Here is an actual line from the latest filing by Britney Spears’ father Jamie, who has spent the last thirteen years hoovering up cash as conservator of her estate.
For over thirteen years, Mr. Spears has dutifully and faithfully served as the Conservator of his daughter’s Estate without any blemishes on his record. This is not an opinion; he has taken the Estate from being in debt and facing tens of millions of dollars of lawsuits to a current value of well over $60 million. Mr. Spears’ record as Conservator speaks for itself.
That’s nice.
Mr. Spears left out the part where he got paid $16,000 a month, plus another $2,000 for expenses, plus a percentage of everything she earned. Neither does Mr. Spears, who is reported to have referred to his daughter as a “racehorse,” make any reference to his daughter’s mental health or personal wishes — his sole criterion for success being to maximize his daughter’s earning potential.
There is a four letter word for a person who forces a woman to dance on stage in her underwear every night, as the singer has alleged. Hint: It starts with “P,” and it isn’t “Papa.”
Yesterday, Britney’s new lawyer Matthew Rosengart of Greenberg Traurig requested an ex parte order immediately removing her father as conservator of her estate and replacing him with CPA Jason Rubin.
According to People magazine, Spears’ hopes that Rubin, who has significant experience as a forensic accountant unwinding fraud and elder abuse claims, will be able to figure out if she was ripped off during the conservatorship.
“Basically he’s going to go back and look at all of the expenses and money that has been spent over the years,” the source told People. “Britney’s determined to find out if her funds have been misused.”
A hearing on Britney’s motion to remove her father was already scheduled for September 29, moved up from its original December 13 date.
But Rosengart requested that it be expedited even further, writing that “Every day that passes is another day of avoidable harm and prejudice to Ms. Spears and the Estate.”
“Although a two-month wait for a hearing on the Petition may not seem significant in the context of 13 years, Ms. Spears should not be forced to continue to feel traumatized, lose sleep, and suffer further,” he argued. “Every day matters.”
Jamie Spears’s counsel at Holland & Knight, which have already billed the singer $1.3 million since October of 2020 much of it for a PR campaign which included trashing the singer’s own mother, swung into action.
Characterizing Rosengart’s declaration as “comprised of unsubstantiated, vague accusations and a false statement about Mr. Spears opposing a trip to Hawaii” the motion claims the conservatee’s counsel posted no new facts and “no urgency justifying ex parte relief and no requisite showing of good cause has been shown.”
And while Mr. Spears has no objection to expediting the hearing, he’s certainly not going out without a fight. In addition to bragging about turning his own child into a cash cow, he characterizes her harrowing personal account to the court of being a virtual prisoner barred from even removing her own IUD as “untested testimony” and claims that Britney’s care manager Jody Montgomery contacted him after the June 23 hearing about having the singer involuntarily committed.
I explained to Ms. Montgomery that I would do anything I could do to help my daughter but was limited in this ability since I do not have access or insight into any of my daughter’s medical information. After Ms. Montgomery shared her detailed concerns about my daughter’s recent behavior, safety, and overall health, she raised potential options including a 5150 psychiatric hold, which raised my concerns. The conversation ended shortly thereafter when Ms. Montgomery said she would update me on my daughter’s condition and would follow up on what I can do to help.
Because nothing says love like calling your own child crazy and airing her medical history in a public document.
Mr. Spears would also like the world to know that he had nothing to do with his daughter’s hospitalization in 2019.
“It was Jodi Montgomery, along with the Conservatee’s former attorney Sam Ingham, who admitted Ms. Spears to a facility in early 2019, including but not limited to signing the admittance documents,” he wrote. And, yes, sic on the bold underlining.
Above all, Mr. Spears wants to make clear that he’s a devoted father.
“Throughout his service as Conservator, Mr. Spears’ sole motivation has been his unconditional love for his daughter and a fierce desire to protect her from those trying to take advantage of her,” he insisted. “The Conservatorship continues to exist, and Mr. Spears continues to do the job that he was appointed to do.”
As if the second sentence, attesting to a 13-year arrangement where his child’s health did not improve enough for her to take control of her own life, even as she was able to maintain a grueling performance schedule, did not directly contradict the first.
But she made a lot of money, so … father of the year!
Britney Spears’ Lawyer Requests the ‘Immediate Suspension’ of Dad Jamie as Estate Conservator [People]
Elizabeth Dye lives in Baltimore where she writes about law and politics.
Iffy Ibekwe is the principal attorney and founder of 
Jordan Rothman is a partner of 
Kathryn Rubino is a Senior Editor at Above the Law, host of 
