their lives, with no one able to get them back on their meds. Untreated, it's horrific.

Still, she's obviously had enough and is on strike, refusing to rehearse for a new Vegas show while her father has control.

I have a strong suspicion this will be appealed. I don't know that she will be better off if she wins.

[TNNurse]

14. Are you sure of that diagnosis???

I have no idea, but the forced IUD and the fact that daddy gets twice as much money as she does each month, makes it all suspect.

I wonder if that judge is getting something as well.

I know she has had some very public issues and has needed help but this is still something that needs to be reevaluated.

[2Gingersnaps]

15. I am no fan of her music, and even less her career path.

She would hardly be the first Hollywood kid to be trafficked and exploited by her own family, just ask Gary Coleman, the two Cory's, Mickey Rooney, Judy Garland, Michael Jackson, or the kids from Our Gang. Her sister Jamie Lynne's statement supporting her sister stated she was not financially exploiting her sister, she herself had been put to work at 10. They went respectively from Micky Mouse Club and Nickelodeon to Britney being the more successfully trafficked as "jail bait tease." Of course she has mental health issues, abused, emotionally abandoned, and exploited children generally do. And since when has it been a crime to sexually abuse starlets in Hollywood? Just ask Harvey Weinstein and Bill Cosby. Britney's little Mickey Mouse club buddy Justin Timberlake went from there to mistreating her, to trash talking her, and on to "accidently" ripping the clothes of Janet Jackson-he's doing just fine. At least he has enough humanity to feel some shame.

[LisaL]

19. Lithium.

"Lithium (Eskalith, Lithobid) is one of the most widely used and studied medications for treating bipolar disorder. Lithium helps reduce the severity and frequency of mania. It may also help relieve or prevent bipolar depression."

https://www.webmd.com/bipolar-disorder/guide/bipolar-disorder-lithium

[Warpy]

29. Oh, I think she desperatel;y needs to get away from daddy

and I think this will be appealed and I hope she wins. The financial conservatorship is a good idea, and maybe they'll look into how daddy's been ripping her off for so many years.

I know what lithium is used for. She likely has other issues but the lithium is pretty specific.

[CreekDog]

24. so everyone who is bipolar should be in a conservatorship?

jesus.

[Warpy]

28. If there's a lot of money, financial conservatorship makes sense

Last edited Thu Jul 1, 2021, 02:19 PM - Edit history (1)

so they can't ruin themselves completely and end up on the street when they go off their meds. It doesn't mean they have no access to their own money, it just means that someone is going to ask questions when it starts going out really fast

Most bipolars don't go off their meds. They know what happens when they do.

By the way, ever notice that posts beginning with "so" are usually strawmen?

[CreekDog]

43. all bipolar people need to be in a financial conservatorship???

i want to call you every name but the rules don’t permit it.

and i think if there is anyone bipolar in your family or among your acquaintances, they should avoid you at all costs knowing that you think this horrible thing.

that you would indiscriminately take away their rights because of a diagnosis which people cope with successfully every day.

[Devil Child]

45. +1 CreekDog!

[Texin]

30. A judge in Dallas County refused to grant a conservatorship to my stepson's mother

and his step-father a few years ago. My stepson is also bipolar and has gone off his meds several times, which always ends up with having manic episodes that get pretty extreme and usually end up financially ruinous for him and and, unfortunately, for my husband who often has to foot the bills. In any event, my stepson actually explained to the judge that he agreed with and supported being in such an arrangement. He was about 30 at that time, so not a kid. But the judge refused to grant the conservatorship because he believed that an adult shouldn't have their free will checked by a parent or guardian. This despite being briefed about the actions that resulted in the legal action being brought before the court along with testimony of medical practitioners arguing that it was in my stepson's best interest.

[RobinA]

31. People Don't Understand

the ramifications of untreated bipolar until they've seen it in person. Several times.

