Britney Spears to address US court over her conservatorship
Britney Spears is set to address a US court over the conservatorship that controls her life (PA)
Britney Spears is set to address a US court over the conservatorship that controls her life.
The pop star’s lawyer, Samuel D Ingham, said she wants to address the court directly.
Judge Brenda Penny, sitting at Los Angeles Superior Court, set a status hearing for June 23.
It was not clear how Spears, 39, would appear, either in-person or virtually.
She has previously made her feelings about the court-ordered conservatorship known through Mr Ingham, including last year when he said she was scared of her father and would not perform again while he controlled her life.
Mr Ingham told the court his client’s wishes during a hearing on Tuesday, that came after the chart-topping singer’s parents had clashed in legal papers.
Spears has been subject to a conservatorship since 2008 when she had a series of public breakdowns captured by paparazzi cameras.
Jamie, her father, retains joint control of her estate alongside a wealth management company, despite Spears asking for him to be ousted from his role.
Friction within the family was laid bare in recent court filings.
Lynne Spears, the singer’s mother, objected to fees claimed by Jamie’s legal team totalling around 890,000 dollars (£640,000) over a period of four months.
Her lawyers called for the claims to be closely scrutinised and any unnecessary costs reimbursed to the singer’s estate.
They said the costs were “procedurally improper” and claimed for lawyers not approved by the court, as well as arguing “the hours logged are utterly excessive”.
Lynne argued Holland & Knight LLP, her ex-husband’s lawyers, spent money on a “national media tour” to promote his legal representative Vivian Thoreen and “combat media coverage that cast (Jamie) in negative light”.
Jamie hit back, saying their fees are justified and alleging Lynne “is not acting in the best interests” of their famous daughter.
In court filings, his legal team said: “She has not been involved in her daughter’s conservatorship until very recently, and she is now raising objections to fees related to matters that she has no knowledge of.
“In doing so, she is causing undue delay and expense in the administration of the Conservatorship, and ironically, stirring up more unnecessary media attention.
“While the Conservator and his counsel have been very cautious, limited, and thoughtful in dealing with the media (a far cry from any ‘national media tour’), Lynne Spears is the one who exploited her daughter’s pain and trauma for personal profit by publishing a book about the Conservatee.”
