By Sammie Jones-
The father of Britney Spears has been suspended from the pop superstar’s conservatorship, a judge in the US has ruled.
Judge Brenda Penny said, during a heated hearing at Los Angeles Superior Court on Wednesday, that any prospect of Jamie Spears remaining in charge of his daughter’s estate was “untenable”.
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Spears has long fought to be granted independence over her financial affairs ever since her father originally had control of her career.
The 69-year-old was ordered to turn over the relevant documents to John Zabel, a certified public accountant, who has been appointed temporary conservator of the singer’s 60-million-dollar (£45 million) estate.
Jamie’s legal team had forcefully argued against his suspension, instead arguing that termination of the complex legal arrangement was the correct course.
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However, the judge agreed with Spears’s lawyer, stating it was in the star’s “best interests” that her father be removed.
“The current situation is untenable,” Penny said after hearing arguments from both sides. “It reflects a toxic environment which requires the suspension of James Spears.”
She scheduled a hearing for 12 November to discuss the complete termination of the conservatorship, which it appears all parties now support.
Mathew Rosengart, Britney Spears’ attorney, had pushed for her father to be removed immediately before any other actions were taken, saying it was necessary for the singer’s wellbeing. Spears was not present at Wednesday’s hearing.
“The conservatorship can and should be wound up and terminated promptly – ideally this fall … Britney Spears deserves to have her father out of her life as a conservator, today,” Rosengart said.
The decision comes three months after the pop star first publicly pleaded for her father to be removed, alleging that he had been abusive and saying: “He loved the control to hurt his own daughter.”
The court was told Jamie’s continued involvement was “toxic”.
The move marks the latest major milestone in the singer’s attempts to free herself from the arrangement that has overseen her life and career since 2008.
The judge’s decision will likely be celebrated by members of the #FreeBritney movement, a global group of supporters who have long called for the conservatorship to be terminated.
A decision on the termination could come before the end of the year following months of fast-paced developments in what was once a staid and slow-moving case.
Jamie stepped down from his role overseeing his daughter’s personal affairs in 2019, but had maintained control of her finances.
Jodi Montgomery remains conservator of the singer’s person.
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