In a petition filed on Tuesday through her lawyers, Britney Spears‘ mother asked the LA County Superior Court to allow her to choose her own attorney to replace Samuel D. Ingham.
What We Know:
- Following Spears’ testimony on June 23, Ingham sent in his letter of resignation. He has been her attorney since the inception of her conservatorship in 2008 and had advised against her speaking publicly. His resignation is effective pending the appointment of new counsel.
- In Britney’s testimony, she urged the court to give her more power in her case. She had not been aware that she could petition to end the conservatorship, which she described as abusive and traumatizing. Her mother’s motion asks the court to respect her wishes.
- Lynne Spears stated through her attorneys, “Now, and for the past many years, Conservatee has been able to care for her person and in fact has, within the parameters of this conservatorship, earned literally hundreds of millions of dollars as an international celebrity.” The filing noted the multiple performances, albums, a tours Spears has completed as evidence of her capacity to handle her own affairs.
- Jodi Montgomery, a conservator of Spears’ person, also filed a motion in support of Spears hiring her own attorney. She proposed the state appoint a temporary guardian ad litem who could help her select counsel without requiring a medical evaluation. She also included screenshots of texts exchanged between the two to demonstrate her repeated requests for help to hire an attorney.
- Ingham was not the only member of Spears’ team to resign after her testimony. Her long-time manager Larry Rudolph also resigned. Besemer Trust, the co-conservator of her $60 million estate, filed a petition to resign as they were under the impression that Spears conservatorship was voluntary. Montgomery has since filed for security support following threats.
Lynne Spears’ petition goes on to say, “Her capacity is certainly different today than it was in 2008, and Conservatee should no longer be held to the 2008 standard, whereby she was found to ‘not have the capacity to retain counsel.” The next hearing in Spears’ ongoing battle against her father, Jamie, is scheduled for July 14.
