Britney appearing at the 2000 Grammy awards. Source; Vogue

It’s a little difficult to fathom having a fortune of $79 million to manage, let alone have almost no access to it. Jamie Spears, father to Britney Spears, has been dangling the fortune carrot for the last 13 years after she was placed under a court imposed conservatorship agreement. The singer recently appeared before a judge in a legal battle to end the conservatorship, pleading to have greater control over her life without undergoing further psychological testing. For the past 13 years, Britney requires permission to leave the house or spend any of her own money, and requested that the judge giver her greater autonomy over her life. She has not spoken to her father since August 2020.

Britney Spears and her conservator father, Jamie Spears. Source: Glamour

The #freeBritney campaign has been splashed across social media, with Britney describing the conservatorship as “abusive, stupid, embarrassing and demoralising” during her trial last Wednesday. The agreement was introduced in 2008 after Britney suffered her infamous breakdown, stripping her of the ability to manage her own affairs and finances. Los Angeles based family lawyer Christopher Melcher explained that "once a person is under a conservatorship, it's difficult to get out of it because the court does not want to remove those protections only to have the conservatee taken advantage of.”

So, here’s what we do know about the legal battle over conservatorship according to the Superior Court of California:

A judge granting a guardian full control over a person’s finances if they are physically or mentally unable to manage these
A conservator can manage a conservatee’s estate, or can manage an individual’s daily life, living arrangements, health decisions, etc
A common conservatorship may include parents of mentally disabled adults, or guardians of elderly persons that may be at risk of financial abuse including those who suffer dementia, and

Conservators must report to the court that appointed them
Britney’s mother formally objected to Jamie’s request for Britney to pay his legal fees, and
Britney requested her temporary co-conservator Jodi Montgomery to be named as her permanent conservator.

For Britney, her father Jamie Spears has control over two parts which include her estate and financial affairs, as well as control over her as a person. Under the legal agreement, Britney has not controlled her finances since 2008 when the media documented a series of incidents. She had hit the headlines in 2008 after publicly shaving her head and hitting a photographer’s car with an umbrella, following the loss of custody over her two children and a divorce from Kevin Federline in 2007. From a court report issued in 2016, it was reported that "she feels the conservatorship has become an oppressive and controlling tool against her,” after Spears claimed that the agreement restricted many aspects of her life, from who she dated to the colour of her kitchen cabinet.

Britney is not alone in the conservatorship world. Former Nickelodeon star Amanda Bynes continues to live under legal limitations after tweeting about her bipolar diagnosis in 2014, before her drug addiction became widely publicised. Her mother Lynn Organ was granted the right to become her conservator after her drug use made her unable to make any coherent decisions, with a judge recently rejecting her pleas for an end in 2020. In 1990, The Beach Boys’ Brian Wilson was placed under a conservatorship by his relatives after his mental health took a significant turn, and his “his every move was controlled.”

Britney’s first album, released in 1999. Source: Buzzfeed

Although laws may vary across jurisdictions, one consistent right of the conservatoree is the right to ask the judge to end the conservatorship. They may raise concerns with the court over the conservator’s actions or decisions, which Britney has since done over fears her father is exploiting the agreement. As raised by the popstar, the impacts of conservatorship include exposure to abuse of the agreement and exploitation. Her legal team have argued that she has been exploited from a professional level and by her family, after Britney told a Los Angeles judge last week that she had been forced to take the drug lithium against her will and was prohibited from removing a birth control device in a move to prevent her having additional children.

Today, Britney’s request to have her father Jamie removed from the financial aspects of her conservatorship was denied by Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Brenda Penny after Ms Spears made claims that she had been “bullied” by the legal agreement. Undoubtedly, Britney’s supporters will continue the #FreeBritney campaign after she pleaded to the court that “this is called sex trafficking, making anyone work - work against their will. Taking all their possessions away — credit card, cash, phone, passport card — and placing them in a home.” It is not the first time that Britney has had her request denied; she filed for an end to the conservatorship in November 2020, which the judge denied.

Matt Winkelmeyer - Getty Images. Source: Harpers Bazaar

"I want my life back."