Britney Spears judge denies removing father from custody

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A judge has rejected Britney Spears’ request to remove her father from guardianship — at least for the time being.

New court documents filed by the Los Angeles Superior Court on Wednesday show that a judge rejected a months-old request from Spears’ attorney, Samuel Ingham III, to dismiss her father, Jamie Spears, as her sole guardian. These documents are not a direct response to last week’s hearing, in which Spears gave explosive testimony; Although Spears made a strong statement for 24 minutes, the judge can’t make any judgment based on what she said because she still hasn’t petitioned to end her tutelage.

Court documents filed on Wednesday stated that “the custodian’s request to suspend James P. Spears immediately after the appointment of the Bessemer Trust Company of California as sole custodian of the property was denied without prejudice.”

The new court filings are another legal setback for the singer, but the judge’s denial is nothing new. Samuel Ingham III had filed for dismissal of Spears’ father again in November 2020, stating that his client was “afraid of her father” and would refuse to perform again, if her father continued to take on her professional duties. At the time, Judge Brenda Penny refused to suspend her father from guardianship, though she did not rule out future petitions for his removal or suspension. Also, at that time, the judge appointed Bessemer Trust Financial Corporation as co-custodian.

Today’s papers were only for the judge to approve the Bessemer Trust as the co-custodian, but it also reiterates the judge’s decision not to remove the older Spears from the pop star’s guardianship.

However, it is significant that the document was signed by Judge Penny on June 30 – after the singer’s explosive testimony in which she told the judge that her rationalization was “offensive”.

Last week, Spears gave her 24-minute testimony, the first time she has addressed the court publicly in her 13-year regency. While speaking to the judge, Spears said her father enjoys controlling her life, and stated that she believes her guards, including her father, should be in prison, and that she wants to sue her family.

Spears’ case has received a huge amount of worldwide attention, with pressure mounting to support the pop star and remove her father from custody.

Wednesday’s court filing said the court found Spears “significantly unable to manage his financial resources or to resist fraud or undue influence.”

Spears’ father has been her maintenance partner since 2008, when the singer suffered a very public meltdown. He became sole guardian in 2019 after attorney Andrew Wallet resigned from joint custody. In September 2019, he temporarily relinquished his powers and Judy Montgomery became her persona guardian, which means she is responsible for Spears’ medical and personal well-being. Spears’ father remains the sole custodian of her estate, managing all of her finances – with a whopping sum of her annual earnings in the millions of dollars, given that Spears continued to record music and play regularly at her Las Vegas residence, while she was under her restrictive guardianship.

Earlier today, Variety reported that Spears’ father’s attorney filed papers on his behalf, pointing a finger at Montgomery with the father’s perspective that he loves his daughter, is deeply concerned and has done nothing wrong.

“Mr. His attorney said in the documents that Spears is concerned about the management and care of his daughter.” Based on her affidavit in court, Mr. Spears is concerned that the petition by Mrs. Spears’ court-appointed attorney, Samuel D. Ingham III, does not reflect her wishes. Ms Spears told the court on June 23 that she opposes being under guardianship and has disclosed her ongoing disputes with Ms Montgomery over her medical treatment and other personal care issues.

Montgomery vehemently denied Spears’ elder position on her resisting attorney, issuing a statement that she is “a tireless advocate for Britney and her well-being.”

Meanwhile, despite her father’s point of view and the judge’s ruling, the pop star made her position clear: she wants her father out, and she wants her term to end completely without further evaluation.

“I cried on the phone for an hour and loved every minute of it,” Spears told the judge, referring to her father. “His control over a strong person like me – I love controlling his daughter’s hurting 100,000%. He loved her.”

Spears pleaded with the judge, “I just want my life back. It’s been 13 years. And that’s enough. It’s been a long time since I’ve had my money. And my wish and my dream is that this all ends untested.”

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