Britney freed: Judge ends Spears’ conservatorship

A judge in Los Angeles on Friday ruled in favor of ending the conservatorship that has controlled Britney Spears’ finances and life for more than 13 years.

>> Read more trending news

The ruling came after the pop star’s attorney, Mathew Rosengart, said in a court filing last month that his client wanted to end the conservatorship immediately. The singer’s father, James “Jamie” Spears, filed a petition in September seeking an end to the conservatorship weeks after he agreed to step down as her financial conservator.

Jamie Spears sought a conservatorship for his daughter in 2008, as Britney Spears underwent a series of public mental health struggles exacerbated by constant and obsessive media scrutiny. In June, Britney Spears told Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Brenda Penny that she wanted to end the conservatorship, calling it “abusive.”

Update 6:05 p.m. ET Nov. 12: Britney Spears called Friday the “best day ever” after a judge in Los Angeles ended her more than 13-year conservatorship.

“Good God I love my fans so much it’s crazy,” she wrote in a Twitter post including a video of celebrations outside the courthouse Friday. “I think I’m gonna cry the rest of the day!”

Update 6 p.m. ET Nov. 12: In court on Friday, Britney Spears’ attorney, Mathew Rosengart, said that a “safety net” would be put in place for his client’s finances and care after a judge terminated her conservatorship, according to CNN.

Judge Brenda Penny said assets would be moved from Britney Spears’ temporary conservator to her trust and that a medical evaluation would not be required, the news network reported.

In June, Britney Spears told the court that she wanted to end her conservatorship, saying that it was doing her “way more harm than good.

“I want to end this conservatorship without being evaluated,” Spears said during the June hearing. “I just want my life back.”

Update 5:55 p.m. ET Nov. 12: A crowd gathered to support Britney Spears during her conservatorship hearing Friday chanted attorney Mathew Rosengart’s name and cheered as he addressed them Friday.

He said Spears “stepped up on June 23 and really shocked the country and shocked the world and powerful and poignant words, and she shined a spotlight on what happened to her and -- according to Britney’s own testimony on June 23 and then July 14 -- the abuse that she suffered in connection with her father, who ran this conservatorship.”

In June, Spears called the conservatorship “abusive” and said it was preventing her from marrying her boyfriend, now fiance, Sam Asghari, and from having another baby.

“I’m traumatized, I’m not happy,” Spears said in court. “I can’t sleep. I’m so angry, It’s insane.”

>> Related: Britney Spears asks judge to end court conservatorship

On Friday, Rosengart credited Spears for making the public more aware about issues with conservatorships. He pointed to legislation passed by California legislators and aimed at reforming the guardianship law.

“As a result of Britney, and Britney’s testimony, and Britney’s courage, Congress has heard her at the federal level. (The) United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives, on the far right to the left, are looking at this conservatorship and conservatorships generally with an eye toward passing legislation to ensure that people are not abused,” he said.

“If this happened to Britney, it can happen to anybody.”

Update 5:30 p.m. ET Nov. 12: Britney Spears’ fiance, Sam Asghari, celebrated news of her release from the court-imposed conservatorship that she’s been under since 2008 on Instagram.

>> Related: Britney Spears announces engagement to Sam Asghari

“History was made today,” he wrote. “Britney is Free!”

Update 5:25 p.m. ET Nov. 12: Judge Brenda Penny on Friday returned Britney Spears’ legal rights, effective immediately, according to The Los Angles Times.

Fans danced and celebrated outside the Stanley Mosk Courthouse in downtown Los Angeles after the ruling came down.

Update 5:15 p.m. ET Nov. 12: A crowd gathered outside the courthouse cheered Friday after Judge Brenda Penny ruled to terminate Britney Spears’ conservatorship, according to Reuters and CNN.

Original report: A judge in a Los Angeles probate court on Friday will decide if the conservatorship for singer Britney Spears will continue in some fashion or whether the singer will be free from the court agreement and allowed to make her own decisions concerning her life and finances.

The nearly 14-year court agreement, which left control over nearly every aspect of the pop singer’s life and money to her father, could be dissolved as James Spears has withdrawn opposition to ending the arrangement.

According to lawyers for James Spears, who is known as Jamie, “it is said in no uncertain terms, Jamie believes that the Conservatorship should end, immediately.”

>> Related: Britney Spears’ father files to end court conservatorship

Britney Spears’ lawyer, Mathew Rosengart, said in a court filing last month that his client wishes to end the conservatorship immediately.

The court agreement, which had been in place since 2008, began to be scrutinized when a New York Times documentary about Spears and her father’s role in her life was broadcast in February.

The singer asked to speak to the court concerning the agreement, and in June she told a judge that “I’m not here to be anyone’s slave.”

>> Related: Britney Spears asks judge to end court conservatorship

“I’m traumatized ... I’m not happy, I can’t sleep,” and added, “I’m so angry. And I’m depressed. I cry every day.”

During the 24-minute statement, Spears said, “I just want my life back.”

Over the summer, the wealth management company that controlled the financial portion of the arrangement asked to be relieved of those duties, and Spears was also allowed to hire her own attorney.

On July 23, her attorney filed a motion to end the conservatorship, calling it a “Kafkaesque nightmare.”

>> Related: Judge suspends Britney Spears’ father from conservatorship

In September, Jamie Spears petitioned the court to end the conservatorship.

According to The Associated Press, Jodi Montgomery, the conservator who currently oversees the singer’s life and medical decisions, has developed a care plan with her therapists and doctors to guide her through the end of the conservatorship and its aftermath.

Rosengart said he planned to take a “top-to-bottom look” at the actions of Jamie Spears concerning the administration of the conservatorship.

Jamie Spears’ attorneys said Rosengart’s allegations ranged from unsubstantiated to impossible, and that he only ever acted in his daughter’s best interest, the AP reported.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

©2021 Cox Media Group