Photo: Getty Images North America
Britney Spears' father Jamie Spears has been suspended as her conservator. As People reports, the singer's attorney Mathew Rosengart asked the court to suspend Jamie last week. On Wednesday (September 29), Judge Brenda Penny granted the request and appointed John Zabel as the temporary successor.
"[This decision is] in the best interest of the conservatee, which is my goal," Penny said.
"This man does not belong in her life for another day," Rosengart told the court. "He must be suspended today. Britney Spears is pleading for it. This is a very easy decision. ... My client will be so extraordinarily distraught if Mr. Spears remains conservator for one more day ... If he cares about his daughter, he will resign today."
According to Rosengart, Zabel is "a highly-esteemed, nationally-recognized award-winning CPA with an impeccable record of serving in positions of trust" who "will also be supported by Ms. Spears's business management and forensic accounting teams."
The suspension comes just weeks after Jamie filed a petition to terminate her 13-year-long conservatorship. As a result, his lawyer requested for the petition to temporarily replace him be denied as the arrangement would be coming to an end shortly anyway.
Rosengart, however, argued that Jamie's removal was necessary in order for Britney's "basic liberties" to "be restored."
"[His] suspension was (and is) a necessary first—and substantial— step toward Ms. Spears' freedom and ending the Kafkaesque nightmare imposed upon her by her father, so that her dignity and basic liberties can be restored," the document read. "Britney Spears' life matters. Britney Spears' well-being matters. And under the circumstances, every day matters because every day Mr. Spears clings to his post is another day of anguish and harm to his daughter, which is avoidable via immediate suspension."
On September 12, Britney announced her engagement to Sam Asghari, her boyfriend of five years. Rosengart later said he's looking for a family law attorney to "craft a prenuptial agreement," since Britney's relationship with her father is "broken."
To better understand the full scope, read our comprehensive timeline of the conservatorship here.