By Chloe Melas
(CNN)Britney Spears' attorney is requesting the judge overseeing her court ordered conservatorship, remove her father, Jamie Spears, as the conservator of her person, and permanently replace him with Jodi Montgomery.
The request came in the form of a petition Samuel D. Ingham III filed in Los Angeles Superior Court Tuesday evening.
Jamie
Spears has been the conservator of both her person and estate since
2008. Montgomery has served as the singer's temporary conservator ever
since the elder Spears stepped aside due to health issues in September
2019.
In
the filing, obtained by CNN, Ingham cites an order filed on October 10,
2014 that determined Britney Spears had an "incapacity to consent to
any form of medical treatment" as the reason why Montgomery should take
over full conservatorship.
CNN
reached out to Ingham on Wednesday asking him to elaborate on why the
singer is unable to make medical decisions. Ingham stated that he
"cannot comment on a pending case."
Jamie Spears' attorney Vivian Lee Thoreen had "no comment."
The
filing asks that along with over seeing Spears' medical decisions, that
Montgomery be able to "restrict and limit visitors by any means,"
except from meeting with Ingham. It also asks that Montgomery be able to
"retain caretakers" and "security guards" for Spears.
The
singer's father was first court-appointed as conservator of his
daughter's estate, along with attorney Andrew Wallet, in 2008, following
a series of personal issues that played out publicly for the singer.
For most of that period, he also oversaw her health and medical
decisions. Jamie Spears became the sole conservator of the singer's $60
million estate in 2019, following Wallet's resignation.
Ingham
first filed to officially remove Jamie Spears as conservator last
August. In November the judge ruled that Spears stay on as
co-conservator of the estate but appointed Bessemer Trust to serve as
co-conservator.
CNN has reached out to Bessemer Trust for comment.
Jamie Spears told CNN in December he has not spoken to his daughter since Ingham's filing last summer.
"I
love my daughter and I miss her very much," he said at the time. "When a
family member needs special care and protection, families need to step
up, as I have done for the last 12-plus years, to safeguard, protect and
continue to love Britney unconditionally. I have and will continue to
provide unwavering love and fierce protection against those with
self-serving interests and those who seek to harm her or my family."
Last month, Thoreen told CNN that Jamie Spears wishes the conservatorship could come to an end.
"[Jamie]
would love nothing more than to see Britney not need a
conservatorship," Thoreen said. "Whether or not there is an end to the
conservatorship really depends on Britney. If she wants to end her
conservatorship, she can file a petition to end it."
Interest in the singer's conservatorship has heightened following the New York Times documentary,
"Framing Britney Spears," which debuted in February. Celebrities and
supporters have advocated for Spears on social media with the hashtag #FreeBritney.
CNN reported last month
that Britney Spears quarantined with her father, mother and siblings at
the family home in Louisiana at the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic.
CNN obtained videos of the family from their two weeks together. In
them, the singer is seen riding bikes and playing in the yard alongside
her father, mother Lynne Spears, sister Jamie Lynn Spears, and her
nieces.
According
to court documents obtained by CNN in December, Ingham said Britney
would not perform again as long as her father remained in control of her
fortune.
Although
Britney has not publicly commented on the ongoing conservatorship
battle, she did respond to recent speculation about whether she plans to
perform again.
"I'll always love being on stage," she wrote on Instagram
in February. "But I am taking the time to learn and be a normal person
..... I love simply enjoying the basics of every day life !!!! Each
person has their story and their take on other people's stories !!!! We
all have so many different bright beautiful lives. Remember, no matter
what we think we know about a person's life it is nothing compared to
the actual person living behind the lens."
The next court hearing regarding the conservatorship is scheduled for April 27.
Full Article & Source:
No comments:
Post a Comment