Free Britney?

[Tamas]

This reminds me of the movie "I Care a Lot".

Yeah I was just thinking. Too bad it went silly near the end. It's as if they were super-paranoid about appearing misogynistic because of the female villains so they went all in on the girlpower thing way over what the story required or could bear.

[Grey Fox]

Oh, absolutely Free Britney. Probably true since 2010.

[The Larch]

Her full statement to the court can be read here: https://variety.com/2021/music/news/britney-spears-full-statement-conservatorship-1235003940/

[The Minsky Moment]

What a weird freaking law. Clearly meant for elderly people who have dementia or something.

Yes that is typically what they are used for.  And it can get to be a mess because the probate and surrogate courts that typically handle these kinds of applications are not always at the pinnacle of the legal profession.

I had a prospective client come in once with a case involving a conservatorship - the file history was a nightmare.  I didn't take the case, I was at a loss of what could be done.

[The Minsky Moment]

Everything I've read about it makes it seem like it's profoundly dodgy and a maybe unexamined bit of the law that is a way for unscrupulous families and lawyers to basically steal off someone. Spears is illuminating it because she's famous and rich and still working but I wouldn't be surprised if this also covered things like some forms of elder abuse or effectively stealing from someone who genuinely has severe disabilities who has a decent trust to pay for their care etc.

There is something to that - in my limited experience there seemed to be an ecosystem of court appointed lawyers clipping fees -  and add to that mix the dynamic of brutal family quarrels between siblings etc. for control over the conservatorship.

[Josquius]

So.
No.
BBC News - Britney Spears: Judge denies request to remove father from conservatorship
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-57676545


We all saw that film with Peter Dinkage right?

[alfred russel]

The world: FREE BRITNEY!

The US legal system: We will give you Cosby. You are welcome.

[Richard Hakluyt]

From the outside it looks completely crazy; but then we don't get to look at her medical reports 

[alfred russel]

From the outside it looks completely crazy; but then we don't get to look at her medical reports 

My wife listened to her testimony in its entirety and came away thinking she has serious mental health issues.

[garbon]

The detail that seems to be hidden or underplayed in most reports is what was the purpose that of hearing.

However, the judge cannot make a ruling based on her statement until she files a formal petition to terminate the arrangement.

The documents filed on Wednesday refer only to the November request, in which Spears asked for the private wealth management firm the Bessemer Trust to be appointed as her "sole conservator".

Although Judge Brenda Penny refused to remove Jamie Spears from his position, she did agree to the Bessemer Trust's role as co-conservator of the star's multi-million dollar estate.

[Syt]

I'm struggling with her being under conservatorship on one side because she can't take care of herself, and her recording albums and performing on stage on the other. But I'm sure medical professionals have said it's ok?

[The Minsky Moment]

From the outside it looks completely crazy; but then we don't get to look at her medical reports 

My wife listened to her testimony in its entirety and came away thinking she has serious mental health issues.

She's hardly alone in that condition.  That's not a basis for a conservatorship.

[crazy canuck]

I don't understand why she could not collapse the Conservatorship when she reached the age of majority.  Here the only thing she would have to establish is that she is competent - and that is a pretty low bar.   

[alfred russel]

I don't understand why she could not collapse the Conservatorship when she reached the age of majority.  Here the only thing she would have to establish is that she is competent - and that is a pretty low bar.

It was established when she was an adult.

[Malthus]

I know nothing of her legal or mental status, and less about the applicable US laws.

However, on the face if it - it is very odd to have someone so ill that they require some sort of guardianship, yet at the same time able to work at a demanding job like a professional entertainer.

Would not those two things be sort of mutually exclusive?

I get that it is likely she has some sort of mental problems, but so do lots of people. It is odd to me that they are evidently severe enough to legally remove her control over her life and finances, but not severe enough to prevent her from working.