How Conservatorships Work

The legal arrangement giving Britney Spears’ father control over her life and finances is more commonly used as a tool to protect the elderly or extremely ill.

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Since early 2008, Britney Spears has released four albums, performed in Las Vegas more than 250 times, and served as a judge on the X-Factor. During that period, her father, Jamie, has controlled her finances and living situation under the terms of a conservatorship.

In 2008, while Britney was under round-the-clock supervision in a psychiatric hospital, Jamie Spears petitioned a Los Angeles court to name him and an attorney conservators of her multimillion-dollar fortune and her day-to-day life. While initially petitioning for a temporary conservatorship, Jamie was granted permanent conservatorship of his daughter only a few months later. 

Last week the New York Times obtained confidential court documents that revealed Britney has been quietly pushing to end her conservatorship for years. Details of a 2016 report show Britney told a court investigator that the conservatorship was being used as a tool to oppress and control her. The singer appeared in Los Angeles Superior court last Wednesday to contest her conservatorship.

A conservatorship is a court-approved arrangement in which a person or organization is appointed by a judge to take care of the finances and well-being of an adult whom a judge has deemed to be unable to manage his or her life. The appointment of a conservator may be temporary, usually for a period of 30 days, or permanent. Conservatorship laws and procedures may vary state by state, and are typically used to protect the elderly, mentally disabled, or extremely ill.

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  1. Avatar photo
    Jason Gibson

    Good information............it's a bizarre situation and clearly a gap in this part of the society and how it serves it's citizens legally

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    MarqueG68

    Thanks so much for this explainer! I thought I actually didn't care about this issue, but reading this made me think of how insane some of this is--far removed from celebrity concerns. I mean: having to get the conservator's permission to appeal the conservatorship? What incredible lunacy

    I recall reading about abuses of this for normal citizens, often elderly, scammed into signing forms, and thus unwittingly giving up their assets and independence to unscrupulous strangers who bleed them for all they're worth.

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    rlritt

    This seems like a gross miscarriage of justice.

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  4. Avatar photo
    Matt

    One bone to pick. Some states do not use the term “conservatorship” but instead use guardianship (of the person or estate) for both minors and adults. Otherwise, this is a helpful write up.

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      Jason Gibson

      I think that's how it is in Michigan as i've never heard the word conservator used here

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    Victor Clairmont

    All I could think of was that old viral Clip of the young guy screaming, “Leave Britney aloooooooooone!” As I read this.


    Ahem.

    Free Britney!!!!!

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    Dina

    It sounds pretty awful for Britney Spears.

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    Mudskipper

    There were a series of stories circulating a few years back of unscrupulous conservators making living targeting vulnerable seniors and going to court to gain conservatorship. What was shocking and surprising is that no one in the process bothered to contact the relatives of the senior, who often had no idea that conservatorship was under consideration at the court until after it was granted. And then the conservator could make a decent living by paying himself or herself conservatorship fees from the estate of the people they were conservators for. The lack of safeguards in the process was astounding to me.

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    Paul B

    Very helpful explainer! To anyone else who may read this...do you know how long Britney's conservatorship (or any conservatorship, really) is expected to last?
    It's a fascinating topic, but I'm hesitant to pay too close attention to this specific case, given how so much of this specific story is based on 2nd- and 3rd-hand knowledge.

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      snoball

      I believe her conservatorship is permanent. And it was implemented after she mentally kicked the bucket in 2006-2007 and lost custody of her kids and got involuntarily institutionalized in 2008.

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