Jamie Spears Changes Story on Why He Wanted to End Conservatorship

• Britney Spears’ dad has filed new court documents related to her ongoing conservatorship case.
• Jamie Spears says he filed to end the conservatorship to make sure her finances weren’t depleted.
• But the original September 2021 petition makes no mention of her financial estate being a concern.

A December 15 court filing from Jamie Spears’ lawyer brings a new take on the reason why Britney Spears’s father supported her wish to end the conservatorship.

“Jamie promptly took steps to end the conservatorship to ensure Britney’s estate is not depleted by a self-interested entourage of handlers, counsel, and other persons feigning concern for Britney’s welfare after Britney voiced her desire to take control over her life and career,” the filing (which was reviewed by Insider) says.

This is a newly presented set of concerns, ones that were not mentioned when Jamie first petitioned the Los Angeles court to end his daughter’s conservatorship.

Jamie’s public statements and previous filings in support of the termination of his daughter’s conservatorship told a slightly different story

 

Nick Ut/AP

In September, Jamie filed a petition for the termination of the conservatorship. In it there was no mention her financial estate or a “self-interested entourage of handlers.”

Instead, the petition focused on how Britney herself had told the Los Angeles court that she wished for her legal guardianship arrangement to come to an end after 13 years. It also mentioned how Britney wished to have “control of her life back without the safety rails of a conservatorship.”

“If Ms. Spears wants to terminate the conservatorship and believes that she can handle her own life, Mr. Spears believes that she should get that chance,” Jamie said in the September petition.

He continued: “If Ms. Spears has the capacity and capability to engage counsel on her own, she presumably has capacity and capability to handle other contractual and business matters. In addition to being able to choose and instruct her own attorney, Ms. Spears should be given the opportunity to hire her own business manager, financial advisor, and security to protect both her estate and her person.”

Jamie’s lawyer did not immediately return Insider’s request for comment.

The full new filing made on December 15 outlines Jamie’s requests for the court to authorize “prompt payment” to his lawyers from Britney Spears’ financial estate. Now that the conservatorship has been terminated, various lawyers and appointed coconservators are working with the court to wrap up the financial details of Britney’s estate.

Britney’s lawyer, Mathew Rosengart, sent the following statement to Insider in response to Jamie’s new filing:

“Mr. Spears reaped many millions of dollars from Britney as a conservator, while paying his lawyers many millions more, all from his daughter’s work and hard earned money. The conservatorship has been terminated and Mr. Spears was suspended ignominiously.  Under the circumstances, his petition is not only legally meritless, it is an abomination. Britney poignantly testified about the pain her father caused her and this only adds to it. This is not what a father who loves his daughter does.”

Britney Spears’s lawyers have cast doubt on Jamie’s motivations for asking the court to end the conservatorship before the pop star made the formal request

 

Kevin Winter/Getty Images

Jamie filed the September petition after weeks of refusing to grant requests for his immediate resignation.  Rosengart called the petition for termination “another legal victory,” but with a caveat.

“This filing represents another legal victory for Britney Spears — a massive one — as well as vindication for Ms. Spears,” Rosengart said in a statement sent to Variety correspondent Elizabeth Wagmeister.

He continued: “It appears that Mr. Spears believes he can try to avoid accountability and justice, including sitting for a sworn deposition and answering other discovery under oath. But as we assess his filing (which was inappropriately sent to the media before it was served on counsel) we will also continue to explore all options.”

Jamie was suspended from the conservatorship by the end of September. Britney has said she wants her father charged with “conservatorship abuse” but so far no formal charges have been made.

In November, new filings from Rosengart said Jamie Spears requested to end his daughter’s conservatorship over a week after Rosengart requested a sworn deposition and 13 years’ worth of documents.

“Mr. Spears’s reversal was motivated by a desire to bolster his reputation or to avoid his deposition or responding to the outstanding discovery served on him in August,” Rosengart wrote in the November filing.

A Los Angeles judge decided to grant Britney’s request for the termination of the 13-year conservatorship in November 2021 — a decision supported by all parties involved. But there are still procedural loose ends to tie.

Earlier this month, Britney’s temporary conservators said Jamie didn’t follow proper procedure after termination.

The next hearing in Britney’s conservatorship case is scheduled for January 19, 2022.