At a hearing in Los Angeles on Thursday, Jamie Spears lost his bid for the right to delegate the singer’s investments and his objection to an earlier order that made Bessemer Trust a co-conservator of her estate.
The judge upheld a November 10 ruling that the conservatorship would be jointly controlled. Britney Spears was placed under the legal arrangement in 2008.
A probate judge on Thursday overruled Jamie Spears’ objections to an order establishing Bessemer Trust Co. as a co-conservator of daughter Britney Spears’ estate. Subsequently, Britney Spears’ attorney, Samuel Ingham, submitted a proposed order effectuating the co-conservatorship. Jamie Spears’ attorney objected to the language of the proposed order, saying it improperly reduced his powers over his daughter’s estate. The judge denied those objections.
As part of the objection, Spears’ father sought to retain the delegation of power of the singer’s investments. However, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Brenda Penny denied the objection and upheld her previous ruling from November, which appointed Bessemer as a co-conservator along with Jamie Spears.
A conservatorship is legally defined as a court case where a judge appoints an individual or organization, called the conservator, to care for someone who “cannot care” for themselves or who cannot manage their own finances, according to the Judicial Branch of California. Zoe Brennan-Krohn, a staff attorney with the ACLU, told CBS News conservatorship laws will vary from state to state, making it difficult to determine exactly how many exist across the country.
Britney Spears filed a petition with the court last year to remove her father and to place a financial institution as the sole conservator over her estate. Her attorney, Samuel D. Ingham III, argued last year that the singer was afraid of James “Jamie” Spears and would rather a professional financial institution take over her estate.
The conservatorship, known in many states as a guardianship, began in 2008 when she was having serious mental struggles and an often public meltdown. The arrangements are normally limited to people with severely diminished ability to make decisions for themselves, and are meant to be temporary, but Britney Spears, 38, has remained under court control longer than anyone expected.
