The #FreeBritney movement has brought widespread attention to Britney Spears’ conservatorship battle with her father, Jamie Spears, who has been her conservator for over 13 years.
US Law on Conservatorship
According to the legal concept of conservatorship, a conservator may be appointed by a court to handle the affairs of someone who is deemed unable to make their own decisions. A person under conservatorship is a conservatee.
A conservator can have authority over a conservatee’s estate, and/or their daily life, health decisions, living arrangements, and more. Alternatively, there are limited conservatorships for those who are capable of making important decisions themselves.
This legal principle is established by court orders and governed by state laws that vary across state borders.
Britney’s Case
In February 2008, the superstar was put on an involuntary psychiatric hold which is when she lost control of her finances. Her father petitioned to name him and an attorney called Andrew Wallet as conservators over her “person” and $60 million fortune. The court order became permanent in October 2008. Since the action, Britney has had to ask her father to “sign off on every major decision she makes, from business to health, to voting and marriage.”
Concerns about the conservatorship began to surface in 2019 when Wallet resigned from his role, leaving Jamie Spears as the sole conservator of Britney’s estate. He stated that “substantial detriment, irreparable harm, and immediate danger will result to the conservatee and her estate if the relief requested herein is not granted on an ex parte basis.”
In 2019, Jamie stepped down from having control of her “person” due to health reasons and Britney tried to permanently replace his role with a care professional, Jodi Montgomery.
Those that have been involved in controlling Britney’s life over the last 13 years have claimed that the agreement has been an effective tool that saved her from a low point in her life and that she could move to end it at any point. However, sealed records obtained by The New York Times revealed that she has been trying to remove the motion since 2014. In a 2015 report, a court investigator wrote that “she articulated she feels the conservatorship has become an oppressive and controlling tool against her.”
23rd June 2021
Earlier this week, the pop icon gave an emotional 23-minute speech about the treatment she has received under the action that controls her life. She told the judge over a call (due to social-distancing measures), that she has been forced to work against her will, prevented from removing her IUD, and even compelled to take lithium against her wishes. She adds, “I was told right now in the conservatorship I am not able to get married and have a baby”, two things she has explicitly stated she has a desire for.
In the court hearing, the singer drew attention to the discrepancy that she can “make a living for so many people, and pay so many people” but does not control any of her assets. Until recently, Britney has continued to perform and bring in millions of dollars, a capability that forces the arrangement into question as it is usually a last resort for people who cannot care for themselves.
This rare public court appearance was the first time the public has heard Britney speak of her struggles in detail leaving many shocked. One of the #FreeBritney movement founders told the BBC “everything she said was heartbreaking and it was even worse than I thought it was.”
Britney has declared herself “done” as she “just wants her life back.”
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