The wealth management firm appointed by a court to act as co-conservator on singer Britney Spears’ estate has demanded to step down from the role, NY Times reports. The firm, Bessemer Trust, was appointed by Judge Brenda Penny of the Los Angeles County Superior Court in November 2020 to act as co-conservator with Spears’ father, Jamie Spears.
Although the appointment was made late last year, it was Wednesday, June 30, 2021, that Judge Penny filed the paperwork authorizing Bessemer Trust to the role. But the management firm which manages more than $100 billion in assets asked the court to discontinue the role on account of inflammatory revelations made by Spears, 39, at a June 23 hearing that her conservatorship is “abusive” and inhuman.
While Bessemer Trust made it clear to the court that it has not received authorization papers for the conservatorship, nor received any assets or fees to that effect, it said it is stepping down from the role because it is clear from Spears’ court testimony that the court-appointed conservatorship was enforced and not voluntary from her end. The firm said it earlier consented in principle to the arrangement because it believed Spears agreed to the appointment, Buzzfeednews writes.
“In originally consenting to its appointment, Petitioner relied on the representations of the parties that the ongoing Conservatorship was voluntary and that all parties, including the Conservatee, had consented to Petitioner acting as Co-Conservator of the Estate,” lawyer for Bessemer told the court. “As a result of the Conservatee’s testimony at the June 23 hearing, however, Petitioner has become aware that the Conservatee objects to the continuance of her Conservatorship and desires to terminate the Conservatorship.”
Although Bessemer’s withdrawal from the conservatorship must still be approved by the court, it leaves a lot of questions regarding the future of Spears’ assets and her career management. She had accused her father and family of exploiting and making a slave of her, even though her father denied these and asked that her claims be investigated.
His lawyer told the court that the allegations made by Spears against her father must be investigated and punitive action awarded if found to be true, or the conservatorship is allowed to continue as stipulated in 2008 if shown to be false. The singer had told the court that her family forces her to take medication that makes her drowsy and would not allow a medical visit to have a doctor remove her IUD so she can have another child.
These revelations have sparked a lot of social media frenzy and massive unrest from her numerous fans that had been campaigning for her freedom using the hashtag #FreeBritney for many years.
Source: nytimes.com