Lawyer Monthly - August 2021 Edition

33 AUG 2021 | WWW.LAWYER-MONTHLY.COM #FREEBRITNEY: THE BRITNEY SPEARS CONSERVATORSHIP CASE EXPLAINED Britney Images Sources: commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File: Britney_Spears_(8513573667).jpg - (creativecommons.org/ licenses/by-sa/2.0 /deed.en (CC BY-SA 2.0)). Changes: black and white background with blur. commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File: Britney_Spears_performing,_Las_Vegas,_January_29,_2014.jpg - (creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/deed.en (CC BY 2.0)). Changes: black and white. Last November, a judge granted Spears’ wishes to appoint an outside financial group, Bessemer Trust, as co-conservator. However, Spears wants Bessemer Trust to take on sole conservatorship of her estate and for her father to be removed, which is being fought against by Spears’ father and his legal team. Spears’ attorneyhasstatedthatSpears is a high-functioning conservatee who deserves to be aware of the actions that her father could be taking over her estate. Her attorney also said that Spears is afraid of her father, who she has not spoken to for a long time. In February, Spears’ counsel warned it would be highly detrimental to Spears’ interests to allow her father to be the sole conservator in charge of her estate. There were also warnings of potential financial, physical, and emotional abuse from Brennan- Krohn, staff attorney at the ACLU’s Disability Rights Programme. The road to the end of Spears’ conservatorship is long. The first key step will be for Spears to file a formal petition to end her conservatorship, which she claims she was not aware she had the power to do until recently. Once Spears files a petition, the court will need to rule on it, accounting for whatever new evidence Spears presents to support her case. The timeline for the case depends substantially on whether her father or others involved in the conservatorship object. If they do not, the conservatorship will likely be dissolved. However, if they do object, a neuropsychologist could be appointed to assess Spears’ mental health and another trial would likely be held to determine whether or not the conservatorship should end, be adjusted, or remain unchanged. For nearly half of her music career, Spears has not held full control over her life. Spears’ attorney has stated that Spears is a high-functioning conservatee who deserves to be aware of the actions that her father could be taking over her estate.