How does the conservatorship model function in the US?
After relative silence since 2008, Britney Spears delivered explosive testimony to the court on June 23. She claimed that she has been medicated against her wishes, her reproductive rights have been infringed upon and misinformed by her attorney.
The documentary “Framing Britney Spears” by the New York Times detailed the star’s court-approved conservatorship which allows her father to control all aspects of her life. Britney herself raised concern about a system that provides control to an estranged family member. Ina 23-minute pre-prepared statement, Britney claimed that she has been drugged against her will and denied the removal of her IUD. She stated that “I just want my life back and it’s been 13 years and it’s enough. It’s been a long time since I’ve owned my money, and it’s my wish and my dream for all of this to end.”
In the state of California, the court can grant the power to make financial decisions and significant life choices for a person deemed to have severely diminished mental capacity. In the case of Ms. Spears, a single diagnosis of dementia was deemed sufficient. Conservatorships are for a “person who is unable to provide properly for his or her personal needs for physical health, food, clothing, or shelter," or for someone who is “substantially unable to manage his or her own financial resources or resist fraud or undue influence.”
The NY Times refers to 2019 court documents which claim that Britney had been “forced into a mental health facility against her will on exaggerated grounds, which she viewed as punishment for standing up for herself and making an objection during a rehearsal.”
More concerningly Britney stated that she didn’t know that she could petition the conservatorship to be ended. She apologised for her ignorance, and asserted that “My attorney says I can’t — it’s not good, I can’t let the public know anything they did to me.” She furthered, “he told me I should keep it to myself, really.”
Diller, an expert on probate matters told the NY Times that it is “certainly troubling that this has gone on for so long if she has wanted to end it”. She countered that “It’s hard to know exactly what’s gone on behind closed doors, but in general one would hope she has been told that throughout the years, because it’s a critical right she was entitled to.”
Wentz, an estate lawyer also stated that she “can’t even fathom” why Mr. Ingham (Spears’ attorney) had not been prompted to file to terminate the conservatorship. “If he knew what she was saying, he should have been prepared,” she said. “If he did what a lawyer is supposed to do, he would have met and found out she wants to terminate.”
Ingham has worked on other complex, high-profile, conservatorship cases, including Sumner Redstone. Mr. Ingham refers to himself as a specialist in probate and notes that he has been added to the list of Southern California Super Lawyers. CA Probate Code §1470 allows attorneys to set fees to be billed to the conservatee’s estate, however, neither Ingham nor the court can produce the order indicating this allowance. Ingham’s $10,000 a week fees stand in stark comparison to the conservatee’s allowance of $2,000 per week.
Spears also believed that she is unable to get married and have children under the current arrangement. Judge Goetz, the former judge presiding over Spears’ case, stated that “I don’t recall that we made any orders about the right to marry, but you may not want to tell her that”. Court transcripts note that Ingham replied that “Somehow that did not come up in the conversation” and the issue was not pressed.
Another issue Spears brought up was that she was unable to choose her own attorney. Ingham stated that he would step down as Spears’ attorney but asked for direction from the court (as her court-appointed attorney). Judge Penny did not detail steps moving forward with regard to Britney obtaining her own attorney.
As such, it appears that the conservatorship model in the state of California needs to be subject to greater oversight. However, the nature of the relationship in conservatorship cases can blur the line between advocate and guardian. California law mandates attorneys maintain confidentiality to their client and rejected a proposal for attorneys to provide their own opinion
about clients with diminished capacity. Hughes argued that in such cases “the attorney who files a report with the court regarding his or her interactions with a client, describing his or her conclusions about the case which might differ from the client’s, or describing communications with the client, violates both the duty of confidentiality and the duty of loyalty”. Spears has also been invited to testify before Congress as she “can inform our policy decisions”.
This suggests significant reform will be enacted with regard to probate cases. It has also been reported that former federal prosecutor, Mathew Rosengart will be permitted to act as Ms. Spears’ attorney during tomorrow’s hearing. This follows Mr. Ingham’s petition to resign. This also suggests that the conservatorship will be dismantled.
Thomas Jonathan Bains
