Britney Spears: Dad Jamie Spears files papers to end conservatorship that controls daughter’s life and career

Britney Spears’s father has filed papers to end the conservatorship that has controlled the pop superstar’s life and career since 2008.

Jamie Spears, who is the conservator of his daughter’s estate, said “recent events” called into question whether she still needed a court to oversee her affairs.

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At a glance: 5 key points

• Spears, 39, has twice addressed the court in recent months, describing the conservatorship as “abusive” and strongly calling for her father to be removed from his role.
• Lawyers for Jamie said he had always wanted what was best for his daughter.
• The filing said that Spears had “demonstrated a level of independence”, including driving herself around.
• And Jodi Montgomery, the care-giver who oversees the star’s personal affairs, should also be discharged from her role, Jamie said.
• Brenda Penny, the judge overseeing the case, will now have to approve the move to terminate the arrangement.

What’s been said

“Ms Spears has told this Court that she wants control of her life back without the safety rails of a conservatorship.

“She wants to be able to make decisions regarding her own medical care, deciding when, where and how often to get therapy. She wants to control the money she has made from her career and spend it without supervision or oversight.

“She wants to be able to get married and have a baby, if she so chooses. In short, she wants to live her life as she chooses without the constraints of a conservator or court proceeding.”

The filing at a court in Los Angeles

Background

Spears was placed under the conservatorship – a complex legal arrangement usually reserved for the very old or infirm – in 2008 after suffering a series of mental breakdowns.

She has not performed since 2018 and told the court she would not return to the stage while her father was conservator.

Jamie’s filing comes after months of escalation in what has been described as the most famous conservatorship in the world.

Spears delivered bombshell testimony in court on June 23, when she emotionally told judge Penny the toll the arrangement had taken on her life.

She said: “This conservatorship is doing me way more harm than good. I deserve to have a life, I’ve worked my whole life. I deserve to have a two to three-year break.”

A month later she addressed the court again and demanded her father be charged with conservatorship abuse.

Jamie agreed to step down from the conservatorship in August, but did not announce a timeline for doing so.

The next hearing is set to take place at Los Angeles Superior Court on September 29.

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