Britney Spears’ attorney plans to file a petition to request the court’s consideration to move Jodi Montgomery from temporary conservator of the person to a conservator.
In a brief hearing Wednesday, Samuel D. Ingham III told the court he intended to file a petition to bring Jodi Montgomery on as a permanent conservator to his client's case. Montgomery was temporarily in charge of Britney Spears' estate after her father, Jamie Spears, took a break for personal health reasons.
Jamie Spears has been his daughter’s conservator since 2008 and was briefly her sole conservator in 2019 after the resignation of his former co-conservator, Andrew Wallet. Later that same year, Jamie Spears took a break from controlling her estate due to his health and Montgomery stepped in as a temporary conservator of the person.
Ingham then argued last year that Britney Spears would rather Montgomery remain as temporary conservator of the person and asked the court to remove Jamie Spears as a conservator. Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Brenda Penny denied the request to remove Jamie Spears in November but did appoint financial institution Bessemer Trust as co-conservator of the estate.
Jamie Spears from his daughter's case but requesting Montgomery be granted a conservator,
The pending petition from Ingham does not appear intended to remove Jamie Spears but requesting Montgomery be granted a conservator, based on the short statement he made in court on Wednesday. Ingham declined to comment to NBC News on Wednesday.
Penny will review the petition and other filings in a hearing on April 27.
An attorney for Jamie Spears did not have a comment on the matter on Wednesday.
Britney Spears has been under a legal conservatorship following her public breakdown in 2007. A #FreeBritney movement gained popularity in 2019 as fans of the singer alleged that Jamie Spears has abused the conservatorship to keep control over his daughter.
Jamie Spears and his attorneys have repeatedly denied the allegations over the years, saying that he saved his daughter from exploitative influences and brought her estate out of debt over the years.
The family’s legal battle was explored in the New York Times’ “Framing Britney Spears,” a documentary series that followed Britney Spears’ rise to stardom and the resulting media pressure. The documentary’s release renewed criticism of the conservatorship, garnering calls for its end from celebrities such as Bette Midler and Sarah Jessica Parker.
Britney Spears has not spoken publicly about the conservatorship since the documentary’s release. Her lawyer briefly mentioned last month in court that it was “no secret” that Britney Spears did not want her father to be her conservator.
The singer's most direct address of the situation came in 2019, prior to her request to remove her father, telling fans on Instagram that “rumors” and “death threats” against her family were getting out of control. Britney Spears urged fans not to believe everything they hear and asked for privacy for her family.
“My situation is unique, but I promise I’m doing what’s best at this moment,” she said. “You may not know this about me, but I am strong, and stand up for what I want!”
