Britney Spears is once again asking the courts to replace her father as conservator of her estate — but at least one expert thinks the latest filing is hardly in the pop star's long-term interest.
On Monday, Britney's newly appointed lawyer, Mathew Rosengart, filed a petition to remove Jamie Spears from his position as sole conservator of the pop star's reported $60 million estate.
Rosengart — a former prosecutor and prominent Hollywood lawyer whose A-list clients include Ben Affleck and Steven Spielberg — recommended CPA accountant Jason Rubin as Jamie's replacement. According to Rubin's website, he has "managed complex trust portfolios containing real estate and other financial assets valued over $35 million."
A hearing to discuss Jamie's removal, along with Rubin's potential appointment, has been set for December 13.
In the new filing, obtained by Yahoo Finance, the conservatorship is described as "increasingly toxic," and says that the arrangement is "simply no longer tenable."
The document added that Jamie is not capable of successfully handling Britney's fortune, claiming that the Spears family struggled financially under his leadership and filed for bankruptcy in 1998.
The filing also revealed just how much money Jamie receives through the conservatorship, which includes a monthly allowance of $16,000, plus $2,000 a month for office expenses. He also received 1.5% of the gross revenues from the singer's Las Vegas residency, which brought in $137.7 million. Jamie's cut alone was at least $2.1 million.
"This is a profit center for him," Benny Roshan, an L.A.-based attorney who serves as chair of Greenberg Glusker's trusts and probate litigation group, told Yahoo Finance.
The attorney explained that Britney's legal team could make an argument that her father has a direct financial incentive to remain conservator of the estate. She added that they could ask the courts to reduce his monthly allowance or request that he no longer receive percentages of her concert tours.
Yahoo Finance reached out to Jamie Spears' legal team for comment but has yet to hear back.
'A step back'
Some "Free Britney" supporters questioned why Rosengart did not file a petition to end the conservatorship altogether — and legal experts like Roshan expressed similar concerns.
"Why ask for the warden to be changed but keep the status quo of the prison sentence?" Greenberg Glusker's Roshan asked.
"This feels like a step back," she added.