Britney Spears’ lawyer wants her dad to ‘resign now’ as conservator

Britney Spears’ father should step down immediately and without conditions from his role as conservator of her estate, the singer’s lawyer said in court documents.

Mathew Rosengart, the pop star’s lawyer, accused Jamie Spears of trying to link his departure from his 13-year role with payment of about $2m (about R29m) in fees to his attorneys and for experts handling the media.

“Britney Spears will not be extorted,” Rosengart said in documents filed with the Los Angeles Superior Court on Monday.

“Mr Spears’ blatant attempt to barter (his) suspension and removal in exchange for about $2m in payments, on top of the millions already reaped from Ms Spears’ estate by Mr Spears and his associates, is a non-starter,” Rosengart said.

Jamie said for the first time earlier this month he would relinquish control of his daughter's $60m (about R867m) estate because he did not believe a public battle would be in her best interests.

However, he gave no date for his departure and said he first wanted to get the latest bills for work by his attorneys approved by the court. Under conservatorship rules, Britney pays for all costs incurred by her and others.

“Having finally acknowledged his time as conservator should end, Mr Spears is obligated to step down without condition and without seeking to extract anything further from his daughter. Mr Spears should resign now and if he does not, this court must suspend him on September 29,” Rosengart said in the filing.

The next court hearing in the increasingly contentious case is set for September 29.

Jamie has controlled much of his daughter’s life since 2008 when she suffered a mental health breakdown. The Toxic pop star, 39, has been trying for more than a year to remove her father from the conservatorship and has refused to perform again while he remains in place.

Lawyers for Jamie did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the latest filing. He has repeatedly said he has acted only in his daughter’s interests to rebuild her finances and protect her from people trying to exploit her. 

Reuters