Following Britney Spears’s bombshell June 23 court testimony, a number of members of the pop star’s conservatorship orbit have exited. Last week, wealth management firm Bessemer Trust, which was set to take over as co-conservator of Spears’s estate, requested to resign from the role. Days later, Larry Rudolph, Spears’s longtime manager, and Samuel Ingham III, her lawyer, reportedly announced their plans to resign. And now Britney’s mother, Lynne Spears, is requesting in court that her daughter be allowed to hire her own lawyer.
“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,’” Lynne’s petition to the judge read. In paperwork filed Tuesday, Lynne urged Judge Brenda Penny “to listen to the wishes of her daughter, and as a first step” allow Spears to enlist her own private legal counsel. “It is self-evident that before the Court addresses, for example, the termination of the conservatorship, Conservatee must be allowed to consult with counsel of her choosing,” Lynne’s attorneys wrote. “Clearly, Conservatee needs private counsel to advise her as to her basic rights in this conservatorship.” (Spears’s court-appointed attorney, Ingham, was reportedly “extremely upset” over his client’s court statement alleging that she was unaware she could file to end her conservatorship, per TMZ sources.)
In other new legal proceedings, Spears’s co-conservator Jodi Montgomery requested that the court permit the singer’s conservatorship estate to cover the costs of 24/7 security at Montgomery’s home, which she evaluated at $25,000 every two weeks, according to Variety. Montgomery alleged that personal threats made against her have escalated since Spears’s recent testimony and that Montgomery would be responsible for payment of security should the court deny her petition.
Montgomery also made it known that she has no plans to resign as conservator of Spears’s “person.” Her attorneys wrote, “Since Ms. Spears has requested that Petitioner retain her position as conservator, Petitioner has no intention of abandoning her by resigning because of these threats,” per Variety. Paperwork also reportedly included text messages that Spears sent to Montgomery, in which Spears wrote: “I need u to stay as my co conservator of person. I’m asking u for ur assistance in getting a new attorney. Thank u for ur help.” (Last week, a judge denied Spears’s request that her father, Jamie Spears, be removed from the conservatorship.)
Lynne’s request will likely be addressed at Spears’s next conservatorship hearing, which has been scheduled for July 14.
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