July 27 (UPI) — The new attorney for pop star Britney Spears on Monday petitioned a California court to remove her father as her conservator and replace him with a professional fiduciary.
Mathew Rosengart, a former prosecutor who was hired to represent Spears after a ruling earlier this month, petitioned the Los Angeles County Superior Court to have James “Jamie” Spears removed as conservator of her $60 million estate and have him replaced by Jason Rubin.
In the filing, Rosengart wrote that Britney Spears, 39, has “an objectively intelligent preference to nominate a highly qualified, professional fiduciary in this circumstance.”
Citing Judge Brenda Penny’s decision this month allowing the singer to appoint her own attorney, Rosengart wrote that Spears “likewise has sufficient capacity to make this nomination” to replace her father with Rubin.
During the July 14 hearing, Spears said she was “extremely scared” of her father, who has overseen her fortune since 2008. She added that the conservatorship “has allowed my dad to ruin my life.”
“I’m here to get rid of my dad and charge him with conservatorship abuse,” she said.
Rosengart said the court will hear the petition on Sept. 29.
“Less than two weeks ago we pledged that after 13 years of status quo we would move aggressively to suspend and remove James Spears,” he told NBC News. “It is now a matter of public record that we have done so.”
In a June 23 hearing, Spears said she has faced abuse at the hands of her family and therapists including being forced to go on tour and perform in a Las Vegas residency, placed on lithium against her will and prevented from removing an intrauterine device so she can have another child.
She also requested to be released from the conservatorship without further evaluation.
