Britney Spears: What happens after singer’s father Jamie steps down from conservatorship?

Pop star’s lawyer has requested Jason Rubin to take over the role

The future of Britney Spears’s conservatorship is up in the air after her father Jamie agreed to step down as her conservator.

In August, new court filings revealed Jamie “does not believe that a public battle with his daughter over his continuing service as her conservator would be in her best interests”, adding: “Mr Spears intends to work with the court and his daughter’s new attorney to prepare for an orderly transition to a new conservator.”

Jamie’s lawyer continued: “Mr Spears continues to serve dutifully, and he should not be suspended or removed, and certainly not based on false allegations. Mr Spears is willing to step down when the time is right, but the transition needs to be orderly and include a resolution of matters pending before the court.”

What does this mean for Britney’s conservatorship?

Jamie’s departure would mark a major development in the singer’s long fight to be freed from her father’s control. She has been under a controversial conservatorship for 13 years, giving Jamie and others authority over her career, finances and personal life.

Britney denounced the conservatorship in an emotional court address in June, telling a judge she wants the system to end and describing it as “abusive”.

News of Jamie stepping down comes after the singer spoke out in court in July, saying: “I’m here to get rid of my dad and charge him with conservatorship abuse… I was always extremely scared of my dad.”

Jamie and Britney Spears (AP)

Who will replace Jamie as his daughter’s conservator?

Jamie withdrew as Britney’s personal conservator in 2019 and since then has been in charge of the singer’s finances. Licensed conservator Jodi Montgomery took over and also controls her medical care.

Britney’s attorney, Matthew Rosengart, who was appointed to her case last month, filed a petition asking the court to remove Jamie as conservator and replace him with Jason Rubin, a professional accountant. The court is expected to decide at a hearing next month.

David Glass, a certified family law attorney who is not involved in the case, told Fox News: “The next step is that Britney and her legal team need to either propose the same person that they’ve been proposing, take over the conservatorship, or else work with Jamie and his attorney to find an agreeable third party who could step in as the conservator.”

He added: “Either way, that conservator is going to be a professional fiduciary, either an individual who does this for a living and is licensed and bonded or a financial institution like one of the big banks who do these things regularly.”

Rubin has practiced as a forensic accountant and consulting expert since 1993. He is the president of Certified Strategies, a company that deals with conservatorships. The firm claims to specialise in cases that have driven a wedge between family members, with a statement on its website reading: “We seek to restore peace and facilitate conflict resolution among family members and related parties.”