Britney Spears’ lawyer has taken aim at the singer’s father Jamie Spears after he objected to anyone replacing him as a temporary conservator of Britney’s estate.
Jamie could be removed as Britney’s conservator during a hearing at the Los Angeles Superior Court later today (September 29) after the former filed to end the conservatorship earlier this month.
Yesterday (September 28) saw Jamie Spears file court documents opposing the appointment of a temporary conservator once he steps down.
His lawyers argued in the filing that “there is no need for a temporary conservator because there is no vacancy in the position of conservator” and that “Mr. Spears has not and should not be suspended, especially since the Conservatorship should soon be terminated.”
The suit continued: “Furthermore, all parties have consented to the termination of the Conservatorship. Assuming the Court agrees with the parties and terminates the Conservatorship, the Petition for Temporary Conservator should be denied without prejudice as moot.
“Whatever remains to be done to wind down the Conservatorship of the Estate should be done as efficiently as possible, by Mr. Spears, who is familiar with the assets of the Conservatorship Estate, and the attention each asset requires, and without an abrupt, needless and expensive transfer of custody of the assets to a complete stranger to the Conservatorship.”
The filing also claimed that John Zabel, the proposed temporary conservator, is not qualified to oversee Britney’s estate. It claims that Zabel, a certified public accountant, “does not appear to have the background and experience required to take over a complex, $60 million (approx.) conservatorship estate on a temporary or immediate basis”.
It also claims that Zabel would not be qualified because of his alleged investment of $1million of his own money into a real estate scam in 2007.
“While it is unfortunate that Mr. Zabel was scammed, the fact is that he failed to recognise the scam in the hopes of making a 20 per cent return on his investment, and he failed to conduct adequate due diligence before investing over one million of his own money, which is greatly concerning,” the filing states.
“Mr. Spears does not know if Ms. Spears is aware of these troubling facts; presumably no.”
Britney Spears’ lawyer Mathew S. Rosengart has now fired back at Jamie and the claims made about Zabel in a footnote of a separate legal filing about compensation for the conservator and the conservator’s attorneys.
Rosengart said in the footnote that Zabel “is a highly-esteemed, nationally-recognised award-winning CPA with an impeccable record of serving in positions of trust”.
“[This is] in stark contrast to Mr. Spears, a reported alcoholic and gambling addict, with zero financial background or experience in financial matters, who previously filed for bankruptcy and has a Domestic Violence Restraining Order currently in effect against him,” Rosengart added.
Rosengart went on to claim that Jamie “wants to escape justice and accountability (but will not) and he will evidently do or say anything to avoid it”.
Earlier this week Britney Spears criticised a new documentary that delves into the details of her conservatorship.
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