Britney Spears Wants Her Conservatorship Battle To Stay In The Public Eye — Why?

In 2008, pop star Britney Spears entered into a conservatorship arrangement for the management of most of her affairs, including decisions related to her career and finances, medical care, and personal life. The conservatorship followed an extended period of erratic behavior for the singer, culminating in an involuntary psychiatric hospitalization. Britney’s father, Jamie Spears, was appointed as her conservator, a role he served for a decade before stepping down last year for health reasons. A temporary conservator was appointed at that time, and last month a judge announced the conservatorship would remain as is until February 2021. Hearing dates for naming a new permanent conservator have also been set.

More attention is being paid to these arrangements in New Jersey. On August 31, New Jersey State Senator James Beach (D-Cherry Hill) introduced legislation that calls for updates to state law surrounding guardianships. His bill outlines new ethical conduct standards by guardians and provides stronger protections for wards (including minor children) and conservatees.

Conservatorships are normally a very private matter, but given Britney’s celebrity status, her conservatorship case has been anything but. This is why it didn’t come as a much of a surprise when Jamie Spears filed a motion recently asking for past conservatorship hearings to be permanently sealed.

What did come as a surprise, however, was Britney’s team filed a response that opposed the sealing and asked the courts for greater public transparency in all hearings, both past and future.

What would prompt Britney to want her conservatorship to be exposed to more scrutiny? The answer may lie in the nature of conservatorships themselves, and what these arrangements are and are not intended to be. Let’s look at some of the issues around conservatorships -- in California and also here in New Jersey -- and why transparency in Britney’s case may be desired.

What happens in a conservatorship?

In a probate conservatorship, which is the kind Britney Spears has (as opposed to a mental health conservatorship, which is somewhat different) a judge appoints another person or organization to manage the affairs of someone who is unable to do so on their own. A conservatorship can be “of the person,” where the conservator manages personal affairs such as the details of daily living or medical needs; of the estate, where the conservator manages property and financial matters; or both. Both kinds can begin as temporary arrangements. Temporary arrangements typically last for two or three months while the court evaluates the need for a permanent conservatorship.?

Conservatorships are most frequently sought by relatives of an elderly person. It is unusual for a young person to be sufficiently debilitated or sufficiently wealthy to need such an arrangement. Most conservatorships are both of the estate and of the person, and they tend to be permanent, although they can be terminated for certain reasons, if, for example the conservatee regains the ability to make decisions for herself, or the estate runs out of money. A conservatee always retains the right to petition for termination of a conservatorship or for changes to its terms. Even if the conservatee never speaks out, the law requires periodic court review of such arrangements, including interviewing conservatees and informing them of their rights. Conservators must make detailed reports to the court, and must seek court approval for major decisions, such as buying or selling real estate, borrowing money, or making gifts from the estate. In a complex estate this can be a substantial amount of work. Conservators are entitled to fair compensation.

New Jersey Guardianships

The equivalent of a California conservatorship in New Jersey is a guardianship. Guardianships can be general, or “plenary,” meaning that they grant authority for all major decision-making, or they can be more limited. Like California conservatorships, guardianships can be of the estate, of the person, or both. Personal guardianships can also be further limited, to confer responsibility over only one or a few areas, such as educational, medical, or legal matters.

Just to keep things confusing, New Jersey also has something called a conservatorship, but this is a voluntary arrangement whereby a competent person asks someone else to handle their affairs. Both guardianships and conservatorships must be established through a court process and can be quite expensive to set up, so most people opt for simpler solutions, such as powers of attorney.

The Spears Conservatorship

The Britney Spears conservatorship began after she started behaving erratically in 2007. Reports of incidents such as driving with her infant son on her lap, shaving her head and attacking a car with an umbrella attracted much media attention. She was hospitalized for psychiatric evaluation twice in 2008, under what is known as a 5150 hold. Eventually her father, Jamie Spears, was appointed co-conservator of both her person and her estate, along with attorney Andrew M. Wallet, a certified specialist in Estate Planning, Trusts and Probate Law. Wallet voluntarily resigned in March of 2019, leaving Jamie Spears as sole conservator. In September of 2019, Jamie Spears suffered some serious health issues and the court appointed professional fiduciary Jodi Montgomery to take over the personal conservatorship temporarily.

