How did Jamie Spears Get a Conservatorship Over Britney Spears? Basic Rundown
Britney Spears’ father, James “Jamie” Parnell Spears, finally agreed to step down as head of her conservatorship. However, many fans want to know how he gained that much control over his daughter and kept it for the last 13 years?
Breaking news: Britney Spears’ father steps down
Aug. 12, 2021: Jamie Spears’ lawyers filed new court documents indicating that he planned to step down from Britney’s conservatorship. However, the documents obtained by the New York Times did not show a timeline for when he might do so.
“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,” the filing said, according to the Times.
Jamie also maintained that he always acted in Britney’s best interest, and he’s only stepping down because of the publicity.
“It is highly debatable whether a change in conservator at this time would be in Ms. Spears’ best interests,” the document continued. “Nevertheless, even as Mr. Spears is the unremitting target of unjustified attacks, he does not believe that a public battle with his daughter over his continuing service as her conservator would be in her best interests.”
How did Jamie Spears secure a conservatorship over Britney Spears?
In Lynne Spears’ 2008 memoir, Through the Storm, she detailed how Jamie Spears obtained the conservatorship. The entire thing began because of a man named Sam Lutfi, Lynne wrote.
“Sam came into my daughter’s life at a time when she was at her most vulnerable,” Lynne explained in the memoir. “Brokenhearted about losing custody of her precious boys, she was sad, floundering, ripe (if you ask me) for a predator to come along.”
Lynne explained that within a month of meeting Sam, he was in control of Britney’s entire life, and everyone had to go through him. She alleged that it became so terrible that Sam was slipping drugs into Britney’s food and drinks. One night at the house with a family friend, Jacqueline Butcher, was all the family needed to secure the conservatorship. Jackie later had deep regrets for helping Jamie get the conservatorship.
“Because of all the horrible things Jackie and I saw and heard that night at Britney’s house, we had the ammunition to file for a restraining order against Sam,” Lynne wrote. “First thing Monday morning, we were in court, presenting our deposition and petitioning the judge for a restraining order against Sam and for a temporary conservatorship for Jamie.”
Why does Britney Spears need a conservatorship?
In addition to what Jackie and Lynne saw that night at the house with Britney and Sam, a series of public breakdowns did not help Britney. According to Lynne’s memoir, Jamie Spears already had the paperwork ready to obtain a conservatorship at that moment.
A conservatorship, sometimes called guardianship, is usually an arrangement for the elderly or very sick. The family chooses a person to manage the individual’s affairs and estate because they cannot care for themselves. It is also an option for someone vulnerable to being taken advantage of.
According to the New York Times, in Britney’s case, the pop star went through a series of difficult times at the height of her fame. She had two children very close together, with Kevin Federline in 2005 and 2006.
During an incident in 2008, Spears used an umbrella to physically hit a paparazzo’s car. After Federline and Spears divorced, she refused to hand her two boys over to their father. He called the police, and a later blood test revealed that Spears had drugs in her system. She checked into a rehabilitation center. That’s when Britney Spears’ dad filed the temporary conservatorship over his daughter in 2008.
