The Probate Lawyer Blog

When Will Britney Spears Be Free Of Conservatorship?

The Britney Spears conservatorship saga has nearly reached its fifth year anniversary.  We all remember her shaved head, public meltdowns, and wild paparazzi photographs.  Her career, her relationship with her children, and even her life were all spinning dangerously out of control.  

Compare that to her life now, five years later.  Thirty-one-year-old Britney looks a great deal different from twenty-six-year-old Britney.  She was just paid $15 million for one season’s work as a judge on the X Factor.  Was she the best judge around?  That’s debatable.  There were reports that Simon Cowell wouldn’t have her back for another season, but it was Britney’s decision to leave X-Factor.

Either way, there’s no debate that Britney seemed … well, very normal.  She was mature, composed, even graceful at times. She mentored teenage singers.  She held herself together and gave constructive feedback.  Britney was reportedly re-energized by the experience and is ready to start releasing new music and touring again.

What thirty-one-year-old Britney doesn’t look like is someone who is legally incompetent, unable to make decisions about her own life.

Oops! ... Britney Spears' Conservator Did It Again

The once-troubled pop star sure has been in the news a lot lately.  Settling lawsuits, postponing her wedding, negotiating to be a judge on The X Factor, putting one of her mansions up for sale. It makes you wonder … is Britney Spears making any decisions about her life, or does her father, as her Conservator, decide everything? 

Several months ago, we wrote how her father, Jamie Spears, was using the conservatorship to insulate Britney from lawsuits, including one by a company called Brand Sense.  The company had sued Britney for breach of contract, after Team Britney cut Brand Sense out of profits from her perfume deal with Elizabeth Arden. Because Britney had been declared mentally incompetent, which justified the conservatorship, her father and their attorneys were able to keep Britney from being questioned under oath in a deposition for the lawsuit.

Recently, they’ve settled the case and agreed to give Brand Sense a confidential amount of the profits. The Daily Mail in Britain reported that the settlement  added up to $10 million for Brand Sense.

Etta James, Others Remind Of Need For Estate Planning in 2012

A few weeks into the new year, how many of your New Year’s resolutions have already fallen by the wayside?  Exercise more. Eat less.  Spend more quality time with family.  

Well it’s not too late to tackle a very important resolution that up to two-thirds of adults in our country ignore — estate planning. That’s right, it’s the topic no one likes to think about, but everyone knows they should take care of … wills, trusts, powers of attorney, and more.

It doesn’t have to be intimidating! In fact, celebrity stories are a great way to break the ice to remind everyone of what they need to do.

So, with the help of some recent stories in the news, here are Trial & Heirs: New Years Estate Planning Resolutions for 2012.  (We just gave an interview discussing some of these stories, which you can watch here).

Did Conservatorship Save Britney Spears Life? Does She Still Need It?

As Britney Spears nears her 30th birthday in a few months, she is in the midst of a world tour, has a successful new album, and tells Glamour Magazine that she is happy and “in a really good place right now.”  There’s even talk of her regaining at least partial custody of her children.  Quite a turnaround from the public lows she hit just three years ago!  And who does she thank for it?  Her father, James Spears.  

In fact, according to a friend of hers, Britney Spears credits her father for saving her life. How did he do it when she was so close to the edge — bald head and all — just a few short years ago?

James Spears has been Britney’s conservator since 2008.  This means he was appointed by a judge to make all of Britney’s legal decisions, financial and otherwise, since that time.

Do Lindsay Lohan and Charlie Sheen Need Conservatorships?

It seems that conservatorships may become a new trend to help wild and out-of-control celebrities in Hollywood.

It sure helped Britney Spears.  After her escapades of a hairless head, posing for the paparazzi with no panties, and excessive partying and drinking, her father, James Spears, filed for conservatorship.  This allowed him to become her legal decision-maker and help turn her life and career around.

Then came talk of a conservatorship for Lindsay Lohan.  She's had multiple DUI arrests and been sentenced to jail time and rehab, more than once.  Most recently, she's facing a possible felony sentence for allegedly lifting a diamond necklace from a jewelry store.

A few months ago, Lindsay bristled at the reports that her father was attempting to file for conservatorship over her.  Michael Lohan did not end up filing the court case, but with this latest criminal trouble, can another attempt be far off?

Did Brittany Murphy forget to update her will?

Everyone was shocked when actress Brittany Murphy died suddenly at age 32 on December 20th, 2009.  She left behind a husband, Simon Monjack, of two and a half years and a mother with whom she was very close.  Reportedly, her mother lived with Murphy and her husband the last few years.

Only one day after her tragic passing, celebrity gossip website TMZ posted an article saying that Murphy had a will, but one that was created before her marriage.  The report stated the will left everything to her mother and nothing to her husband.

It also stated Brittany's house was held in a trust which also left it to her mother, not her husband.  Another website said the house -- which Murphy had purchased from Britney Spears in 2003 for almost four million dollars -- was held in a trust called the "Nina Bow Trust".

At this point, it's too early to tell if the reports are accurate.  Wills are public records and are available to the media and websites alike, but only once they are filed.  That doesn't happen one day after someone passes away.

Celebrity Money Battles article

The chief editor of www.Newsplink.com and I collaborated on an article discussing some of the latest celebrity estate and probate-related feuds.  The article includes:

The battles in the Britney Spears Conservatorship case, highlighted by the attorney who compared Britney's situation to a Soviet forced labor camp, before a restraining order was entered against him for three years.

The Whitney Houston life insurance court case, through which Whitney lashed back at her step-mother (who sued Whitney) by detailing how the "custodial care services worker" met Whitney's father cleaning his house and then moved in with him despite their 40-year age difference and the fact Whitney's father was married at the time.

The Marlon Brando Estate, which has been involved in 26 different lawsuits, including claims of sexual harassment, fraud, forgery, undue influence and abuse -- not to mention bringing to light Brando's paranoia that was so severe at the end of his life, he wanted his bedroom padlocked when he died so no one would steal the buttons off his shirt.

And the Grandaddy of all estate battles  -- Anna Nicole Smith -- who fought the son of her late 90-year old husband over his fortune worth hundreds of millions, up to the United States Supreme Court, only to have her own estate embroiled in litigation when she died.

You can read the complete Celebrity Money Battles article here.

Newsplink is a cool new website featuring unique news stories submitted by amateur and professional journalists alike. 

Posted by:  Author and probate attorney Andrew W. Mayoras, co-author of Trial & Heirs:  Famous Fortune Fights! and co-founder and shareholder of The Center for Probate Litigation and The Center for Elder Law in metro-Detroit, Michigan, which concentrate in probate litigation, estate planning, and elder law.  You can email him at awmayoras @ brmmlaw.com.

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