Britney Spears may be about to break free from the guardianship that has controlled her life and money for nearly 14 years. Sheexpelled withsuccess tohis fatherof the legal settlement in September, and at a hearing on Friday, a judge could end it entirely.
Here’s a look at how curatorships operate, what’s unusual about hers, and why she and so many fans have worked for #FreeBritney.
HOW DO CONSERVATIVES WORK?
When a person is deemed to have severely impaired mental capacity, a court can step in and give someone the power to make financial decisions and make important decisions in their life.
California law says that a conservatorship, called a conservatorship in some states, is justified for a "person who cannot adequately meet personal needs for physical health, food, clothing, or shelter", or for someone who is "substantially unable to manage its own financial resources or resist fraud or undue influence ".
The conservator, as the designated person in charge is called, can be a family member, a close friend, or a court-appointed professional.
Several states have recently used Spears’ attention to the issue toreform your guardianship laws.
HOW DOES SPEARS ‘WORK?
With a fortune of more than 50 million dollars comes the secret, and the court closely guards the inner workings of Spears’s guardianship.
Some aspects have been revealed in documents. The conservatorship has the power to restrict your visits. She organizes and supervises visits to her two teenage sons, whose father has full custody. It can issue restraining orders on your behalf, which you have used more than once to keep out suspected intruders.
You have the power to make your medical decisions and your business. He said at a June hearing that theforced to take medicine inAgainst her will, she was prevented from having an intrauterine birth control device removed and asked to perform when she did not want to.
Spears also said that she had been denied the right to marry or have another child, but has since beenengaged to her longtime boyfriend, Sam Asghari.
WHO HAS POWER OVER SPEARS?
The ultimate power in guardianship, and the only power to end it, rests with Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Brenda Penny.
Before her suspension, her father James Spears had most of the day-to-day power over his daughter’s decisions for 13 years. In 2019, he resigned from the role of curator over his life decisions, keeping control only over his finances. He has now been replaced by John Zabel, an accountant chosen by Britney Spears and her attorney.
Jodi Montgomery, a court-appointed professional, has acted as guardian of her personal affairs since 2019.
WHY HAVE SO MANY CALLED #FREEBRITNEY?
Some fans have opposed the guardianship since shortly after it began. But the movement and the #FreeBritney hashtag really took hold in early 2019, when some believed she was being forced into a mental health hospital against her will.
They pored over his social media posts for clues about his well-being and joined in a movement that has possibly changed public opinion.
The hearings bring dozens of protesters to court with posters like "CONSERVATION IS SLAVERY" and "THIS IS TOXIC".
Tearful fans have felt vindicated bytwo dramatic speecheshe delivered this summer, in which he confirmed many of his suspicions. And they were triumphant when they got their father out. After that hearing, he thanked them in an Instagram post: " #FreeBritney movement… I have no words … for you and your constant resistance to free me from my tutelage … my life now goes in that direction !!!!!"
WHY WAS IT TAXED IN THE FIRST PLACE?
In 2007 and 2008, shortly after becoming a mother, she began having very public mental struggles, with the media obsessing over every moment. Hordes of paparazzi aggressively followed her every time she left her house, and she no longer seemed able to handle it.
He attacked a cameraman’s car with an umbrella. He shaved his head in a salon. He lost custody of his children. When she refused to hand over her children after a visit, she was hospitalized and placed on a psychiatric regimen. The guardianship was established in a few days.
WHY HAS IT LASTED SO LONG?
Guardianship can always be dissolved by the court. Butit is rare for a person to achieve their own liberationof one, as Britney Spears seems to be about to do.
They can last for decades because the circumstances that lead to them, such as traumatic brain injury, Alzheimer’s or dementia, are not things that people simply recover from. The mandatory secrecy of medical records has kept the exact reasons why Britney Spears has remained in hers unclear, but it is clear that these are psychiatric issues.
Spears’ father and his attorneys justified the continued guardianship by arguing that she was especially susceptible to people seeking to take advantage of her money and fame.
HOW DOES SPEARS FEEL ABOUT ALL THIS?
For years it was largely a mystery. But he was allowed to speak publicly in court in June,qualified the guardianship of "abusive" and "stupid"and he says that he does "much more harm than good".
WHAT IF THE JUDGE SAYS IT’S OVER?
Regaining your personal and financial powers after so many years will require some untangling, and the process could take months. Montgomery, along with therapists and doctors, has created a plan of care for the transition.
The singer’s attorney, Mathew Rosengart, has promised to continue an investigation into James Spears’ handling of the guardianship even after it ends. It could take action in civil court and has suggested that it could even turn its findings over to law enforcement for them to consider criminal charges. James Spears has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing.
Britney Spears would likely hire financial managers, assistants, and attorneys to perform many of the same functions that conservatorship previously performed. But their decisions would be subject to your approval. And he could hire and fire them at will.
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