Britney Spears’ conservatorship battle against her father, Jamie Spears, continues, but the pop star had a small victory on Wednesday.
The 38-year-old singer, who is currently fighting to have her dad removed from her 12-year conservatorship, will now be allowed to expand her legal team after her petition request was granted. Britney was not present for the latest hearing, though her mother, Lynne Spears, her attorney, Samuel Ingham, and her dad were present.
The news comes after Jamie filed paperwork arguing against the petition to add more lawyers to his daughter’s legal team because it would cost too much money.
“Clearly, James’ objectives are either to filibuster the appointment of a corporate fiduciary indefinitely or to dominate the entire process himself, including the selection of the fiduciary,” Ingham contended last week. “The only way to assure that Britney’s voice is heard will be for her to have qualified litigation counsel available in order to place her on a level playing field with James.”
Britney’s legal team was adamant in the court docs that she does not share her father’s “vision of a future in which she resumes performing and leaves the management of her estate completely to him as she did in the past.”
“James himself holds the key to reducing or eliminating litigation in this case,” Ingham added.
In a hearing last Wednesday in Los Angeles, in which all parties appeared remotely, Jamie’s legal team requested that Britney herself, not just her attorneys, be present during such court proceedings. The singer’s lawyer, however, argued that it was not necessary for her to show up for such hearings.
“I am the exclusive source of information in public pleadings as to what my client wants,” Ingham told the court.
Jamie’s lawyer, Lauriann Wright, argued that in the past, Ingham has brought up statements that Britney made that felt like hearsay. “Perhaps it would be best for Ms. Spears to appear so we all know what she’s thinking,” Wright said. “We are not trying to force Ms. Spears into court either.”
Ingham responded, “It’s clear counsel has a larger agenda here. …From my perspective it is self-evident that conservativees can’t file verified declarations because they lack the legal capacity to do so.”
Last week’s court proceeding was originally set so Jamie could get approved his record of Britney’s finances, which show how the money in the conservatorship is spent. Ingham said they needed more time to look over the material, and has already indicated in court documents that he plans to file written objections on Britney’s behalf regarding the financial documents submitted. This matter will now be addressed in court on Nov. 10.
This all comes after Jamie recently withdrew his petition to have attorney Andrew M. Wallet, who previously served as Britney’s co-conservator from 2008 to March 2019, back on as a co-conservator of his daughter’s estate.
The singer had already objected to this request, claiming in court docs that she wouldn’t be able to afford Wallet as her co-conservator due in large part to that the fact that she doesn’t have a desire to perform and therefore isn’t pulling in as much money.
