Britney Spears’ testimony has opened a divide in her conservatorship team

Britney Spears’ rare public testimony sparked an onslaught of rapid change in her case, with numerous filings offered to the court in the three weeks since her last hearing as her conservators attempt to address the allegations she submitted to the judge.

On June 23, Spears told the court that she wanted to end her conservatorship without further psychological evaluation, describing the 13-year-long case as traumatizing and abusive. She described her former psychiatrist as abusive, said she had been forced into inpatient facilities against her will and said her conservators refused to allow her to remove an intrauterine device so she could have more children.

“I’m not lying. I just want my life back. And it’s been 13 years. And it’s enough. It’s been a long time since I’ve owned my money. And it’s my wish and my dream for all of this to end without being tested,” she told Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Brenda Penny.

The testimony, which was heard by members of the public who registered with the court’s remote listening program, has since resulted in resignations and new filings that may bring much desired changes for Spears.

Since then, a series of filings have revealed discord among the ranks of her conservators ahead of Wednesday’s hearing.

Two weeks ago, two important members of Britney Spears’ conservatorship team filed their resignations with the court — the first being Bessemer Trust, the financial institution that was assigned to help handle the singer’s estate after the court rejected Spears’ request to remove her father from her case.

Bessemer said in its petition to be removed from the conservatorship that it entered into the conservatorship because it “relied on the representations of the parties that the ongoing Conservatorship was voluntary.” But now Bessemer is aware that Spears “objects to the continuance of her Conservatorship and desires to terminate the Conservatorship” and the company respects her wishes, the filing said.

The institution cited the June 23 testimony in its reasoning to the court.

A few days later, Spears’ court-appointed attorney said he was resigning in documents filed with the Los Angeles County Superior Court. Samuel D. Ingham III has been Spears’ attorney since 2008, but the singer told the court last month that she wanted the right to retain her own attorney.

Spears also alleged that her attorney hadn’t informed her of her right to petition to end the conservatorship and that Ingham advised her against speaking out against her conservators.

The singer’s father, James “Jamie” Spears, filed a request for an investigation into his daughter’s allegations within days of her testimony. Jamie has been one of Britney’s conservators since the case began in 2008, after the international pop sensation was placed in two involuntary hospitalizations. Britney stated in court that she wanted Jamie removed from the conservatorship, while Jamie has insisted that he only had his daughter’s best interest at heart.

On the same day Jamie Spears filed his request with the court to “investigate the veracity of the allegations and claims made by Ms. Spears,” his team filed a separate motion that cast suspicion on co-conservator Jodi Montgomery.

Montgomery has been assigned as Britney Spears’ conservator-of-the-person since 2019, which is a role that oversees the singer’s daily activity and medical needs.

Jamie Spears said he was “concerned about the management and care of his daughter” and that Montgomery did “not reflect her wishes.” His petition also said that Montgomery was the sole arbiter of his daughter’s personal life and medical treatment since her appointment.

Montgomery, who has asked for security expenses over death threats following Britney Spears’ testimony, rejected Jamie Spears’ allegations against her in a response petition on Friday.

“The mud-slinging by Mr. Spears and his new ‘It wasn’t me!’ strategy — after being her sole or co-conservator for more than 13 years — leaves Ms. Montgomery no other choice but to defend herself,” the filing said.

The filing states that Jamie Spears has been cut off from communicating with his daughter for nearly two years, at Britney Spears’ request, and cannot possibly know what her wishes are. Britney wants Montgomery to stay on and is desperate to have her father removed from her case, the petition said.

She described Jamie Spears’ request for an investigation as “thinly veiled attempt to use his daughter’s money to defend himself” and said the court annually investigates the conservatorship as part of state probate law. The filing goes on to say that while Jamie says he wants to follow his daughter’s wishes, he’s never once relinquished his power over her.

Montgomery’s filing pushes back at any accusation that she left Jamie Spears out of any medical decisions or the idea that he was ignorant to decisions that were being made. It also said that some of Britney Spears’ allegations rose from a rejection of financial approval for her care, which went through her father.

“Mr. Spears points fingers at Ms. Montgomery, implying that for the last 21 months he has had absolutely no involvement in Ms. Spears’ day-to-day personal care and medical treatment,” the petition said. “But this ignores the simple fact that everything costs money. Because Ms. Montgomery does not have any power or authority over Ms. Spears’ money, every expenditure made by Ms. Montgomery for Ms. Spears had to be first approved by Mr. Spears as the Conservator of the Estate.”

June 24, 202101:10

Among the flurry of new filings in Spears’ case since her June 23 testimony are indications of support from her mother, Lynne Spears, and Montgomery to help end the conservatorship. Attorneys for Lynne Spears prepared a filing asking the court to respect her daughter’s wishes to retain her own counsel. Britney Spears is well enough care for herself and should have permission to hire her own attorney to handle her conservatorship case, her mother’s motion of support said.

“Now, and for the past many years, Conservatee is able to care for her person and in fact has, inside of the parameters of this conservatorship, earned literally hundreds of millions of dollars as an international celebrity. … Her capacity is certainly different today than it was in 2008, and Conservatee should no longer be held to the 2008 standard, whereby she was found to ‘not have the capacity to retain counsel,'” the motion said.

Montgomery also filed statements of support to the court for Spears’ right to retain a private attorney over a new court-appointed lawyer. She suggested that the court temporarily assign the singer a guardian ad litem, who would help Spears choose her own attorney.

The filing implied that it would be a compromise to address concerns that Spears might not have the capacity to pick her own attorney while also respecting the singer’s request for one.

Montgomery also said Spears has repeatedly and consistently asked for her help to hire a new attorney. Her filing included screenshots of what appear to be redacted text messages between her and Spears, although the contact at the top of the messages is referred to as “Jane Doe.”

“Getting you a new attorney, by filing with the court is the best legal approach,” one of Montgomery’s messages said. “Your dad has excellent attorneys. and you should too.”

Additionally, Montgomery told the court that she was preparing a new medical care plan that would work toward building Spears’ independence. In the response to Jamie Spears on Friday, there was a brief mention of the new plan.

“[Montgomery] is committed to staying (despite the numerous threats against her) so that she can seek a re-evaluation of the powers and restrictions currently in place in a new Care Plan, with the goal of eventually terminating the conservatorship — a goal that may not necessarily be shared by Mr. Spears and his attorneys,” the response said.

Source: | This article originally belongs to Nbcnews.com