(CelebrityAccess) — A judge in Los Angeles has granted a petition by former pop icon Britney Spears to suspend her father, James P. Spears, from his role as her conservator, ending more than a decade of his oversight of her life and estate.
According to the New York Times, Judge Brenda Penny granted the petition to suspend James Spears from overseeing the state as Britney continues to seek to permanently remove her father from the role.
“The current situation is not tenable,” Judge Penny said, per the Times.
James Spears has served as conservator over Britney’s life and $60 million dollar estate since 2008, when he petitioned a court to be appointed to the role, citing the star’s erratic behavior and substance abuse.
Earlier this year, James Spears filed with the court to end the conservatorship, citing recent examples of Britney’s wishes and recent demonstrations of independence.
But attorneys for Britney argued that James Spears agreed to end his conservatorship in order to avoid a legal review of financial records related to his management of the conservatorship.
Vivian Thoreen, an attorney for James Spears described Wednesday’s suspension as a ‘loss’ for Britney Spears.
“Mr. Spears loves his daughter Britney unconditionally. For thirteen years, he has tried to do what is in her best interests, whether as a conservator or her father,” Thoreen said in statement provided to CNN. “For anyone who has tried to help a family member dealing with mental health issues, they can appreciate the tremendous amount of daily worry and work this required. For Mr. Spears, this also meant biting his tongue and not responding to all the false, speculative, and unsubstantiated attacks on him by certain members of the public, media, or more recently, Britney’s own attorney.”
A hearing has been scheduled for Nov. 12 to determine if the conservatorship should end and a further hearing is scheduled for December 8th to resolve financial matters related to the legal battle and other financial affairs of the estate.
