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5 Key Lessons To Learn From Britney Spears' 13-Year Long Conservatorship Battle
Britney Spears's case ignited crucial discussions about conservatorship, emphasizing the need for reform. Below, we summarize the key lessons learned from her journey.
Before we get down to exploring what lessons the public can learn from Britney Spears’s conservatorship battle, reckoning some of our readers may have never heard of the infamous case, here’s a brief overview of the dispute we are trying to base our story on.
Britney Spears, a well-known American pop star, aged 42 as of writing this article, was placed under a conservatorship—in simple words, legal guardianship—in 2008, with the court appointing her father, Jamie Spears, to control the singer’s personal and financial affairs in light of her then-ongoing struggles with mental health.
To simplify the matter even further for our readers, here’s how conservatorship or guardianship is described in legal textbooks. Guardians for adults are sought to manage issues for individuals who are incapacitated. This includes people with physical disabilities, such as individuals in comas, those who suffer from advanced forms of dementia, or those experiencing other serious injuries or challenges. Guardians are also appointed in cases of intellectual disabilities. This is the category Spears’s conservatorship fell under.
Guardians are typically of two types: a personal guardian, who exerts control over the conservatee's personal matters, such as taking care of their medical decisions, and a guardian of estate, who makes financial decisions on the conservatee’s or ward’s behalf. In Spears’s case, her father was in charge of both aspects of her life until 2019, when he stepped down from the formal role due to health reasons. However, he remained in control of her finances until 2021, when the court removed him and allowed Spears to choose her own trusted guardian after she managed to convince the court her father was an inappropriate candidate for the role, citing his unfair treatment of her.
Since we’ve discussed the unfairness one of the biggest pop stars of the late ‘90s and early 2000s endured for over a decade while being involuntarily placed under this legal arrangement, here are five lessons her judicial fight can teach us.
Loss of authority over oneself
In a brief court appearance in June 2021, according to BBC, Spears labeled her conservatorship as “abusive,” saying the arrangement was doing her “way more harm than good.” It was also during this testimony that she pleaded with the court to return her life to her, highlighting how the singer was deprived of even basic control over her personal and professional affairs. “I want to be able to get married and have a baby. I was told right now in the conservatorship I am not able to get married and have a baby,” Spears added, further emphasizing the lack of control she had over her own life.
Per the aforementioned publication, the singer felt so betrayed by her father’s excessive control over her business that she unapologetically expressed her readiness to press conservatorship abuse charges against him.
The first and foremost lesson we feel our readers can learn from Spears’s conservatorship battle is to trust no one completely when it comes to legal arrangements. Like Mr. Spears, one’s conservators might disguise extreme control over one’s life as decisions made in the best interest of the conservatee.
Opt for professional conservators
To avoid enduring the ordeal Britney had to bear, it is advisable for conservatees to choose their conservators themselves. Your guardian does not need to be a family member or close friend. There are many professional conservators who would gladly look after your finances or well-being for a fee.
Our advice: it’s best to let your parents, partners, and loved ones remain as such while letting an experienced attorney or professional conservator manage the less emotional aspects of your life. Spears was eventually allowed to choose her preferred guardian after her battle for freedom from her father ended.
LPAs are for people of all ages
Situations similar to Britney’s can be avoided by having a Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) in place to manage your estate or health if you become incapable of doing so yourself. While many believe LPAs are for people nearing the end of life or suffering from illness, recent events—including the Oops!... I Did It Again singer’s case—show that LPAs should be considered by people of all ages.
ALSO READ: THROWBACK: When Britney Spears Said She May Never Perform Again 'Just Because I’m Stubborn'
Know your rights
Entering into any legal arrangement should only come after thoroughly researching your rights in case of abuse of power. In the United States, laws like the Uniform Guardianship, Conservatorship, and Other Protective Arrangements Act (UGCOPAA) and similar state-specific laws have been enacted to reduce the potential harm that arrangements like conservatorship can have on individuals.
Britney Spears’s public testimony raised awareness about conservatorship abuse as she revealed how powerless and out of control she felt while under her father’s control, even though he claimed he acted in her best interests.
Fame comes with a price
Britney Spears’s case highlights that fame often comes with a cost. The pop star’s immense success, along with the pressures of public scrutiny, relentless media attention, and high expectations, contributed to her mental health struggles, which led to her father taking extreme control of her life.
According to her 2023 memoir The Woman in Me, Spears was placed under Jamie’s control after a series of troubling incidents, including shaving her head, hitting a paparazzo’s car with an umbrella, and locking herself in a room with one of her children to avoid handing him over to her ex-husband.
ALSO READ: Is Britney Spears' Biopic In The Works Based On Her Memoir The Woman In Me? Find Out
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