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Britney Spears' Lawyer Files Request For New Conservator Of Her Money

Britney Spears' recently hired lawyer, Mathew Rosengart, speaking to reporters outside the Los Angeles County Courthouse on July 19.
Valerie Macon
/
AFP via Getty Images
Britney Spears' recently hired lawyer, Mathew Rosengart, speaking to reporters outside the Los Angeles County Courthouse on July 19.

Britney Spears' recently named lawyer, Mathew Rosengart, promised when he came aboard on July 14 that he would act speedily towards setting a new course for the pop icon and her conservatorship. On Monday, he filed a petition on Spears' behalf with Los Angeles Superior Court asking for Jason Rubin to be named as the new conservator of her estate. If approved, Rubin would replace Spears' father, Jamie Spears, who has controlled her money and financial decisions since 2008. Rosengart has also filed a petition asking for Jamie Spears to be removed from his position.

According to Rubin's website, he is a CPA who specializes in forensic accounting has "managed complex trust portfolios" and "also has experience in working on financial elder abuse litigation" — all of which could prove important in untangling Spears' case.

The Monday filing includes a request for Rubin to be able to revoke all other powers of attorney for Spears, including the power to make heath care decisions on her behalf, and to give him "the power and authorization to pursue opportunities related to professional commitments and activities including but not limited to performing, recording, videos, tours, TV shows, and other similar activities as long as they are approved by the conservator of the person, the conservatee's medical team."

The filing also includes a list of the singer's financial assets, including over $2.7 million in cash and about $56.3 million in investment accounts and real estate holdings. A hearing regarding this petition is scheduled for Dec. 13.

In related news, the judge presiding over Spears' case, Brenda Penny, ordered Monday that the current conservator of the singer's person, Jodi Montgomery, remain in that position until Oct. 8. Judge Penny also approved the resignation of Bessemer Trust, a financial company that had previously anticipated coming in as co-conservator of Spears' estate, but had asked to resign earlier this month.

Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Anastasia Tsioulcas is a reporter on NPR's Arts desk. She is intensely interested in the arts at the intersection of culture, politics, economics and identity, and primarily reports on music. Recently, she has extensively covered gender issues and #MeToo in the music industry, including backstage tumult and alleged secret deals in the wake of sexual misconduct allegations against megastar singer Plácido Domingo; gender inequity issues at the Grammy Awards and the myriad accusations of sexual misconduct against singer R. Kelly.