Britney Spears officially requests new conservator to replace her father

Britney Spears has officially asked for her father to be replaced as her conservator, 13 years after he assumed control of her life and finances.

The star's new lawyer petitioned the court on Monday, a month after Spears broke her public silence on the arrangement, calling it "abusive".

In court papers, Mathew S. Rosengart described the conservatorship as a "Kafkaesque nightmare".

He asked for accountant Jason Rubin to be named conservator of Spears' estate.

The estate was listed as having cash assets of $2.7 million (£1.95 million) and non-cash assets of more than $57 million (£41 million).

According to his website, Rubin has experience in handling complex trust portfolios and cases involving financial exploitation of the elderly.

The move to replace Jamie Spears is expected to be the first stage of a broader strategy to examine the validity of the conservatorship.

The arrangement began in 2008, when concerns over Britney's mental health prompted her father to petition the court for legal authority over his daughter's life.

Public support for the star has surged after her emotional court testimony last month, in which she said she had been drugged, forced to perform against her will and prevented from having children.

She said she wanted her father removed from his role, claiming he "works me so hard" and had threatened to "punish" her if she didn't follow his orders.

In a later Instagram post, she said she would not perform again while her father retained control of her career. "I'm not gonna be performing on any stages anytime soon with my dad handling what I wear, say, do, or think".

Jamie Spears has consistently denied any accusations of abuse and has expressed concern for his daughter's wellbeing.

The petition to remove him from his role comes just two weeks after Mr Rosengart, a former federal prosecutor, took over as Britney's lawyer.

He was hired after Samuel D. Ingham III, the court-appointed lawyer who had represented the star for the last 13 years, resigned in light of her court testimony.

It was the first time since 2008 that the singer has been allowed to select her own lawyer.

In court documents seen by the Los Angeles Times, Mr Rosengart described the relationship between Spears and her father as "venomous" and alleged that "it impairs Ms Spears's mental health, her well-being, and her ability to pursue and continue with her extraordinary career."

The filing added that "serious questions abound" concerning Jamie Spears' "potential misconduct, including conflicts of interest, conservatorship abuse and the evident dissipation of Ms Spears's fortune".

He noted that Jamie Spears has profited from his daughter's estate, taking a salary of $16,000 (£11,500) a month in addition to costs for office space and taking fees from her performance contracts.

"Although it is common for managers, agents and other industry professionals to receive a percentage of an artists' earnings, Mr Spears is none of those," the petition said.

"He is a conservator, and, as a conservator, his role is to be burdened by, rather than benefit from, the conservatorship."

In addition to requesting a new conservator, Mr Rosengart added: "There might well come a time when the court will be called upon to consider whether the conservatorship should be terminated in its entirety".

Mr Spears' lawyer, Vivian Thoreen, has yet to respond. She previously told the court it is "simply not true" that Mr Spears is responsible for his daughter's concerns, and alleged there were a number of "misstatements" in the star's testimony.

The motions to remove Mr Spears and replace him with Rubin are scheduled to be addressed at a hearing on 29 September.

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