Britney Spears' Co-Conservator Resigns To Respect The Singer’s ‘Wishes’

A wealth management firm has asked to resign as co-conservator of Britney Spears’ estate, as a result of her impassioned testimony last week.

"The Conservatee claimed irreparable harm to her interests in her testimony and, more specifically, the Conservatee's objection to the continuation of the voluntary Conservatorship and her desire to terminate the Conservatorship," Bessemer Trust wrote in a petition filed Thursday, CNN reports. "Petitioner has heard the Conservatee and respects her wishes."

The petition specified that the decision is a direct "result of the conservatee's testimony at the June 23 hearing," National Public Radio reports.

During that hearing, Spears told Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Brenda Penny that she wanted out of her conservatorship during a 23-minute speech, describing it as “controlling” and “abusive.” 

The 39-year-old pleaded with the judge, telling her that since the conservatorship was put into place 13 years ago, she has been forced to work and perform against her will while ill, pushed into a mental health facility as punishment for not wanting to do a specific dance move, and forced to take lithium. She said she is not allowed to marry her partner or have another child, claiming her conservators won’t allow her to have her IUD removed. 

Not mincing words, the “Overprotected” singer also told Penny she feels that her father, Jamie Spears, should be “in jail.” He has largely overseen the conservatorship since it was put in place in 2008, though he said he's had no control over his daughter’s personal affairs for nearly two years. 

Bessemer Trust’s request came one day after Penny denied the singer’s request to have Jamie Spears removed as a conservator on her estate and for Bessemer Trust Company to become sole conservator in his place. The request was filed as a motion by Britney’s court-appointed attorney Samuel D. Ingham III back in November. While Bessemer Trust was installed as a co-conservator upon her lawyer’s request, the financial firm now firmly states that in light of Britney’s claims, it doesn’t want control over her finances. 

Jamie Spears also filed documents this week, asking for the court overseeing the conservatorship to investigate the allegations the star made last week, the Associated Press reports. 

“Either the allegations will be shown to be true, in which case corrective action will be taken or they will be shown to be false, in which case the conservatorship can continue its course,” Jamie’s filings states. “It is not acceptable for the Conservators or the Court to do nothing.”

Jodi Montgomery was installed as conservator of Spears' person in 2019, a post previously filled by her father, who remained a key decision maker in her financial and business dealings.

Montgomery's attorney LaurieAnn Wright told Oxygen.com via a statement that “Britney’s choice to marry and to start a family [has] never been impacted by the conservatorship while Ms. Montgomery has been conservator of the person.” 

Ingham has not responded to Oxygen.com's requests for comment this week but has previously said he cannot comment due to pending litigation. 

Conservatorships are typically employed for people who are deemed unable to make key decisions for themselves, yet the fact that Britney has never really stopped working, including her spearheading of an enormously successful multi-year Las Vegas residency, had fans crying foul at the constraints she's been placed under for years. Spears compared her seven-day work schedule with no days off to “sex trafficking” last week. Court documents obtained by the New York Times last week showed that Britney raised questions about the arrangement, and her father's fitness to oversee it, for years.

The next court date for the case is scheduled for July 14.