Britney Spears’ biggest hit was “Oops, I Did It Again!” Her recidivist personal and financial turpitudes spurred her father to file for conservatorship as a means of exerting control over her behavior and her bank account. Thirteen years into that arrangement, Britney and some of her most ardent fans are crying foul. “Free Britney!” has become an unlikely rallying cry in the wider struggle for the rights of women and the (recovered?) mentally ill.
Britney’s legal battle to annul her father’s legal guardianship and allegedly self-interested control over her financial assets, her career, and even her right to have children of her own has sparked international interest in the process of legal conservatorship and legal guardianship.
The family courts have a role to play, particularly when the subject of the guardianship is a minor. In cases where a wife seeks guardianship of a mentally incapacitated husband’s assets, the advice of an experienced divorce attorney could be invaluable to her.
A guardianship may be time-limited or subject to re-evaluation after a certain period, but as the case of Britney Spears shows, getting out of such an arrangement may be quite difficult once it is ratified by a court.
Hirsch Law LLC specializes in divorce and family law, and our lead attorney, Carmina Hirsch, has extensive experience working with financial advisors, estate lawyers and other relevant specialists in the arcana of guardianship and conservatorship rules. If you need to explore this option, whether because of mental illness, senescence, or a pattern of self-destructive behavior, we can give you clear-headed practical advice on how best to set up and enforce such a delicate, contentious and potentially fraught arrangement. If, on the other hand, you (like Britney) are caught in an unfair and no longer viable guardianship situation, we can help you explore options to remove the yoke and get your life back.
Hirsch Law LLC, based in Shelton, Connecticut, serves clients in New Haven and throughout Fairfield County (Danbury, Bridgeport, Westport, Stamford). If you need legal assistance on a divorce or family law matter, don’t hesitate to call us!