Documentaries, Social Media Campaigns, And Paparazzi: Public Fascination And Inquiry Into Britney Spears’s Conservatorship

Spears’s conservatorship has informed the public of a complicated and often private legal arrangement that is not frequently reported.

Britney Spears (Photo by Jason Merritt/Getty)

Holding degrees in both theatre and law, I continue to be interested in Britney Spears and her multitude of life and professional achievements, despite her consistent legal challenges. I fondly remember the very moment in college, when I first heard the iconic Hit Me Baby One More Time, and how Spears’ talent excited everyone in the ’90s as she made colorful hits in a music world that was dominated by men in the form of boy bands, alternative music, and rap.  

Fast forward two decades and now, as a guardianship and trusts and estates attorney, like many, I watch Spears’s personal conservatorship unfold publicly in the media. Perhaps now I am even more taken with Spears, and how her professional successes continue to compete with her legal affairs. Even more impressively is how Spears, whether intentionally or not, remains relevant in pop culture and inspires and concerns fans of new generations as evidenced by the social media movement, #freeBritney.

Spears’s conservatorship has informed the public of a complicated and often private legal arrangement that is not frequently reported, except of course when it involves a famous or wealthy individual or a contentious situation.  Spears’s case hits both marks and  makes for a great study in conservatorships of interest not only to attorneys, but to the general public. This is best evidenced by Hulu’s release of a New York Times  documentary entitled Framing Britney Spears. This is just one of many podcasts, articles, and films about Spears. Netflix is set to release their own documentary in the near future.

Spears’s conservatorship began in Los Angeles in 2008 and the news has continued to steadily cover the applications, resignations, and opposition. The preminent issue continues to be what role, Spears’s father, Jamie Spears, should hold in the arrangement. Currently, he serves a co-conservator of her property alongside Bessemer Trust, a financial institution. Spears does not want her father to continue to serve. Recently Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Brenda Penny denied Jamie Spears’s objections to Bessemer Trust equally serving together with him. The financial institution was appointed in November 2020. At that time the Court denied Spears’s application to remove her father as conservator. Jodi Montgomery remains the personal conservator.

For those of us who work in the field of conservatorships, often called “guardianships,” the drama and emotion described in Spears’ case is common. A guardianship is often granted when an individual  is unable to manage his or her own property or personal needs. Although guardianships often arise amongst the senior population, who may have diminished capacity as they age, it may also be applicable to younger individuals if they suffer from disabilities, functional limitations or are vulnerable enough to be subjected to undue influence. Depending on the particular situation, a guardian can exercise complete or limited control. Often family members battle each other to take control and sometimes no one wants the responsibility and an independent attorney or professional is appointed.

Spears’s talent is undeniable as is her likability. Her small-town roots and tremendous talent are aptly chronicled in Framing Britney which shows her rise to fame and the many trials she has faced. This includes the mistreatment of those closest to her, in addition to the media and paparazzi. The documentary reveals Spears’s life, on display to the world, whether it involves her children, her marriages, break ups, anger, and finally, the conservatorship. It also shows the waves of support from her fans, her financial successes, her Instagram posts, and the various movements to assist her. Those interviewed describe how Spears was constantly scrutinized and suggest various theories and reasons for such. Neither Spears nor her parents or guardians appear in the documentary.

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Although I recognize that the documentary is not a continuing legal education on conservatorships, it is important to note that it does not delve into the mechanics of a conservatorship, the standard of proof required for the issuance of a conservator, and the confidential details of Spears’s case. It does not speak to the supervision of guardians and their reporting requirements. The documentary does highlight, however, the obvious questions, including why someone with such talent and ability requires a conservator. Unfortunately, without a complete file before us, we are ill-equipped to decide whether Spears requires a conservator. That issue is left to a judge based on the evidence presented. What we do know, however, is that which Spears wants and does not want and that appears to be directly before the Los Angeles Court.

As a practitioner, the most poignant part of the documentary  for me, was the interview of Adam Streisand, Esq., who had met with Spears at the commencement of the conservatorship proceeding at the recommendation of  family lawyers. According to Streisand, he assessed Spears’s ability to retain counsel and appeared on her behalf in Court. In conservatorships, the alleged incapacitated person has counsel appointed for her or may retain her own attorney, ultimately if permitted by the court. As reported, the Court ruled that Spears was unable to make the decision to hire her own counsel and instead appointed counsel on her behalf. This brief segment of Framing Britney speaks to the difficulties in fully understanding any conservatorship proceeding. The files are not all available for public viewing and, as such, we are not permitted to see that upon which judges have based their decisions.  Notably, Streisand states that from the beginning Spears did not want her father to serve as her conservator.

The privacy of a conservatorship proceeding is what leads Spears’s supporters to look for clues on her Instagram posts to see if she is asking for help and what makes us all wonder, how someone so successful can be under Court supervision. But then again, is Spears successful and still relevant because of the conservatorship? Is she being cared for in the best possible way?

In this case it would seem that a most urgent issue is whether Jamie Spears should continue to serve as conservator for Spears. Spears has stated that she does not want him to, and it has been reported that she is afraid of him. Absolutely Spears should feel comfortable with her conservator and with the powers asserted over her. In this kind of situation, Spears will never be happy with the situation, however, she has every right to have representation and make her views heard. We the public are not at liberty to state whether Spears’ case does or does not meet the burden to sustain a continued conservatorship as we do not have the complete file before us. Like other court proceedings, we are left to trust the legal system and the procedures set in place to appoint a conservator, monitor their actions, and hear the concerns of the individual. We can hope that the light shed on the matter by the #freeBritney campaign and related documentaries, will ensure that her voice is heard, although, like Spears herself, the interplay between the media and the conservatorship is complicated.


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Cori A. Robinson is a solo practitioner having founded Cori A. Robinson PLLC, a New York and New Jersey law firm, in 2017. For more than a decade Cori has focused her law practice on trusts and estates and elder law including estate and Medicaid planning, probate and administration, estate litigation, and guardianships. She can be reached at cori@robinsonestatelaw.com.