American pop singer Britney Spears has been in the spotlight after attending a trial on conservatorship case. Numerous news covered her story, but some are misleading the situation. This article will provide a light explanation of what is meant by conservatorship and its mechanism to avoid misleading information on this case and the future needs.
In simple words, a conservatorship is a legal term under U.S. law use when a court-approved arrangement where a judge appoints a person or organization to take care of an adult’s finances and well-being who cannot manage their life. A conservatorship is approved by the courts usually when there are growing physical and mental health needs of an adult, such as an aging parent and mental issues.
The detailed information about such person who has trouble managing their personal affairs is confidential, which became the reason such information did not share with the public. For this reason, many people might have felt they’re using or kidnap by their conservator since the relative or friend usually have no idea about that. Usually, the conservator comes from a close family since it will help the conservatee cooperate with the whole process. Consider that conservatees usually needed comprehensive medical treatment, and having a conservator that they can rely on is a huge advantage. However, the condition of a person under conservatorship is regularly monitored by the court since the court-appointed investigator is mandated to visit and report on the conservatorship status every two years.
As stated above, the conservator usually a family, spouse, child, or friend. However, if no suitable person can take over for the conservatee’s affairs, the conservator might be a professional fiduciary or a public guardian appointed by the court. The conservator’s obligation includes making living arrangements, healthcare arrangements, keeping up with housekeeping, providing transportation, managing finances, investments & assets, and responsible for paying bills and taxes. As the sole proprietor of the conservatee’s finances, a conservator must give an account to the court of the conservatee’s finances and report to the court on the general status of the conservatee.
When the conservatee can take care of their finances and well-being, a conservatorship can be ended by a request to the court. The conservatee, or a family member or friend, can make such a request to the judge. A court-appointed investigator must take into account all sides of the request. Then, the conservatee must prove that they can live on their own.
In the Britney cases, her father, James Parnell Spears, is a conservator of her personal and financial affairs. He is a joint conservator for her personal affairs, along with licensed care manager Jodi Montgomery and her financial affairs firm, Bessemer Trust. Britney Spears’s conservatorship began in 2008 when she has some mental health issues. Since then, her conservator has allowed her to performed multiple concerts, recorded several albums, gone on numerous tours, goes shopping, have an Instagram account, have a boyfriend, receives an allowance, and get to go on vacation.
Due to limited access in life, such as getting married and having a baby, she told the court that she wanted to end her conservatorship. Britney’s cases became more complex after her court-appointed lawyer, Samuel D Ingham III, expressed his shock by his client statement and ready to step aside as her representative if asked.
Britney spoke passionately about wanting to end her conservatorship without being medically evaluated, given the extent to which she has already been seen multiple times in the past. This case is still ongoing, with all evidence from the next hearing will be essential to see this case in a better perspective.