What
is conservatorship?
Conservatorship
is a legal term in the US under which a person gets an appointed guardian or a
protector for them, in a condition when the person is in his or her old age, or
has some kind of physical or mental illness. Under conservatorship, the guardian
, to be precise , the legal guardian has right over management of the financial
statements or the daily life of the person or both. A person who is under
conservatorship is called a conservatee , which is a term applicable to adults.
So to put it in an easier way , an adult individual is under conservatorship ,
if they have any mental or physical illness or are in their old age. Under this
act , a person is appointed to manage the other person’s (conservatee’s)
finance and daily life or both. This is majorly granted by the court of law
when a person is not sound enough to make their own decisions. Under these
things, the guardian has control over the conservatee’s estate and everything
they own.
Statistics
● According to a study by
AARP, around 1.5 Million adults are under conservatorship.
● A 2010 research conducted
by Government accountability office guardianship review, they looked at 20
cases. The review revealed that the legal guardians obtained or stole estates
worth 5.4 Million in the form of assets from 158 incapacited victims.
● Conservatorship is a very
costly process. It has different kinds of fees. This process start with a very
initial stage of filing fees which has an addition of any other legal costs.
The fees of a conservatorship starts from 50 Dollars an hour to 135 Dollars an
hour. It can exceed as well but it doesn't become less.
● The professional asset
manager along with the appointed trustee fees can run between 1 to 1.5 percent
of the total asset value annually .
● A survey revealed that less
than 20 percent of the courts have guided
legal guardians on the ways to carry out their responsibility correctly
and in a legal way.
● What is Britney spear’s relationship with conservatorship?
In
the year 2008, Britney was put under conservatorship under her father Jamie
Spears when she refused to return her children to her ex husband. Jamie is not
a very significant figure in Britney’s life. Back in that time Britney was a
huge pop sensation who used to do shows, record music, and did tours back to back.
She also started judging a reality show but the sad part was that she didn't
have any control over her wealth. She also did not have any right to make her
own decisions as to what she should do and what she shouldn’t do. Atlast , it
was in 2019, when Britney announced that she would not perform until and unless
her father was removed from her conservatorship.
● What actually happened with Britney ?
For
over 12 years , Britney was under conservatorship of her father jamie. Despite
being such a popular American pop star , she didn't have any right to herself
or the wealth she generated. This all started when Britney refused to return
her children to her ex husband. This happened in January 2008 , when Britney
was taken to a hospital for analysis just after the above incident occurred.
She had to undergo a psychiatric evaluation. Later the police found out that
she was under some kind of substance. Later she was admitted to a hospital in
Los Angeles and eventually she lost custody of her children after that
incident.
● How did she land in a conservatorship?
Soon
after the above incident happened, Britney’s father Jamie filed a temporary
conservatorship over Britney and eventually he was granted legal rights over
Britney along with his Lawyer Andrew Wallet. After Britney was discharged, she
tried her best to talk to lawyers , such that her father was removed from her
conservatorship but actually nothing helped. The court decided that Britney
can’t be on her own and therefore, she was the conservatee to her father Jamie.
Every Dollar she earned was not under her control. Every decision she took had
to be filtered by her guardian.
● What happened after the conservatorship?
Britney got back to work. She starred in How I met your mother, released her album Circus and she was also doing back to back shows and tours as well. The guardians had control over her visitations, her wealth and her security as well but they really did not have control over her show deals. Yes, they could not sign or make decisions about signing TV shows and recordings for her. Britney has always been a smart player. In 2019, Britney decided to stop performing until and unless her father was removed from the conservator
ship. She just wanted to be free. After the lawyer resigned after 11 years , she admitted herself in the psychiatric hospital in the same month.
● Why did her fans start #FreeBritney movement?
The
fans of Britney Spears started this movement to help their idol come out of the
situation by creating more presence and supporting the pop star . they started
pushing the legal people to convince
them to end Brtney’s conservatorship. Being such a huge sensation and not being
able to make her own decisions or have control over her own wealth is pretty
shocking to the people worldwide. A fan podcast by Britney’s fans released a
voicemail from a person claiming to be Jamie’s legal team,saying Britneys was
held in the facility against her own will. The voice mail went viral and gave
rise to the free Britney campaign.
Britney
is still responsible to pay her legal fees. She almost spent one Million
Dollars in legal fees the previous year. It’s not just Britney, people under
conservatorship are tortured, abused and forced to be under the conservatorship
because it gives the legal guardian all rights over the conservatee's wealth
and decisions. This could be a great advantage for the legal guardians but not
for the conservatee. The courts should take care of the legal nature of the act
and guide legal guardians to follow their duty accordingly and not just for the
high paying fees and wealth. They should not take advantage of the conservatee.
They are a conservatee for a particular reason.
https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/conservatorship-britney-spears-debate-7240515/
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