Britney Spears' Dad Says He'll Step Down as Conservator 'When the Time Is Right,' Slams Ex Lynne
Despite reports, Jamie Spears has not yet agreed to step down as Britney Spears' estate conservator.
On Thursday, Jamie's attorney Vivian Lee Thoreen filed new court documents slamming what she calls "unjustified attacks" against her client, 69, who has been his daughter's conservator for 13 years.
The development comes two weeks after Britney, 39, filed a motion to remove Jamie as estate conservator.
"There are, in fact, no actual grounds for suspending or removing Mr. Spears as the Conservator of the Estate," the document obtained by PEOPLE reads. "And it is highly debatable whether a change in conservator at this time would be in Ms. Spears' best interests."
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"Mr. Spears is willing to step down when the time is right, but the transition needs to be orderly and include a resolution of matters pending before the Court," continues the filing. "In order to reach that result, the Court should encourage all interested parties to meet and confer in order to resolve those pending matters in the best interests of Ms. Spears."
In the court document, Jamie's attorneys say that he helped his daughter at a time when she was "in crisis, desperately in need of help" after she was "suffering mentally and emotionally" and "being manipulated by predators and in financial distress."
"Mr. Spears came to his daughter's rescue to protect her," the document reads.
In the latest filing, Jamie's lawyer says he "intends to work with the Court and his daughter's new attorney to prepare for an orderly transition to a new conservator" and claims Jamie "had already been working on such a transition" with Britney's previous court-appointed lawyer Sam Ingham.
Jamie's lawyer also slams his ex-wife Lynne, who previously filed a petition urging the court to allow her daughter to hire her own lawyer and claimed Britney has a "fear and hatred" of Jamie.
"Instead of criticizing Mr. Spears, Lynne should be thanking him for ensuring Ms. Spears' well-being and for persevering through the years-long tenure requiring his 365/24/7 attention, long days and sometimes late night, to deal with day-to-day and emergency issues — all to protect Ms. Spears and those around her charged with protecting his daughter," states the filing. "Lynne has had only limited involvement in Ms. Spears' life these last thirteen years. She has not had a parental role in her life for decades."
A lawyer for Lynne responded to a request for comment from PEOPLE.
"Lynne Spears is pleased Jamie has agreed to step down. Lynne entered into this conservatorship to protect her daughter almost three years ago," attorney Gladstone N. Jones, II said in a statement. "She has accomplished what she set out to do. She will have no further comment."
"This is a major victory for Britney Spears and another step toward justice. I announced in Court on July 14 that, after 13 years of the status quo, it was time for Mr. Spears to be suspended or removed as conservator and that my firm and I would move aggressively and expeditiously for that outcome," Britney's lawyer, Mathew Rosengart, tells PEOPLE in a statement.
"Twelve days later, my firm filed a Petition for Mr. Spears's suspension and removal based on strong, insurmountable legal grounds, which were unequivocally supported by the law and all parties involved, including Jodi Montgomery, Britney Spears, and her medical team. We are pleased that Mr. Spears and his lawyer have today conceded in a filing that he must be removed. We are disappointed, however, by their ongoing shameful and reprehensible attacks on Ms. Spears and others.
"We look forward to continuing our vigorous investigation into the conduct of Mr. Spears, and others, over the past 13 years, while he reaped millions of dollars from his daughter's estate, and I look forward to taking Mr. Spears's sworn deposition in the near future," continues Rosengart. "In the interim, rather than making false accusations and taking cheap shots at his own daughter, Mr. Spears should remain silent and step aside immediately."
The new development comes several weeks after Britney's attorney filed a petition to remove Jamie as conservator and requested CPA Jason Rubin to take on the role of managing her $58 million estate. (Britney's personal conservator and medical team expressed their support for the move.)
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"Ms. Spears respectfully submits that the Court should appoint her nominee; in that, it is an objectively intelligent preference to nominate a highly qualified, professional fiduciary in this circumstance," the documents read at the time. "Moreover, Ms. Spears respectfully submits that, given the Court's recognition at the July 14, 2021, hearing that Ms. Spears has sufficient capacity to choose her own legal counsel, she likewise has sufficient capacity to make this nomination."
Although rejected by a judge, Rosengart also requested that a court date be moved up to consider his removal as estate conservator.
"Although a two-month wait for a hearing on the Petition may not seem significant in the context of 13 years, Ms. Spears should not be forced to continue to feel traumatized, lose sleep, and suffer further," Rosengart stated in the document then. "Every day matters."
After Britney's emotional testimony on June 23 during which she alleged abuse by her conservators, Thoreen told the court Jamie was "sorry" to see his daughter in pain.
In a recent filing, Thoreen insisted Jamie's "sole motivation has been his unconditional love for his daughter and a fierce desire to protect her from those trying to take advantage of her."
Britney has been clear in wanting her father out of the conservatorship. He stepped down as personal conservator in 2019 but continued on as estate conservator until now. Britney also further accused him of conservatorship abuse during a July hearing.
"I want to press charges against my father today," she told the court. "I want an investigation into my dad." She also called her conservatorship "f----ing cruelty" and alleged that she was living with severe limitations like not being able to drink coffee, saying, "If this is not abuse, I don't know what is," according to CNN.
Britney's personal conservator has stated that keeping Jamie as conservator "is not in the best interest of [Britney]."
"Ms. Montgomery respectfully notes that Ms. Spears's medical team agrees that it is not in the best interest of the Conservatee for Mr. Spears to be and remain Conservator of the Estate," her July filing read elsewhere.
Britney's upcoming court hearing is still set for Sept. 29.