[Warpy]

37. Right, I know people who go off their drugs and off the rails periodically

usually when they're stressed by a breakup or a death or something else that's extreme and are desperate to feel good again. I wish it were easier to get financial conservatorship established for people who don't have tens of millions of dollars at stake.

The only real tool families have is refusing to bail them out of jail until they've been on their meds again for 48 hours. It shouldn't have to be that hard and people shouldn't have to destroy themselves and harm others to get help.

Still, Spears needs to get away from Daddy. I do agree with that. It's pretty significant that she's not trying to get out from under the financial conservatorship. She's just trying to get her father out of it. She is lucid enough to know protection when she sees it.

[TexasBushwhacker]

44. There isn't as much money as there should be

Her father has been in control for 13 years. She's sold over 100 Million records. She was making $500K PER NIGHT during her 4 year residency in Las Vegas. She's has sold out concerts for almost 20 years. She's had licensing royalties for perfumes and other items that brought in more millions.

Her net worth is $60 Million. I would have thought she was worth double or triple that amount.

[Cinnamonspice]

46. She has companies to help her with her finances.

She doesn't need her power gripping father. My gosh, he controls her body with an IUD. That's disgusting.

I feel like between her and Cosby, the courts were giving a collective F you to women.

[happybird]

2. That's a shame. n/t

[DonCoquixote]

3. her dad blows the money

and assaulted the grandchildren

[OAITW r.2.0]

5. Bizzare, and I am no fan of Britts.

Don't know the background, but this is really weird.

[drmeow]

6. F**k that sexist judge

You don't see male stars in conservatorship

[jimfields33]

13. The judge is an African American female from Los Angeles

Perhaps she knows more about the details then we do. We hear what Britney says. But we did not get the other side. Just throwing that out there. The whole thing is strange especially since she’s almost 40. I refuse to imagine the judge wouldn’t have given Britney a huge benefit of the doubt before giving her decision. Must be a ton more out there that we are not privy to.

[atreides1]

17. Guess what?

Judges can be wrong, too!!!

I can imagine a judge not giving the benefit of the doubt, before making a decision...judges are not all knowing, or even well intentioned...some judges, like Mark Ciavarella took bribes from developers of juvenile detention centers...the judge then presided over cases that sent juveniles to those same centers!

Just because the judge is an African American female form Los Angeles, and a registered Democrat...doesn't mean she's infallible!

[lillypaddle]

22. +100

Would never happen to a 39 yo man who does what she does.

[janterry]

25. I think she really decompensates off her meds

and would make that choice (to go off them) - if she could. So, I agree- there's a lot we don't know. I found it interesting that in her testimony she said over and over that she would not want to submit to an evaluation in order to end the conservatorship. I don't know how a judge agrees to that. If she gets a psychologist or MD to agree that she is competent to manage her own affairs - that's the document the judge relies on. At least in my experience (working with folks who are mentally ill).

But of course, I'm no lawyer. I just don't know if she could end the conservatorship w/o an assessment.

I'm still pretty incredulous about the whole arrangement, though. My knee-jerk reaction is that this seems wrong and something needs to change.

[LisaL]

36. Yep, judge would not agree

to end conservatorship without evaluation by a doctor.

[drmeow]

40. There are plenty of sexist AA women out there!

The whole thing is paternalistic. You don't see male pop stars treated this way.

[2Gingersnaps]

16. And more than a few of them need it after their parents use them up and spit them out.

There were supposed to be laws to protect the kids.

[Mawspam2]

7. Britney Spears is 39 yo.

Is BS incapable or somehow unable to handle her own career? Mentally unstable? A crack addict? Does she have a history of making bad - truly bad - decisions? Does she plan to give all her money to a cult? Unless those things are true, she deserves her emancipation.

[ripcord]

33. She isn't asking for the conservatorship to end

No doubt she knows she still needs help but if she says she fears he father he should be gone, there is no requirement that a family member be involved.

[mysteryowl]

8. This makes me angry

In my state anyone under a conservatorship can request a different conservator or even request to end it.
It is a yearly review. People have rights!!!!

