2/15/2008

Britney’s Family Gets More Power Over Her Estate

Britney Spears’s family members tightened their grip on her finances Thursday as the court extended her father’s co-conservator role and granted her brother influence over her day-to-day expenses.

L.A. Superior Court Commissioner Reva Goetz made the rulings amid signs that the singer’s family has helped keep Britney out of trouble since her early release from a psych ward.

Her father Jamie Spears has been overseeing his 26-year-old daughter’s well-being and her estimated $100-million fortune since Feb. 1, when Goetz named him and Andrew Wallet temporary co-conservators – giving them the right to employ bodyguards who control Britney’s actions and restrict her visitors.

On Thursday, Jamie and Wallet requested that the status quo be maintained until March 10 because a psychiatric evaluation of Britney, due Wednesday, had not yet been submitted. The commissioner granted the extension, scheduling a hearing that day to consider extending the conservatorship even further.

Britney’s father and Wallet were also granted the power to handle the singer’s taxes, and Britney’s brother Bryan, 30, was named as a trustee of her trust. According to court papers, trust funds are used “to pay for Britney’s continued security, and to pay for her medicine, food, other day-to-day expenses and for psychiatric and other medical services.”

Sam Lutfi Restraining Order Addressed

Attorney Jeryll Cohen, representing Jamie, says they still haven’t been able to serve a restraining order against Britney’s pal Sam Lutfi who, Cohen says, seems to be avoiding service. Lynne Spears has accused Lutfi of drugging and verbally abusing her daughter.

Since Britney’s father has taken charge of her affairs, she has kept an uncharacteristically low profile with relatively low-key outings: shopping with her mom, Lynne, and regular trips to the Millennium Dance Complex.

“She’s getting proper medical care and has professional security. The chaos has been removed from the situation,” says one legal insider.

Meanwhile, as Jamie was in court, Britney’s mother, Lynne, was spotted heading out of town at Los Angeles International Airport Thursday.

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