Current Affairs

Issue

A court has recently temporarily freed Pop singer Britney Spears’ father Jamie Spears from her 13-year court-mandated conservatorship.

 

Background

Britney Spears has nominated public accountant John Zabel for overseeing her finances temporarily.

 

Details

• A conservator or guardian is appointed by a court when an adult cannot care for himself or herself or manage his or her own finances.

• A conservator is usually an individual or organization. They are nominated by the conservatee himself/herself if court asks them.

 

The origin

• A court had ordered temporary conservatorship in February 2008 after Britney had suffered a mental breakdown.

• Britney nominated her father the conservator along with attorney Andrew Wallet. They were to take care of her estate.

 

Concerns arising

• While the idea is noble, it gives absolute power and control over the conservatee’s life. This includes their medication to financial spending.

• Until the end of conservatorship, the conservatee remains at the mercy of the conservator. It can be easily misused.

• Disability activists and feminists consider it downright extreme way to control a person. They say the idea emerges from the notion that young women need their fathers to take care of them.

 

Way ahead

• Britney has demanded that the law itself be terminated as she is capable of taking decisions on her own without the need for conservator.

• The process for suspending conservatorship is long and contentious. They will have to prove evidence of cognitive and physical capability to take independent decisions.