EXPLAINER: Conservatorships and how Britney Spears was freed

By ANDREW DALTON
AP Entertainment Writer

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A judge has ended the conservatorship that has controlled Britney Spears’ life and money for nearly 14 years. Conservatorships like hers are established when a court finds someone has a severely diminished mental capacity and needs someone else to make major life and financial decisions. Judge Brenda Penny had ultimate power over the conservatorship, and used that power to end it. Spears’ father had most of the control over the conservatorship from its inception in 2008 until his suspension in September. Fans beginning in 2019 coalesced around the idea that Spears needed to be freed from the restrictions. They felt vindicated and triumphant when it ended.