How conservatorships like Britney Spears’ work – KIRO 7 News Seattle

LOS ANGELES – (AP) – Britney Spears told a judge at a dramatic hearing Wednesday that she wanted an end to the conservatory administration that has controlled her life and money for 13 years.

Here’s a look at how conservatories work, what’s unusual about them, and why they and so many fans want #FreeBritney.

HOW DO PRESERVATORS WORK?

If a person is believed to have severely impaired intellectual capacity, a court can intervene and empower someone to make financial and important life decisions on their behalf.

California law states that a conservatory, called guardianship in some states, is warranted for or for an individual “unable to adequately meet their personal needs, such as physical health, food, clothing, or shelter.” someone who is “essentially” unable to manage their own financial resources or who can withstand fraud or undue influence. “

The restorer, as the commissioner is called, can be a family member, a close friend, or a court-appointed professional.

HOW DOES SPEARS WORK?

With a fortune over $ 50 million, secrecy comes in and the court closely guarded the inner workings of Spears’ conservatory.

Some aspects have been disclosed in documents. The conservatory has the power to restrict its attendance. It arranges and oversees visits with their sons aged 14 and 15; Father Kevin Federline has full custody. It has the power to issue injunctions on their behalf, which it has used more than once to keep out suspected intruders. It has the power to make your medical decisions and business deals. She said at the hearing on Wednesday that she was forced to use drugs against her will, forced to use contraceptives and perform performances when she did not want to.

Legally, Spears can marry, but the conservatory must approve it, as with other major life choices. Spears said Wednesday that she is planning to get married and have another child, but has been denied the chance to do both.

Like all California conservatories, it is subject to annual billing and review by a court investigator.

Who has power over spears?

Her father has largely been in charge over the years, and the stereotypical image of a parent taking advantage of a famous child’s fortune fuels hostility to James Spears and the Conservatory, despite every move he makes is under review by the court.

From 2008 to 2019, he had power over their life choices and he and his attorney Andrew Wallet controlled their money. Now he only has financial control and has to share that role with the Bessemer Trust, a property management company. Jodi Montgomery, a court appointed professional, is now acting as the curator for her personal affairs.

WHY ARE SO MANY CALLING #FREEBRITNEY?

Fans who love Britney Spears’ social media posts and public utterances, trying to decipher every utterance, dance step, or meme shared, have increasingly merged into one movement after believing it was unfairly controlled. Key were two women who turned their hobby of tearing apart Spears ‘Instagram posts into a podcast called “Britney’s’ Gram” in 2017. It would help develop the hashtag #FreeBritney.

Hearings can bring dozens of demonstrators to justice wearing signs such as “CONSERVATORSHIP IS SLAVERY” and “THIS IS TOXIC”.

James Spears has called the group a conspiracy theorist, saying that those who shout #FreeBritney do not understand the entirety of the situation.

Fans said after the last hearing that they felt vindicated by Britney Spears, who vindicated much of what they had said.

WHY WAS IT SET UP IN FIRST PLACE?

In 2007 and 2008, shortly after she became a mother, she began having very public mental struggles, with the media obsessed with every moment. Hordes of paparazzi followed her aggressively every time she left her house and she seemed no longer able to handle it.

She attacked a cameraman’s car with an umbrella. She shaved her head in a salon. She lost custody of her children. When she refused to extradite her boys after a visit, she was hospitalized and put on psychiatric pre-trial detention. The conservatory was built within a few days.

WHY DOES IT GO SO LONG?

A conservatory can always be dissolved by the court, although it is rare for a person to successfully apply for release. You have to prove your competence. Spears told the judge on Wednesday that she would like to be released without further evaluation, but there is virtually no chance that it will happen.

They can last for decades because the circumstances that lead to them, like traumatic brain injury, Alzheimer’s disease, or dementia, aren’t things that people simply come back from. The mandatory secrecy of medical records has kept the reasons Britney Spears must stay with her in the dark, but it’s clear they are psychiatric issues. A recent file stated that she was unable to consent to medical treatment.

Spears’ father and his lawyers have emphasized that she is particularly vulnerable to people who want to take advantage of her money and fame.

HOW DOES SPEARS FEEL ABOUT EVERYTHING?

Before Wednesday it was largely a mystery. But she revealed more in her 20-minute speech before the judge than in the previous 13 years. She called the conservatory “abusive” and “stupid”. She said it “does me much more harm than good”.

She said she wanted to be in control of her own money and do simple everyday things like drive in the car with her boyfriend. She said she wanted power over her psychotherapy. And that she wants her life back. “It’s been 13 years and it’s enough,” she said.

She admitted in a lawsuit last year that it had some value when it was founded, saying it “saved them from collapse, predatory individual exploitation, and financial ruin” and “enabled them to do so.” to regain their position as the world ”. Great entertainer. “

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Follow AP Entertainment writer Andrew Dalton on Twitter: twitter.com/andyjamesdalton

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