Britney Spears just took a major step in the legal fight concerning her conservatorship, which is currently co-managed by her father Jamie Spears and the newly-appointed Bessemer Trust Company. The 38-year-old pop star now “wishes” for the Bessemer Trust Company to be “the sole conservator of her estate,” according to page two of court documents obtained by HollywoodLife that were filed on Nov. 3. This wish, if granted, would boot Britney’s dad from his conservator position that he’s held since 2008 (except for the temporary period he stepped down from the position for “personal health” reasons in Sept. 2019).
This latest legal move was prompted after Britney’s business management company, Tristar Sports and Entertainment, had resigned “without prior notice,” which Britney’s lawyer Samuel Ingham learned via a letter dated on Oct. 28, according to page two of the court documents. Britney’s father selected Michael Kane of Miller Kaplan (who used to work for the estate of Michael Jackson) to fill the position beginning on Nov. 1, giving no opportunity for the new manager to “be interviewed” or “alternatives to be considered,” Britney’s attorney argued.
The letter also informed Britney’s lawyer that “the Conservatorship accounts will remain at City National Bank during this transition period, at least until Bessemer is in place,” according to the letter that was attached to the documents. Jamie had just approved of Britney’s new co-conservator, the Bessemer Trust Company, in the letter sent at the end of October.
Britney’s attorney saw this as a slap in the face, arguing that Jamie’s letter was a “blatant attempt by James to retain full functional control of her assets, books and records in the face of Britney’s objections, Tristar’s resignation and the appointment of Bessemer Trust,” page four of the court documents stated. Given these reasons, Britney’s attorney wants to suspend her father from his role as co-conservator “immediately upon the appointment of Bessemer Trust as sole conservator of Britney’s estate,” as stated on page five of the court documents.
Britney began looking to make changes in her conservatorship in Aug. 2020, when she requested for it to be “changed substantially in order to reflect the major changes in her current lifestyle and her stated wishes,” per court documents that HollywoodLife had reviewed at the time. This included Britney’s statement that she “strongly opposes” her father, Jamie, from being the “sole conservator of her estate” and a request to have a “qualified corporate fiduciary” help manage her finances.
Britney had also requested that her former care manager Jodi Montgomery, who became her temporary conservator until the position expired in August, become her permanent conservator. This legal request was brought up in another conservatorship hearing on Oct. 7, where Britney’s attorney made headlines for allegedly likening his famous client’s mental capacity to that of a “comatose patient” and therefore not being capable of “singing a legal document,” according to TMZ.
Amid all this legal drama and concerns over Britney’s freedom, the “Toxic” singer tried to assure fans that she’s nothing but happy in an Instagram video shared on Nov. 2. “Hi. So I know there have been a lot of comments and a lot of people saying different things about me. But I just want to let you guys know that I am fine. I’m the happiest I’ve ever been in my life. And I’m sending you guys a lot of prayers, wishes and a lot of love,” Britney informed her 26.8 million Instagram followers.
