Britney Spears’ recent statement to the Court on the abuses of her conservatorship has stunned the world. Spears spoke of being abused and traumatized by her conservators. Spears gave examples of being forced to do a concert tour against her wishes and under threat of breach of contract; and of being prevented from marrying and having more children of her own.
Spears’ father, who is at the center of this controversy as one of Spears’ conservators for the last 13 years, has filed his own petition for the Court to investigate the allegations in Spears’ statement. Spears’ father has also expressed criticism over Spears’ conservator of person care, Jodi Montgomery, to which Ms. Montgomery has made the following statement according to Variety,
“…conservatorships in California are subject to the strictest laws in the nation to protect against any potential abuses, including a licensing requirement for all professional fiduciaries. Ms. Montgomery is a licensed private professional fiduciary who, unlike family members who serve as conservators, is required to follow a Code of Ethics…Private professional fiduciaries often serve in cases as a neutral decision-maker when there are complex family dynamics, as in this case…
Because Ms. Montgomery does not have any power or authority over the conservatorship of the estate, every expenditure made by Ms. Montgomery for Britney has had to be first approved by Jamie Spears as the conservator of the estate…Practically speaking, since everything costs money, no expenditures can happen without going through Mr. Spears and Mr. Spears approving them.”
There is similar provision in Ontario for how guardians of property are required to work with the guardians of person. Section 32(1.2) of the Ontario Substitute Decisions Act, 1992 provides that, “A guardian shall manage a person’s property in a manner consistent with decisions concerning the person’s personal care that are made by the person who has authority to make those decisions.”
The Ontario Substitute Decisions Act, 1992 also imposes a positive duty on the Public Guardian and Trustee (“OPGT“) to investigate “any allegation that a person is incapable of managing property or personal care and that serious adverse effects are occurring or may occur as a result” (see sections 27 and 62 of the Act). According to the OPGT,
“With respect to finances, “serious adverse effects” includes “loss of a significant part of one’s property or failure to provide the necessities of life for oneself or dependents”. Incapacity may, for example, lead a person to give large sums of money away to strangers or to face loss of their home for failure to pay taxes. An incapable person may face starvation or eviction if they cannot look after paying rent or buying food.
With respect to personal welfare, “serious adverse effects” includes “serious illness or injury, or deprivation of liberty and personal security”. Incapacity may, for example, result in a person being unable to remove themselves from a very dangerous situation or to take steps to stop physical or sexual abuse.
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Throughout the investigation, the investigator tries to facilitate solutions that will serve to protect the person without the need for a formal court process. Respect for the dignity of the person and objectivity about the circumstances are paramount considerations in every investigation.”
If a formal court process is found to be necessary, the OPGT will make an application to the Court for a temporary guardianship, and the OPGT can also apply to make the temporary guardianship permanent. The OPGT is a branch of the Ontario Ministry of Attorney General, and they are meant to provide Ontarians with protective safeguards. While this specific investigative process is not technically meant to terminate an existing guardianship, it can temporarily or even permanently place the OPGT in charge as guardian of property and person.
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