In recent months, the #FreeBritney campaign has resurfaced with tenacity as hit pop star Britney Spears fights for her emancipation from an ongoing conservatorship set in place by her father, Jamie Spears, over 12 years ago.
After a very public mental breakdown in January 2008 following her divorce from Kevin Federline and loss of custody of both of her children, Britney was placed under an “emergency temporary conservatorship” with Jamie listed as the conservator of her estate. This ruling turned out to be not-so-temporary after all when in October 2008, a judge announced that an ongoing conservatorship was necessary and Jamie would retain control over his daughter’s estate indefinitely.
Over the last decade, this story has been in and out of the headlines as minor changes were made to the conservatorship. However, the Grammy Award winner herself has recently started speaking publicly about the disturbing restrictions placed on her under the conservatorship, and has urged fans to continue in their fight to #FreeBritney.
Britney has now openly said that she believes her father should be charged with conservatorship abuse, as the level of control he has been able to wield in her life (including who she dates, whether or not she is permitted to drive, and when she is allowed to leave her house) extends far beyond what should be mandated by the court in a standard conservatorship.
With all of the media attention surrounding this case, many people are curious about the fundamentals of a conservatorship and how it operates.
What Is A Conservatorship?
A conservatorship, also known as a guardianship in many states is established if a person is not able to manage his or her own finances and/or make appropriate decisions for themselves due to incapacity (usually due to dementia, mental illness, or another infirmity that diminishes mental abilities). In such cases, a judge may appoint a conservator to make decisions for the ward for the remainder of the ward’s life, or until the ward recovers and is considered able to resume making their own decisions.
In Georgia a conservator is appointed to establish a ward’s finances and a guardian is appointed to make decisions for the ward’s person. Not all states separate these duties and accordingly, the term conservatorship or guardianship can indicate control of both the person and their finances.
Court-Appointed Conservatorship
Despite Britney’s pleas to remove her father as the conservator, the court has allowed Jamie to remain in this role. In an effort to mitigate the situation, Bessemer Trust, a financial firm, was appointed as a co-conservator of her estate in November 2020.
At a recent court hearing, the judge ruled that Britney could appoint a new lawyer of her own choice to represent her, seeing as a court-appointed lawyer has been representing her since 2008.
We anticipate this new development is the catalyst of an even greater petition by the singer to press charges against her father.
Do you have reason to believe your loved one’s conservator is acting outside of his or her fiduciary duty?
Contact our firm today for a consultation.
Gaslowitz Frankel LLC is Georgia’s premier fiduciary litigation law firm. The firm has earned a reputation for excellence across Georgia and the Southeast in providing representation to individuals, executors, trustees, investors, shareholders, and financial institutions in complex fiduciary disputes involving wills, estates, trusts, guardianships, conservatorships, businesses, and securities.
