Britney Spears’ father files to finish saving: NPR

On Tuesday, Britney Spears’ father filed a lawsuit to end the court custody that controlled the singer’s life and money for 13 years.

James Spears filed his petition to end guardianship in Los Angeles Superior Court.

“As Mr. Spears has repeatedly said, all he wants is the best for his daughter,” the document says. “If Mrs. Spears wants to end guardianship and thinks she can handle her own life, Mr. Spears thinks she should get that opportunity.”

Judge Brenda Penny, who is overseeing the case, will have to approve the move.

There was no immediate response to an email seeking comment from Britney Spears’ attorney.

James Spears has been the target of much of the anger surrounding guardianship from his daughter and the public.

A petition from Britney Spears’ attorney to dismiss him was due to be heard at the next hearing in the case on September 29.

James Spears said in an August 12 filing that he was planning to step down as governor of her finances, but did not provide a timeline. He relinquished control of her life decisions in 2019, keeping only a role in overseeing her finances.

He has repeatedly said that there is no justification for his dismissal, and he has only acted in the best interests of his daughter.

Conservation was founded in 2008 when Britney Spears began experiencing very public mental struggles as the media captured every moment, hordes of paparazzi followed everywhere, and lost custody of her children.

Tuesday’s file cites how Britney Spears’ “emotional plea” to end legal arrangements in a June 23 speech in court shocked those who wanted to see her freed, citing a transcript from that evening.

“I just want my life back,” Britney Spears said. “It’s been 13 years and that’s enough. It’s been a long time since I’ve had my money. It’s my wish and my dream that it all ends without a test.”

Tuesday’s filing notes that Spears said she did not know she could petition to end the guardianship, which she has not yet done. She says Penny’s decision to allow her to appoint her own attorney, Matthew Rosengart, shows that the court trusts her with the big choices. She says the evidence shows she apparently “demonstrated a level of independence” by doing things like driving by herself around Southern California.

It also indicates her willingness to make her own decisions about treatment and other medical care.

Spears had said in her June 23 letter that she was forced under tutelage to take certain medications and use an intrauterine device for birth control against her will.

James Spears called for a judicial investigation into these and other allegations, saying they were issues beyond his control because he stepped down as governor over his daughter’s person, handing the role over to court-appointed professional Judy Montgomery.

Rosengart, Britney Spears’ new attorney, said when he was appointed in July that he intended to help end the guardianship, and questioned whether it should have been established in the first place, although he had yet to apply to terminate it.

He said instead that his first priority is to get rid of James Spears, whom he appealed to resign immediately in his first court appearance.

Rosengart filed a motion to fire James Spears on July 26, alleging that he mismanaged his daughter’s money and affairs, and noting that he used the tutelage for his own gain. The judge declined to hold an emergency hearing on the matter, saying it could be heard in time in September.

The attorney said he welcomes James Spears’ indication that he will eventually step down, but said that wouldn’t slow his efforts to remove him.

Spears has given the initial presence credit for maintaining her career, though she has now suspended her entire career for more than two years.

Fans who objected to her circumstances and saw what they believed to be pleas for help in the pop star’s Instagram posts began connecting online to #FreeBritney, and began appearing outside court hearings to protest.

Famous names from Miley Cyrus to ex-Britney Spears’ Justin Timberlake have joined the protest in recent months, especially after Spears’ emotional court speeches in June and July.

Penny, the judge with ultimate guardianship authority, had never shown inclined to finish it before, but she was never given such a clear chance.