- A judge will decide whether to end
Britney Spears ' 13-year conservatorship today. - Judge Brenda Penny granted Spears' request to have her father removed from the arrangement in September.
The question of whether Britney Spears' conservatorship should continue is back in court today - for what could be the final time.
A judge is set to rule on whether the singer's 13-year guardianship will end after her father was ousted from the conservatorship in September.
Judge Brenda Penny granted Spears' request to have her father, Jamie Spears, immediately removed from the legal arrangement earlier this year and will decide today whether the conservatorship will be terminated entirely.
During the September hearing, attorneys for both Spears and her father agreed that the dissolution of the conservatorship should be considered by the court, with Jamie Spears' legal team pushing for immediate termination. But Spears' lawyer, Mathew Rosengart, made clear his priority was to first remove Jamie Spears as conservator of his daughter's estate, and then focus on ending it completely.
In a recent filing, Rosengart accused Jamie Spears of reversing his opposition toward ending the conservatorship after being asked to sit for a deposition and produce documents related to the guardianship
Rosengart, who began representing Spears in July after she was granted the opportunity to choose her own representation for the first time in 13 years, has vowed to pursue an investigation into Jamie Spears and his handling of Spears' estate even after the legal arrangement is over. The attorney suggested he may even turn over information to law enforcement for possible criminal charges.
Spears has also made it clear that she does not want to sit for any psychological or medical evaluations as a condition of ending the conservatorship.
The guardianship, which was first put in place nearly 14 years ago following Spears' two involuntary stays in psychiatric facilities, has sparked an unprecedented outcry from many of Spears' fans, who catapulted the #FreeBritney movement to the mainstream in early 2019.
Since speaking in court against the conservatorship during a June hearing, Spears, herself, has been vocally critical of the arrangement in several social media posts. The singer posted on Instagram earlier this week to share her thoughts ahead of Friday's hearing.
"This week is gonna be very interesting for me," she wrote in a caption of an Instagram post. "I haven't prayed for something more in my life!!!" The caption on the photo has since been edited to remove her comments.
But despite mounting public pressure to end the conservatorship, there are several outcomes possible in court on Friday.
Christopher Melcher, an LA-based family law attorney, told USA Today that the court will likely end the conservatorship over Spears' person on Friday, which would restore many of the singer's personal freedoms that were restricted under the arrangement.
However, the guardianship over Spears' estate could take more time to resolve, Melcher told the outlet, given the multiple, ongoing financial considerations wrapped up in the conservatorship, such as legal fees for attorneys.
A hearing to resolve those outstanding financial matters has already been set for December 8.
LA probate litigator Troy Martin told USA Today that the court could also opt for a "supported-decision-making" approach, which would allow Spears to begin making her own life choices with guidance from advisors of her own choosing.
The hearing is set to start at 1:00 p.m. PT today - the same time scores of #FreeBritney fans are expected to gather outside the Los Angeles courthouse in support of the singer's freedom.