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LOS ANGELES (CNS) - Britney Spears' attorney filed court papers today requesting that a process be started to end the 13-year conservatorship that has overseen the singer's life, possibly by this fall, while again demanding the immediate removal of her father as conservator of her estate.
Spears has long called for her father to be removed as conservator, and a hearing is scheduled for next week on a request by her attorney, Mathew Rosengart, that he be suspended or ousted from the role Jamie Spears has held for 13 years overseeing his daughter's financial affairs.
Jamie Spears previously filed papers saying he will step down as conservator, but not until final financial accountings of the estate are completed. Rosengart fired back that such a delay was an attempt by Jamie Spears to “extort'' about $2 million from the pop star before he steps aside.
Earlier this month, Jamie Spears surprisingly filed court documents supporting his daughter's efforts to have the conservatorship ended.
“As Mr. Spears has said again and again, all he wants is what is best for his daughter,'' Jamie Spears' court papers stated. “If Ms. Spears wants to terminate the conservatorship and believes that she can handle her own life, Mr. Spears believes that she should get that chance.''
In documents filed Wednesday, Rosengart backed the call for an end to the conservatorship.
“Although Ms. Spears rejects her father's recounting of history and maintains that the termination petition (filed by Jamie Spears) was motivated by Mr. Spears' apparent self-interest, she fully consents to the relief sought in the termination petition and pleas for such relief expeditiously,'' according to the court papers.
Rosengart stressed in his court papers that despite the push to end the conservatorship, the court must quickly rule on “the immediate and necessary suspension of Mr. Spears by no later than Sept. 29,'' the date of next week's hearing.
In renewing his call for an immediate removal or suspension of Jamie Spears, Rosengart said there is a new reason the move needs to be made quickly -- the singer's recent engagement to boyfriend Sam Asghari.
Rosengart notes in the papers that he and Spears are working to hire an attorney to craft a prenuptial agreement.
“The prenuptial agreement process will require communications with and cooperation from the conservator of her estate but, as referenced above and well-established in the record, given that Ms. Spears' relationship with that conservator, her father, is broken, Mr. Spears' continued involvement would impede the ability to negotiate and consummate a contract that all can agree is in Ms. Spears' best interests,'' according to the documents.
Jamie Spears has repeatedly defended his work as conservator of his daughter's estate. He has maintained that all of his actions as conservator were done with Britney Spears' best interests in mind. According to his court papers, Jamie Spears brought the estate out of extensive debt and raised its value to “well over $60 million.''
The singer vociferously called for her father's removal as conservator during an emotional June court hearing, during which she also called for an end to the conservatorship and accused virtually everyone involved with the conservatorship of abusive behavior.
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