Some of Britney’s fans began speculating that Britney was being unduly controlled by the conservatorship. There is no evidence that this is true, although there have been reports of clashes between Spears and her father. In 2019 the conservatorship won a defamation suit against the creator of the website “Absolute Britney” for claiming that the conservators were manipulating the singer and violating her human rights. Nevertheless, buzz that the conservatorship could be ending soon ramped up with the changes to conservators in 2019, especially after Britney’s brother Bryan made public statements indicating that Britney wanted to terminate it. According to attorney Troy Martin, who reviewed the file for USA Today in October of 2019, however, there is no indication that Spears has ever made any formal request for termination. To the contrary, Martin indicated that the arrangement appears to have served her well. According to the LA Times, her net worth increased substantially after the conservatorship was implemented.

Current Status of the Conservatorship

In the most recent hearings, Spears, through her attorney Samuel D. Ingham, III, expressed an objection to Jamie Spears being reappointed as personal conservator or continuing to act as sole conservator of her estate. She requested that the current temporary personal conservator be made permanent, and that a qualified corporate fiduciary?be appointed as a co-conservator of the estate. She also requested some modifications to her current personal restrictions, such as that she be permitted to drive a car. Jamie Spears countered by requesting that Andrew Wallet, the previous co-conservator, be reappointed. Wallet has apparently agreed to this. Britney’s mother, Lynne Spears, also appeared at the hearing to request that she be kept informed regarding the details of a trust that was established in 2004 for the benefit of Britney’s two children.

The judge ordered that everything continue unchanged until February 1, 2021 and set dates for new future hearings to decide on the new permanent conservators.

Why Britney Wants Greater Transparency

Also at stake in Britney’s conservatorship is privacy. In a move related to the recent hearings, Jamie filed a motion to seal parts of the conservatorship case. Britney’s lawyers filed a response last week to deny this request. As People Magazine reported, instead of making proceedings private, Britney and her legal team wish to make the case as "transparent" as possible with her fans, especially those trending #FreeBritney posts on social media.

Providing more openness may be a move to dispel rumors as a new conservator is named.

As her attorney’s responses stated: "Britney strongly believes it is consistent not only with her personal best interests but also with good public policy generally that the decision to appoint a new conservator of her estate be made in as open and transparent a manner as possible.” Jamie's motion for sealing court records, the response goes on, is supposedly being brought by her father to 'protect' Britney's interests, but "Britney herself is vehemently opposed to this effort by her father to keep her legal struggle hidden away in the closet as a family secret.”

“Transparency is an essential component in order for this Court to earn and retain the public's confidence with respect to protective proceedings like this one. In this case, it is not an exaggeration to say that the whole world is watching,” the response concludes.

In taking steps to pursue her conservatorship on her own terms, Britney’s desire and willingness to be transparent about her matter may be very much tied to her unique position as a public figure. Others in a similar situation may have very different feelings about the sealing of court records, and be relieved to have such an option.

However, by taking this step Britney is demonstrating there’s "nothing to hide” when it comes to her arrangement.

Conservatorships have long been shrouded in secrecy and with that secrecy comes misunderstanding and uncertainty. Who can truly benefit from a conservatorship? When is one needed? What is a "good" conservator vs. one not in the conservatee’s best interest?

In a very real way, Britney Spears is giving a masterclass around this poorly understood topic, helping us all to better understand options available for the continued care and well-being of our loved ones, and the legal process that surrounds it.

So instead of #FreeBritney, maybe we in the legal community can say #ThankyouBritney instead.?

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About Bari Z. Weinberger, Esq.?

Family law expert and certified matrimonial law attorney, Bari Z. Weinberger, is the founder and managing partner of Weinberger Divorce & Family Law Group, a family law firm serving divorce and family law clients throughout New Jersey with offices in key locations throughout New Jersey. Ms. Weinberger is a certified matrimonial attorney and experienced family law mediator. She is also a published author and frequent media contributor on divorce and family law for both local and national audiences.