Freeing Britney from Her Conservatorship Constraints
July 2021 | Kiara Sims, Staff Writer/Editor
As a childhood Disney actor that grew up to be an iconic pop star, Britney Spears has always been in the public eye. Unfortunately, Britney’s fame has recently been relegated to courtroom appearances. On June 24, 2021, Britney Spears spoke to a judge publicly about her life under a probate conservatorship, bringing the elusive entity of conservatorships into the spotlight. Conservatorship legislature varies by state and locality and is typically applied within probate courts. Britney Spears’ conservatorship of the estate and conservatorship of the person were created by the Superior Court of California in 2008.[1] Conservatorships are widely misunderstood, but current public outrage is accurate in identifying that Britney Spears' conservators may have violated the law.
In the state of California, a judge can appoint a responsible person to care for another adult who is unable to manage their health and wellbeing or finances properly. The result of this appointment creates a probate conservatorship that can be monitored by both a conservator of the person and a conservator of the estate. The conservator of the person is tasked with overseeing basic needs and health care, and in some cases, they can make medical decisions for the conservatee. Meanwhile, the conservator of the estate is tasked with handling the conservatee’s financial matters to the extent that the appointing judge finds necessary. All California-established conservatorships can be ended by a determination of the conservatee’s ability to handle their affairs or upon the resignation of the conservator, court order, or death of a related party.[2]
Conservatorships created by the Superior Court of California are legally bound by California Probate Codes 1800-2033. These codes establish the rights of both conservators and conservatees while defining responsibilities and chargeable offenses. The Omnibus Conservatorship and Guardianship Reform Act of 2006 later applied more stringent standards to conservatorship oversight, allowing the court to investigate more frequently with more scrutiny without notice to the conservator.[3] This act was passed to minimize the effects that a conflict of interest might have on the conservator’s actions and decisions regarding their conservatee’s person and livelihood. In a recently publicized case, that of conservatee Britney Spears, claims have been made that the conservatorship is unnecessary and abusive. Britney’s conservator of the estate, her father Jamie Spears, has many alleged conflicts of interest despite the investigations of the court. This makes Spears’ conservatorship a prime example to evaluate the rights of a conservatorship of the estate over their ward.
This legal issue began in the Los Angeles Superior Court in 2008. Due to Britney Spears’ public psychiatric breakdowns, the court approved an emergency probate conservatorship of her person and her estate under the control of her father, Jamie Spears. Jamie’s role in the conservatorship has since experienced many changes. In 2019, Jamie Spears began the process of extending his legal role of conservator outside of California, had restraining orders placed against him by Britney Spears’ two minor children due to alleged physical abuse, and temporarily stepped down from his role of the primary conservator of both the person and the estate. Upon much public discourse of the conservatorship, Britney Spears requested that her father be removed from his position once in 2020 and twice in 2021. Despite the court’s refusal of these requests due to unproven claims, the statements made in court by Britney Spears on June 24, 2021, are owed an evaluation of which actions would be within the rights of the conservatorship of the estate.[4]
Based on the law and precedent, the conservator of the estate must manage finances to a reasonable standard while maintaining independence from the conservatee’s estate.[5] Regardless of public outrage, some situations described by Britney Spears are typical for a conservatorship of the estate. The conservatorship does have the power to hire employees, nurses, paid conservators, or lawyers. The conservator also must take control of assets, income, and bills, so it is not in violation that Britney has little to no control over her finances.[6] In these financial circumstances, some may claim it best to evaluate the impact of conservatorship on the progression of the conservatee’s finances. As these documents are not open to the public, only court investigators are able to make such an evaluation.
Many of Britney Spears’ claims in court on June 24 establish a picture of potential probate code violations, forced work, and improper financial allocations. In many cases of conservatorship, the judge will deem an allowance for the conservatee in accordance with California Probate Code § 2421.[7] If Britney’s allowance has been used as a negotiation chip and an abuse tactic rather than being a stable source of spending money, the conservator of her estate may have violated a court order. Describing herself as “enslaved,” Britney made it clear that she was forced to do work that was otherwise unnecessary or unhealthy for her. She claimed she was forced to go on tour in 2018 and forced to do the following Vegas residency, even going so far as to imply that she was medically punished if she challenged a single dance move.[8] She compared her seven-day work week with ten-hour-long days to “sex trafficking”.[9] California Probate Code § 2601 establishes that wages for employment should be under the conservatee’s control.[10] Thus, it could be a violation if her conservator has taken control of the money and benefits from her working in the way that Britney has suggested they have.
