Britney Spears' request to remove father from conservatorship denied

Britney Spears' request to have her father Jamie removed from her conservatorship has been denied.

According to documents filed in LA court yesterday, the judge presiding over Spears' case has denied a request by her court appointed lawyer, Samuel Ingham III, to remove her father as the co-conservator of her estate.

The request had originally been filed by Spears' lawyer in November 2020, and although Judge Brenda Penny ruled against it, she also approved financial company Bessemer Trust as a co-conservator, and did not rule out future petitions for his removal or suspension.

The court documents filed state: "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".

Despite Spears' explosive public testimony last week, the judge cannot yet make a ruling based on it as her attorney must file a petition for her to terminate her conservatorship.

In the wake of that testimony, documents obtained by The New York Times show that Jamie Spears has called for an investigation into the claims Spears made on June 23rd, including that she had been forced to perform and to take medication against her wishes, that she wasn't permitted to remove her IUD and that her conservatorship is 'abusive'.

She specifically pointed the finger at her father, who was her sole financial and personal conservator from 2008 until 2019, when he stepped back due to ill health.

Lawyers for Jamie have now have requested an evidentiary hearing, questioning the actions of both Spears’ current personal conservator and her lawyer.

The filings, made late Tuesday in LA, state that "it is critical that the Court confirm whether or not Ms. Spears’s testimony was accurate in order to determine what corrective actions, if any, need to be taken."

It also requests that "all parties be provided a full and fair opportunity to respond to allegations and claims asserted against them."

A second filing from Jamie's lawyers also denied that he was the one in control of his daughter, pointing out that Jodi Montgomery had been his daughter's personal conservator since September 2019.

However, many of Spears' claims of abusive behaviour predate Montgomery's appointment as her conservator.

“Mr. Spears is simply not involved in any decisions related to Ms. Spears’s personal care or medical or reproductive issues,” Jamie's lawyers wrote. "Mr. Spears is unable to hear and address his daughter’s concerns directly because he has been cut off from communicating with her."

They also stated that Mr. Spears had no wish to resume his role as his daughter’s personal conservator, but that he was "concerned about the management and care of his daughter."

The date for Britney Spears' next conservatorship hearing is July 14th.