Everyone is subject to life’s hardships, but having a solid plan in place to manage those hardships can make things a lot simpler — for the regular Joe and the famed alike. Still, a plan can lead to questions. Britney Spears’ father has had conservatorship of her personal and professional life for approximately four-and-half years. Residents in Florida will know Spears as the superstar singer who has won multiple awards for her music and videos. She is also a judge on the hit television series The X Factor, which is a reality television show.
Simon Cowell, the lead judge and executive producer of The X Factor, suggested that Spears’ fiancée become one of her conservators, since her fiancée, for all practical purposes, has already been managing the singer’s affairs. The singer’s doctors do not yet believe she is ready to take back all control of her personal and financial affairs. Her complicated mental health diagnosis has caused her doctors to remain cautious.
The recent legal proceedings, which occurred in early June, were supposed to have addressed the allowance of fees requested by the singer’s father and her court-appointed attorney. They are asking the court for payment for services rendered in tending to the singer’s conservatorship. The court was also scheduled to hear a motion to seal the singer’s medical records.
Spears is hopeful that she will be able to prove to her doctors and the judge that she is competent enough to regain control of her financial and personal decisions. In order for the conservatorship to be rescinded the singer has to convince the judge and her medical doctors that lifting the conservatorship would be in her best interests. A review hearing is currently scheduled for July 21. Many believe that how the singer handles her new job on the television show will greatly affect the outcome of the proceedings.
Conservatorships in Florida and elsewhere in the U.S. are designed to protect a person who has been determined by the court to be unable to make decisions in their own best interest. Another person or entity is named the conservator and is given the power to make decisions, including personal and financial decisions in some circumstances. Either Spears’ father as conservator, or any interested party, including Ms. Spears can request the court to end the conservatorship, but the court will mostly listen to the doctors when deciding on such requests.