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23 July 2021 / Jemima Barnes
Issue: 7942 / Categories: Features , Wills & Probate
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Britney & the battle for control

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Britney’s legal battles shine a spotlight on conservatorship. Jemima Barnes outlines developments on this side of the pond
  • Sets out the procedure for deputyship, the English version of the US conservatorship

Following the recent high-profile legal battle in the US over Britney Spears’s application to remove her father from his role in her conservatorship, we consider what the equivalent of a conservatorship would be in England and how the situation may differ if Britney lived over here and was under the English legal system.

US v England & Wales

A conservatorship in the US is granted by a court for individuals who lack mental capacity to make decisions, perhaps due to dementia, brain injury or another severe mental illness. An individual or organisation (or both) can be appointed as conservator and conservatorships can deal with either a person’s estate and finances or their personal needs and welfare (or both).

In England and Wales, the equivalent of a conservatorship is a deputyship. Deputyship orders are made by the Court of Protection (COP) to appoint a deputy (or a number of co-deputies)

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NEWS
Talk of a reserved ‘Welsh seat’ on the Supreme Court is misplaced. In NLJ this week, Professor Graham Zellick KC explains that the Constitutional Reform Act treats ‘England and Wales’ as one jurisdiction, with no statutory Welsh slot
The government’s plan to curb jury trials has sparked ‘jury furore’. Writing in NLJ this week, David Locke, partner at Hill Dickinson, says the rationale is ‘grossly inadequate’
A year after the $1.5bn Bybit heist, crypto fraud is booming—but so is recovery. Writing in NLJ this week, Neil Holloway, founder and CEO of M2 Recovery, warns that scams hit at least $14bn in 2025, fuelled by ‘pig butchering’ cons and AI deepfakes
After Woodcock confirmed no general duty to warn, debate turns to the criminal law. Writing in NLJ this week, Charles Davey of The Barrister Group urges revival of misprision or a modern equivalent
Family courts are tightening control of expert evidence. Writing in NLJ this week, Dr Chris Pamplin says there is ‘no automatic right’ to call experts; attendance must be ‘necessary in the interests of justice’ under FPR Pt 25
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