Britney Spears’s mother said the pop superstar has been able to look after herself for years as she asked a court to allow her daughter to choose her own lawyer.
Spears called for the conservatorship that has overseen her life since 2008 to be terminated during a bombshell court hearing last month.
That triggered a flurry of developments in the case, including the resignation of the singer’s long-time court-appointed lawyer this week.
Lynne Spears has now petitioned the court in Los Angeles to allow her daughter to choose her own lawyer – a move she says is necessary for the conservatorship to end.
In a legal filing Lynne said the star’s “capacity is certainly different today than it was” 13 years ago and she should “no longer be held to the 2008 standard,” a time she was deemed seriously unwell after a series of mental breakdowns.
Spears has “earned literally hundreds of millions of dollars as an international celebrity” in recent years, her mother said, and “is able to care for her person”.
The filing added: “It is self-evident that before the Court addresses, for example, the termination of the conservatorship, Conservatee (Spears) must be allowed to consult with counsel of her choosing.”
Lynne’s petition comes as Jodi Montgomery, the conservator of Spears’s person who manages her healthcare, asked the court to approve higher security costs, alleging she has been receiving death threats.
Ms Montgomery’s lawyers said in a filing that since the singer’s June 23rd testimony, she has been threatened on social media, over the phone and via email.
Spears said she wanted the “abusive” conservatorship terminated, criticised those overseeing it — including her father — and alleged it was preventing her having more children and getting married.
Ms Montgomery has denied being responsible for Spears having to use a contraceptive device and said the star asked her to continue in her role as care-giver.
The explosive testimony has rocked the conservatorship, though Spears’s father, Jamie, has so far refused to step down from his role overseeing his daughter’s estate.
Bessemer Trust, a financial management firm brought in to help oversee the singer’s fortune, asked to be withdrawn from the conservatorship after Spears made it clear she wanted it brought to an end.
Samuel Ingham, who the court appointed as her lawyer in 2008 when she was deemed incapable of hiring her own legal representation due to her state of mind, this week offered his resignation.
And Spears’s long-time manager, Larry Rudolph, reportedly stepped down this week and said he had been told the chart-topping star planned to “officially retire”.
A hearing in the case is set for July 14th.
