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There has been a major victory for Britney Spears. It was just revealed on Wednesday, September 29th that her father Jamie Spears has been suspended as the conservator of her estate, immediately removing him from the conservatorship altogether. A formal termination is reportedly expected this fall. At the request of Britney and her legal team, Judge Brenda Penny agreed it was time to remove the controversial patriarch in front of a packed hearing in Los Angeles Superior Court.
Britney’s primary attorney Mathew Rosengart told the court, “It’s simple, it’s logical, it’s fair and it’s just.” It was reported earlier in September that Jamie was allegedly seeking around $2 million to step down but Rosengart made it clear, “She doesn’t want a settlement with her father, she doesn’t want mediation with her father, she doesn’t want a delay,” the formal federal prosecutor said.
Per Deadline, Judge Penny ruled that CPA John Zabel will temporarily replace Jamie in the role of the conservator. Jamie’s attorney Vivian Thoreen strongly objected to the suspension and called Zabel a “stranger” on the case who was unqualified. “There is no need for a temporary conservator because there is no vacancy in the position of conservator,” Jamie’s attorneys declared in their own filing. “Mr. Spears continues to serve faithfully as Conservator of the Estate, as he has done for the past thirteen years. Mr. Spears has not and should not be suspended, especially since the Conservatorship should soon be terminated.”
Rosengart said the conservatorship should be terminated this fall and suggested setting a termination hearing within the next 45 days in either October or November. He told the judge Britney agreed with his proposed course of action to first suspend her father and terminate the conservatorship soon after. Until the next steps are determined in regards to terminating her conservatorship altogether, Zabel will control all of her financial decisions.
Jamie has been her co-conservator since 2008 and became sole conservator in 2019 after attorney Andrew Wallet resigned from co-conservatorship. Montgomery became the conservator of her person in September 2019 and still remains on the case. Ahead of the hearing, Montgomery pulled her $50,000-a-month request for 24/7 security from Black Box security. She battled with Jamie since early July over approval of the bill and filed a notice of withdrawal this morning, saying the additional protection is “no longer needed at this time.”
The news comes after 2 shocking documentaries were released about her conservatorship just days apart. In the New York Times-produced Controlling Britney Spears, Black Box and its leadership team were accused of participating in invasive and possibly illegal surveillance of Britney. Federal officials are reportedly looking into an investigation of the allegations made in the documentary, per Deadline.