In addition to feeling that she involuntarily works for the people she pays, Britney has brought up the bias of those responsible for her. Such bias may have led the conservator to spend money to attempt to elongate their tenure or in an unreasonable manner, as Britney claims Jamie Spears has done. California Probate Code § 2401.3 specifies that conservators, like Jamie Spears, can be charged in the case of undue loss of the estate value, conservator profit from improper financial allocations, or loss of potential estate gains.[11] Since Britney Spears has more complex finances than most Americans, only the court has the access and information necessary to determine if all of her assets were managed properly. Other claims made, albeit shocking, are more relevant to her conservatorship of the person.[12]
On July 14, 2021, Britney once again spoke to the Los Angeles Superior Court. In June, Britney had claimed that her prior representation, Samuel Ingham III, had neglected certain duties and that she would like to choose her representation.[13] As a result, the court determined that Britney Spears could hire her representation for the first time since 2008. During the July 14 hearing, Britney reiterated financial and emotional abuse claims and stated an intent to formally charge her father with conservator abuse.[14] The results of this hearing indicate that the court is somewhat receptive to Britney’s June statements and is simply waiting for adequate proof of her claims. Her new chosen representative is Mathew Rosengart, a former federal prosecutor and veteran entertainment litigator.[15] Britney’s battle appears to be much closer to resolution than it did in early 2021. Even without the abuse allegations, the court has shown that they find her more able to make responsible decisions than she was during the inception of the conservatorship, and her assertions are in line with being able to handle her affairs independently.
The details of Britney Spears’ life are complex and are further complicated by her public standing. The financial aspects of Britney Spears’ conservatorship case support that the law and precedent would be in her favor should her claims be proven true. Beyond the financial bias present in opposing parties and their possible abuse of assets, a case has been made for pseudo-slavery. Changes made by the court since Britney’s speech on June 24th have only reaffirmed the potential of a positive outcome for her. Britney Spears’ legal issues further extend to her conservatorship of her person, her wishes to sue her family, and potential abuse cases that have arisen out of the most recent hearings. Unfortunately, with the many legal complications in this case and a lack of definitive proof, it is unclear if Britney will gain freedom from her conservatorship of the estate.
Sources
Hoffower, Hillary. "Britney Spears Just Asked the Court to End Her 'abusive' 13-year Conservatorship - Here's What You Should Know about the Complex Legal Arrangement That Prevents the Pop Icon from Controlling Her Life." Insider. June 23, 2021. Accessed July 24, 2021.
"Conservatorship." Conservatorship. Accessed July 24, 2021.
"STATE ADULT GUARDIANSHIP LEGISLATION: DIRECTIONS OF REFORM — 2006." Commission on Law and Aging. July 24, 2021, 1-3.
Hoffower, Hillary. "Britney Spears Just Asked the Court to End Her 'abusive' 13-year Conservatorship - Here's What You Should Know about the Complex Legal Arrangement That Prevents the Pop Icon from Controlling Her Life." Insider. June 23, 2021. Accessed July 24, 2021.
"Conservatorship." Conservatorship. Accessed July 24, 2021.
Ibid.
California Probate Code § 2421
Berg, Madeline. "Britney Spears’ Full Statement Against Her Conservatorship." Forbes. June 23, 2021. Accessed July 24, 2021.
Ibid.
California Probate Code § 2601
California Probate Code § 2401.3
Berg, Madeline. "Britney Spears’ Full Statement Against Her Conservatorship." Forbes. June 23, 2021. Accessed July 24, 2021.
Ibid.
"Britney Spears: Singer's conservatorship case explained” BBC News. Accessed July 24, 2021.
Ibid.