Lynne Spears Told a Court Daughter Britney Spears Is Able to Care for Herself

Britney Spears' mom, Lynne Spears, said that her daughter can take care of herself, and should be able to choose her own lawyer for her conservatorship case.

singer britney spears and mother lynne spears attend the 42nd annual grammy awards pre party hosted by clive davis on february 22, 2000 at beverly hills hotel in beverly hills, california photo by ron galella, ltdron galella collection via getty images
(Image credit: Ron Galella, Ltd.)
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  • Britney Spears' mom, Lynne Spears, said that her daughter is able to take care of herself, and should be able to choose her own lawyer for her conservatorship case.
  • Lynne Spears' attorneys said in a motion filed Tuesday that the pop star's "capacity is certainly different today than it was in 2008."
  • "Conservatee should no longer be held to the 2008 standard, whereby she was found to 'not have the capacity to retain counsel,'" the motion continued.

Britney Spears' mom, Lynne Spears, told a court through her attorneys that her daughter is able to take care of herself and should be granted permission to choose her own counsel for her conservatorship case. In a motion filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court Tuesday, as NBC News reports, Lynne Spears' attorneys said the pop star's "capacity is certainly different today than it was in 2008," when her conservatorship began. The filing further noted that Britney Spears had toured and produced multiple albums since the start of her conservatorship.

"Now, and for the past many years, Conservatee is able to care for her person and in fact has, inside of the parameters of this conservatorship, earned literally hundreds of millions of dollars as an international celebrity," Tuesday's filing stated. "Her capacity is certainly different today than it was in 2008, and Conservatee should no longer be held to the 2008 standard, whereby she was found to 'not have the capacity to retain counsel.'"

In her devastating court testimony on June 23, Spears said she didn't know she could petition to end her 13-year conservatorship, which she described as "abusive," and had been advised by court-appointed lawyer Samuel Ingham not to speak out. She told the court that while she'd "built a relationship" with Ingham, she wanted the right to "handpick" her own counsel.

Ingham told the court Tuesday that he would resign from Spears' conservatorship as soon as she received another court-appointed lawyer. Spears' manager, Larry Rudolph, also resigned after her testimony, and wealth management firm the Bessemer Trust has petitioned for its removal as co-conservator.

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Emily Dixon
Emily Dixon
Morning Editor

Emily Dixon is a British journalist who’s contributed to CNN, Teen Vogue, Time, Glamour, The Guardian, Wonderland, The Big Roundtable, Bust, and more, on everything from mental health to fashion to political activism to feminist zine collectives. She’s also a committed Beyoncé, Kacey Musgraves, and Tracee Ellis Ross fan, an enthusiastic but terrible ballet dancer, and a proud Geordie lass.