After a lengthy trial and an enormous amount of turmoil, family heartbreaks, exploitative documentaries, and speculation - to name a few - Britney Spears’ notorious conservatorship is due to be lifted today.
Back in February of 2008, following her 2007 breakdown which caused her to be taunted by the public - Britney Spears was put under a temporary psychiatric hold in Los Angeles. Following this, her father Jamie Spears and an attorney were granted a temporary conservatorship over her assets, estate, and business affairs, which became permanent in October of the same year. Little changed until recently, when Britney decided to fight back.
Jamie Spears had served as her conservator for the past 13 years, but this year, the two had several court sessions reviewing his oversight of her estate and personal life. On more than one occasion, Britney Spears described the conservatorship as abusive and publicly stated that she no longer wanted her father in a position to control her life.
On August 12, that dream became true. Jamie Spears finally agreed to step down as the singer’s conservator, following a petition by Britney's appointed attorney, former federal prosecutor Mathew Rosengart, a month earlier. Britney applauded the result from a boat with her boyfriend, uploading celebratory videos to Instagram.
Now that the conservatorship is due to dissolve, here are all the things Britney will finally be allowed to do after 13 long years.
Drive
In Britney’s court testimony - used to request Jamie Spears step down from being her conservator - the singer claimed her father got her driver’s license taken away. Since 2007, she has not had the freedom to run errands or take any trips without permission.
In July, Britney’s driving license was reinstated and she was allowed to drive alone for the first time in over a decade.
Control Her Own Finances
For the last 13 years, James Spears has had control of Britney’s estate, worth approximately $60 million. Even though he stepped down as a ‘conservator of the person’ back in 2019, he had retained the management of money. But this changed in September when he was ordered to relinquish that oversight as the conservatorship was terminated.
Accountant John Zabel temporarily stepped in as conservator of Britney’s estate, overseeing her finances until the courts figured out what the next steps were. But this temporary action will also change today. Britney should finally have true financial autonomy.
In response, Britney shared on Instagram that she was ‘on cloud 9’.
Have No More Money Taken from Her
In addition to organising her finances, Jamie Spears has actually earned money as her conservator. According to Forbes, Jamie has made at least $5 million from Britney's conservatorship. Court documents showed that Britney has had to pay her father $16,000 per month since February 2009 as her conservator, contributing to these earnings. In 12 years, this fee amounted to $2.4 million.
Of course, no conservator means no conservator fees, so Britney will no longer be required to give her earnings to her father.
And according to People, Britney’s personal conservator - whom she appointed herself after Jamie finally stepped down - alleged he took ’more than $2 million of his daughter’s money' to defend himself in the court proceedings and maintain his control of Britney’s estate.
Get Married
Britney has wanted to get married to her boyfriend, Sam Asghari, for some time and has alluded to the fact that her conservatorship was stopping this from happening when they wanted it to.
Britney announced their engagement on the September 13 by posting a video of the couple showing off the ring on Instagram. Today, she even gave fans a glimpse of her dress and shared the designer’s details. It looks like Britney is finally able to make her own choices when it comes to partners, and if and when she marries them.
Have a Child
In a court hearing to have her father suspended as conservator, Spears shared that she was not allowed to have children and was forced to be on contraception she didn’t want to have while under the control over the conservatorship. In a heartbreaking statement, she said ‘I have an IUD in my body right now that won’t let me have a baby and my conservators won’t let me go to the doctor to take it out.’
Now, she can freely remove the IUD she never wanted to have, and continue growing her family if she chooses.
Sue Her Family, If She Wants to
During court proceedings, Britney has shared she would like to be able to sue her family over the position they’ve left her in, and said that her lawyer, whom she did not choose for herself, never told her that she was able to petition to terminate the conservatorship. 'I truly believe this conservatorship is abusive,' said Spears.
Britney has also said that in addition to taking away her license and ability to have children, her family also made sure she couldn’t drink coffee, controlled her diet closely, and took away her possessions including vitamins she wanted to take for her hair. ‘That’s just fucking cruelty,’ she said, speaking on the matter in court.
Now that her father is no longer her conservator and the conservatorship is due to cease, Britney will be in a position to sue her family for abuse, should she want to.
Be Happy
Back in June when court proceedings to end the conservatorship first began, she said ‘after I’ve told the whole world I’m OK, it’s a lie. I’m not happy, I can’t sleep, I’m depressed, I cry every day.’ Having a conservator - particularly one she said is abusive and at the hands of her own family - has appeared to cause Britney a great deal of pain.
She has previously shared that she couldn’t make the choice to have children, control her finances, and alluded to her dad controlling who she dates and where she goes. Ultimately, the end of the conservatorship could mark the start of Britney Spears' freedom and happiness.
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