Britney Spears’ father has agreed to step down as her conservator, according to court filings from his lawyers.
James Spears says he “intends to work with the Court and his daughter's new attorney to prepare for an orderly transition to a new conservator”, TMZ first reported on Thursday (12 August) citing new legal documents.
The Independent has contacted James Spears and Britney Spears’ respective attorneys for more information.
According to TMZ, the new documents state in part that “there are, in fact, no actual grounds for suspending or removing Mr Spears as the conservator of the estate ... and it is highly debatable whether a change in conservator at this time would be in Ms Spears’s best interests”.
"Nevertheless, even as Mr Spears is the unremitting target of unjustified attacks, he does not believe that a public battle with his daughter over his continuing service as her conservator would be in her best interests,” the documents add according to the publication.
“So, even though he must contest this unjustified petition for his removal, Mr Spears intends to work with the court and his daughter's new attorney to prepare for an orderly transition to a new conservator.”
The filing then states that James Spears (also known as Jamie) “will always be Ms. Spears' father, he will always love her unconditionally, and he will always look out for her best interests”, TMZ added.
Britney Spear’ lawyer Mathew Rosengart told the website “we are pleased but not necessarily surprised” by the development.
The conservatorship has controlled Britney Spears’ life and finances since 2008. James Spears had power over her life choices from 2008 to 2019 and controlled her financial decisions along with his attorney in that same time. He stepped down as the conservator of his daughter’s personal matters in 2019 and was going to share power over her finances with an estate management firm, but it has withdrawn from the arrangement.
Britney Spears denounced the conservatorship in an emotional court address in June, telling a judge she wants the system to end and describing it as “abusive”.
James Spears has defended the conservatorship as being necessary and said in a filing earlier this month he has “dutifully and faithfully served as the conservator of his daughter’s estate without any blemishes on his record”.
Fans celebrated the news on Thursday, with actor Jude Demorest saying she was in a restaurant when diners broke into applause over the news.
