Britney Spears' Conservator Jodi Montgomery Is 'Concentrated on Giving Her the Tools to Get Better'

[heather]

"The hope is that Britney can eventually get out of the conservatorship," a source close to the situation tells PEOPLE exclusively

 

Days after Britney Spears pleaded with an L.A. court to terminate her long-held conservatorship, a source close to the situation insists her conservatorship team has been listening.

The source tells PEOPLE exclusively that Jodi Montgomery — the singer's longtime care manager who temporarily took over as Spears' personal conservator in September 2019 after her father Jamie Spears stepped down — has been "working with a team of experts concentrated on giving Britney the tools to get better."

Spears, 39, has never revealed a mental health diagnosis and her medical records are sealed, but "the hope is that she can eventually get out of the conservatorship," adds the source.

Following Spears' emotional 23-minute speech during a conservatorship hearing last week in which she alleged "abusive" behavior from her conservators (which includes Montgomery, and her dad Jamie Spears who oversees her finances as co-conservator of her estate), fans angrily questioned the motives behind the entertainer's legal situation.

However, "under California law, all conservators have to be investigated secretly by the court," insists the source. "Progress has to be reported. Conservators are all closely monitored to assure nothing shady is happening."

During the hearing, Spears alleged Montgomery — who the singer requested in March to be appointed her permanent conservator, according to a legal filing obtained by PEOPLE — "made me feel like my dad does. Very similar, her behavior and my dad, but just a different dynamic."

While Jamie no longer has legal control over his daughter's personal affairs, the source close to the situation claims he is still heavily involved in Spears' day-to-day. (Lawyers for Jamie have not commented despite multiple requests from PEOPLE.)

"Even though Jamie is in charge of her finances, he still has to approve everything because everything is related to finances at the end of the day," says the source. "If she wants to go to Hawaii, he has to approve that, because it costs money. If she wants to take her friends to dinner, he has to approve that, because it costs money. Jamie has the right to say no to certain things."

After Spears addressed the court, Jamie released a brief statement read by his lawyer Vivian Thoreen. "[Jamie] is sorry to see his daughter in so much pain," read Thoreen. "[He] loves his daughter and misses her very much."

Britney's June 23 court hearing was the first time she has publicly spoken about her 13-year conservatorship, which was put in place in 2008 following a period of troubling behavior.

"I've never said it openly - I never thought anyone would believe me," said Britney, who is mom to sons Sean Preston, 15, and Jayden James, 14 (with ex-husband Kevin Federline). "I'm not lying. I just want my life back. It's been 13 years, and it's been enough. I want to be able to be heard. I've kept this in for so long - it's not good for my heart."

"I've been so angry and I cry every day. For my sanity ... I need to get it off my heart. The anger, all of it," she added. "The main reason why I'm here today is I want to end the conservatorship without being evaluated."

During the hearing, Spears was not questioned by her conservators' lawyers, nor have they had the opportunity to rebut her allegations in court.

As stated by the judge on Wednesday, Spears still needs to file a formal motion to end the conservatorship. 

 

https://people.com/music/britney-spears-conservator-jodi-montgomery-giving-tools-eventually-end-conservatorship/

 

A couple of things:

1. This should have happened 13 years ago.
2. It brought up an excellent point that I hadn't thought of in regards to Jodi and Jamie. Since Jamie still does control the money, perhaps the reason Jodi was starting to act like Jamie according to Britney, is because of that. Because maybe the only options Jamie would allow (therapy) were the ones that were traumatizing to Britney, so in Britney's view it was Jodi taking it too far, but her hands could have likely been tied to behave in that way. In order for Jamie to continue his torment and control over Britney without his name attached, having Jodi take the blame. Which by no means makes her innocent, because if I'm right she should have reported that, instead of going along and forcing Britney into traumatizing situations.
3. It talks about conservators and the conservatorship being monitored to prevent shadiness, but that doesn't take into consideration the manipulation and threats Britney received in order to comply. So, while it looks like Britney is agreeing to do all of these things (work, the mental health facility, etc) she's only agreed because she was threatened and manipulated into doing so. Now that she's spoken on record, and is clear in what she wants and doesn't want, and what has happened to her, hopefully the courts will take a deeper look at everything going forward.
4. I hope they're working on the care plan that Britney explicitly said she would agree to, and I hope she stands firm until she receives exactly that. She was clear and concise in what she wants, there's no misinterpreting that and she wasn't asking for anything outrageous. As far as I'm concerned, Britney doesn't even need therapy. She needs a life coach to help her with her day to day life and struggles.

[MakeMySugarFall]

It's wild to think that the things happening under the conservatorship are also legal! Like even that part about "closely monitored to assure nothing shady is happening" - what does the court consider shady? Because I've been reading the posts from national papers by experts and it sounds like this shit happens in conservatorships all the fucking the time. The law is way too loose on the power conservators have. Britney's testimony has exposed a lot of things, even beyond her case.

[heather]

30 minutes ago, MakeMySugarFall said:

It's wild to think that the things happening under the conservatorship are also legal! Like even that part about "closely monitored to assure nothing shady is happening" - what does the court consider shady? Because I've been reading the posts from national papers by experts and it sounds like this shit happens in conservatorships all the fucking the time. The law is way too loose on the power conservators have. Britney's testimony has exposed a lot of things, even beyond her case.

Yeah it really makes me think about the people that actually need one- how much easier it is to manipulate and control them versus Britney, whose only weakness was her children. She's really blown the whistle on the entire flawed system. 

[MonaLisa613]

MANY fans suspected that Jamie was still pulling strings despite stepping down. Looks like it’s true. 
 

Sadly corruption runs rampant in this system, Free Britney may have started about her but it became about so much more. Considering Sam has been liking all those Free Britney posts, I can’t help but wonder if that’s how they were getting their info to prepare for this testimony.