If the court believes she needs to continue with the conservatorship, then at least let her have someone in that role.
She has that right!!

This judge is being an asshole!

[Demnation]

9. This is wrong, and who gives a crap if you're a fan.

[William Gustafson]

11. maybe she should of done this....

https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=women+that+is+crying+about+brintney+spears&docid=608044760798345719&mid=A6340AFBA497FE12373EA6340AFBA497FE12373E&view=detail&FORM=VIRE

[Sapient Donkey]

12. I'm not sure if this is good or bad, if the dad is overbearing, or anything like that

But I was looking at her instagram off and on for the past year or so, and I get a sense she isn't well. Although, I'm just some non-professional dummy on the internet. Even if my assessment is accurate, that obviously doesn't mean the conservatorship is good or done in good faith. I simply have no idea.

[Deminpenn]

18. This just doesn't seem right

We allow Americans who have been institutionalized for mental illness the "right to fail" meaning they cam make their own decision to leave and be homeless that arose from a case in NYC. She certainly is much more coherent than most of them.

I wonder if renouncing her US citizenship would end the conservancy? She surely could find a home in another country and support herself by performing.

[LisaL]

20. I am not sure what is going on either.

Like you said, she is probably more coherent than a lot of mentally ill people who don't have conservatorship.
If she blows through her money, she wouldn't be the only one to have done so.

[Deminpenn]

21. A couple years ago, the New Yorker magazine ran a long

story about court-appointed guardianships for the elderly even if the children/family objected. It was very scary the power the guardians had.

It's from 2017: https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2017/10/09/how-the-elderly-lose-their-rights

[twodogsbarking]

23. I recommend better attorneys.

Really.

[Corgigal]

26. But she could do 8 shows a week in Vegas.

Brittany needs to pick her own attorneys. I’m not sure she can even do that.

This is so creepy. My brother had a mental illness, paranoid schizophrenia, and he could be scary and unsafe when he stopped taking his meds. My mother, would go to the court, the judge would sign so my brother would be forcibly picked up and taken in for treatment. My mother would be so scared that the police would kill him, but they always got him to the hospital and after two weeks, he would get out. Back on his meds, and live his life.

We didn’t steal any money of his, but he lived with my mother all his life. He died at 43, which I understand is the lifespan for people taking the medications he was on.

So, I’m watching this case. I don’t mind Brittanys music, and I don’t know why anyone is mentioning this. In 2021, you can be a slave, I guess.

[CreekDog]

27. it's too bad jberryhill isn't here

to defend...well, you know.

[ripcord]

32. Unfortuately I still see a need for a conservatorship

But she should have a say in who the conservators are, if she is saying she is afraid of her father then he needs to go. The trust firm that is a co-conservator could do it or another person or legal entity could be added. I can see where she still needs help and obviously she does too, she isn't asking for it to end just for her father to be removed and it sounds like a totally reasonable request.

[Mosby]

34. I suspect everything will change in a couple years when her kids are adults.

Because the leverage her father et al has is those kids.

She could leave the country anytime she wants, gain citizenship and sue in foreign jurisdiction to get control of her assets. Don't think for a second that there wouldn't be countries lining up to make her a citizen.

[LisaL]

35. Her kids are living with her ex-husband.

So not sure what leverage her father has over them.

[Mosby]

38. I think she has 30% custody whatever that means.

[LisaL]

42. 10 % per ex-husband's lawyer.

“Right now, Kevin has more of a 90/10," he said. “It seems to be working out great for the kids and both sides are okay with it."

https://www.oxygen.com/true-crime-buzz/who-has-custody-of-britney-spears-and-kevin-federlines-kids

[The Mouth]

39. This 'judge' needs to be recalled

It should be harder to put someone under a conservatorship than it is to get a life sentence.

Free Brittany.

[Joinfortmill]

41. This doesn't seem right. Hope her attorney pusues this.