As many of you know, heartthrob of the 90’s Britney Spears has been placed under a court-appointed conservatorship since 2008. On Wednesday, she is set to appear in front of a Los Angeles judge who is handling the conservatorship to put it to end.
Breaking down conservatorship as per law of California-
WHAT IS A CONSERVATORSHIP?
It’s a form of arrangement where a person or organization is put to protect and manage his/her personal care and/or finances of a person whom a judge has found to be unfit to take care of his or her own affairs.
IN WHAT CIRCUMSTANCES IS A CONSERVATORSHIP APPROVED BY THE COURTS?
When a person needs help taking care of his or her daily needs, managing their finances. Most of them are elderly people, or disabled, or people with temporary or permanent mental or physical issues. Details containing the personal health of the conservatee are not made public. A court-appointed investigator is appointed in order to make a personal visit and submit a report containing the status about the conservatorship every two years.
WHAT ARE THE DUTIES OF A CONSERVATOR?
A conservator can either be a relative, friend or any sort of professional entity. Duties of a conservator include deciding where the conservatee will live, making arrangements for their health care, housekeeping, transportation, managing finances, paying taxes and bills, making investments, protecting assets, accounting to the court for management of finances and reporting to the court on the status of the conservatee.Basically deciding everything that a normal person need to live their life. Any changes require court approval.
WHY HAS THE BRITNEY SPEARS CASE ATTRACTED SO MUCH ATTENTION?
It is unusual for someone of Spears’ age and high profile celebrity to be put under conservatorship for 13 years. Actual details of her mental health issues have never been revealed. The fan-based #FreeBritney movement, started in 2019, stated that Spears is being held against her will and that she has been sending cryptic messages through her Instagram postings. The 2021 TV documentary “Framing Britney Spears” brought wider attention to the case.
WHAT IS BRITNEY SPEARS EXPECTED TO SAY ON WEDNESDAY?
Neither Spears nor any of the attorneys in the case have said what the singer plans to speak about. She is not expected to attend the Los Angeles court in person but to speak via audio and/or video link. The last time she spoke to the judge, in May 2019, the hearing was closed to the public and her testimony was sealed.
