Jamie Spears Says Replacement Conservator Suggested By Britney Is Unqualified

Britney Spears’ father says that the man she wants to replace him in her controversial conservatorship arrangement is unqualified to do so.

In court documents filed last week and obtained by Oxygen.com, Jamie Spears argues that John Zabel —  a certified public accountant that Britney has nominated to become temporary conservator of her estate —  is not suited for the job.

The court filings come as Britney’s next conservatorship hearing looms. On Wednesday, Judge Brenda Penny is expected to address Britney's petition to remove her father as conservator of her estate and Jamie’s petition to end the arrangement.

In the paperwork, Jamie claims that Zabel “is not a licensed professional fiduciary and apparently a stranger to this Court.”

He states that his daughter's “former court appointed counsel informed the Court that Ms. Spears wanted a bank as a conservator of her Estate. There are numerous corporate and professional private fiduciaries who are well known to the Court. Mr. Zabel is neither.”

He alleges that Zabel "does not appear to have the background and experience required to take over a complex $60 million (approx.) conservatorship on a temporary or immediate basis."

The paperwork also states that Zabel is "not well suited" as he "was scammed out of over one million of his own money in a fraudulent real estate investment project."

Jamie furthermore claims that there isn’t any reason for anyone to replace him as he doesn’t feel like he’s done a poor job. The document states there is “no need for a temporary conservator" as Jamie "continues to serve faithfully” as Britney's conservator of estate. Jamie has been his daughter’s conservator of estate for 13 years. He was also her conservator of person from 2008 until 2019 when he stepped down from that role.

Jamie announced last month that he will step down from the conservatorship completely but only after certain issues are wrapped up. Britney's lawyer Mathew Rosengart recently filed paperwork alleging that Jamie wanted his daughter to pay him millions in return for quitting his role as overseer of her finances.

Britney has accused her father of conservatorship abuse and even said he should be in jail. In June, she told a judge that at one point during the 13 years since the conservatorship had been established, she had been held in a psychiatric hold against her will while her family did nothing. She also alleged that she was forced to perform against her will, take lithium, and was told she could not get her IUD removed. Since that hearing, the pressure for Jamie began to mount both on social media and in the courtroom. After Britney was permitted in July to finally hire her own attorney, Rosengart quickly filed for Jamie’s removal. 

In "Controlling Britney Spears," new New York Times documentary that hit Hulu on Friday, a former security employee claims that her dad even secretly bugged her bedroom.

The conservatorship was instituted by a court in 2008 not long after Britney endured what appeared to be a mental health crisis that played out in the tabloids.