Britney Spears’ father has agreed to step down as the singer’s conservator, pledging to participate in an “orderly transition” to a new legal arrangement. Yet Jamie Spears’ lawyer has insisted there are “no actual grounds” for him to step back and has given no timetable for when he would relinquish his role.
Spears, who has controlled his daughter’s affairs since she suffered a mental health breakdown in 2008, agreed to step aside in court documents filed on Thursday. The “Toxic” pop star has been seeking for months to remove her father from any say in her affairs. A court hearing to discuss her request had been set for late September in Los Angeles. The singer’s lawyer Mathew Rosengart called the decision by Jamie Spears “a major victory for Britney Spears and another step toward justice”. The singer’s career has been in the hands of legal guardians since 2008. But, in the 13 years since, Spears has been fit enough to perform, tour, hold a Las Vegas residency and earn hundreds of millions of dollars. She filed a petition to stop her father controlling her estate in July and has said she will not perform again while he remains in the role. Speaking up more than ever before, Spears has been urging the judge to remove her father from her conservatorship through blistering testimonies this summer, even telling the court that she wants to “press charges” against her father for “conservatorship abuse,” and that she wants him in jail.
Jamie’s attorneys denied that he mistreated his daughter and insisted he is “the best choice” to oversee the conservatorship. They said he only agreed to step down because a “public feud” would not be in Britney’s best interests.
