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Britney Spears’ attorney has filed court papers in a bid to remove the singer’s father, James Spears, as the co-conservator of her estate.
In papers filed on November 3, Spears’ court-appointed lawyer Samuel Ingham argued that the star will suffer “loss and injury” if James is allowed to retain his position.
Ingham is now requesting that James is removed from his position as soon as Spears’ new conservator, The Bessemer Trust, is appointed.
The latest legal battle comes amid the ongoing #FreeBritney campaign, which claims that the singer is being controlled by James – who became her conservator in 2008.
Spears first requested in September that her conservatorship is managed by The Bessemer Trust – a private independent firm that looks after $140 billion for over 2,500 families.
Ingham first filed the motion to have Spears’ father dismissed after learning in a letter from her father on October 28th that the singer’s longtime business manager, Lou Taylor of Tri-Star Sports and Entertainment Group, had resigned without giving her any notice.
Instead of informing Britney of the decision, her father allegedly hired a new business manager, Michael Kane of accounting firm Miller Kaplan. Ingham claims that the singer has not been given any information on how much money Kane would receive from the agreement, or the terms of his employment.
As Billboard reports, Ingham described the letter in court papers as a “blatant attempt by James to try to retain full functional control of her assets, books and records in the face of Britney’s objections, TriStar’s resignation and the appointment of Bessemer Trust.”
“The suggestion that James will hold onto Britney’s assets even after Bessemer Trust is appointed gives rise to a very serious concern as to the safety of Britney’s estate,” Ingham wrote in the 10-page court filing.
“Under any circumstances, having an outside accounting firm retain control of the record keeping function for the conservatorship rather than Bessemer Trust is completely inappropriate.”
Ingham is asking the judge to appoint an “honest broker” to control Britney’s finances.
A hearing has been set for the request on November 10.
Earlier this week, Spears addressed fans concerns over her wellbeing in a new video.
“Hi. So I know that there have been a lot of comments and a lot of people saying a lot of different things about me, but I just want to let you guys know that I am fine,” she said in an Instagram video.
The singer also requested that her father was removed from the role earlier this year, but his conservator was subsequently extended until February 2021.
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