Wealth management firm pulls out of Britney Spears' conservatorship
Bessemer Trust cited concerns over Spears' testimony last month.
Bessemer Trust, the wealth management firm authorized Wednesday to act as co-conservator over Britney Spears' finances, has asked to be removed from the role.
Attorneys for Bessemer Trust filed resignation paperwork Thursday, noting that Spears' testimony on June 23 indicated the conservatorship was not voluntary, as the firm understood it to be.
Bessemer Trust was not able to act as a co-conservator until Wednesday, so it has not taken any actions in the position, nor had it taken any fees, according to the court documents.
Once the resignation is approved, Jamie Spears, the pop star's father, will again be the sole conservator of his daughter's estate.
"Petitioner has become aware that the Conservatee [Spears] objects to the continuance of her Conservatorship and desires to terminate the Conservatorship," the documents read. "Petitioner [Bessemer Trust] has heard the Conservatee and respects her wishes."
A conservatorship governing Spears' personal affairs and finances has been in place since 2008, when the pop star was hospitalized twice for psychiatric evaluations. Jodi Montgomery was appointed to serve as conservator of Spears' personal affairs in 2019, when Jamie Spears stepped down from the position. Jamie Spears is still in charge of his daughter's finances, despite the singer's request last year to remove him from her conservatorship.
The pop star had petitioned for her father to be suspended as a conservator as soon as a corporate fiduciary was put into a position of control. Although Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Brenda J. Penny agreed to appoint Bessemer Trust as a co-conservator last November, she declined to remove Jamie Spears from his role. That order was officially signed Wednesday.
"My client has informed me that she is afraid of her father," Spears' attorney reportedly the judge at the time. "She will not perform again if her father is in charge of her career."
Spears, 39, pleaded with a judge last month to end her conservatorship, claiming that it is "abusive" and is "doing me way more harm than good." She also indicated that she did not know that she could petition to end the conservatorship, though she has yet to do so.
"I've lied and told the whole world I'm OK and I'm happy. It's a lie," Spears said at the time. "I've been in denial. I've been in shock. I am traumatized. I'm not happy. I can't sleep. I'm so angry it's insane. And I'm depressed. I cry every day."
“I just want my life back," she added.
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