Is The Britney Spears Conservatorship Battle A Good Comparison To The UK Court Of Protection?

In one of our previous blogs, we considered the differences between a conservatorship and deputyship, being the UK equivalent. Britney Spears’ legal battle has again been in the press and has shown how emotionally involved these cases can be and also highlights that it is not as simple as requesting that the conservatorship is bought to an end.

As with the Court of Protection, the Court must be satisfied that there is no longer any need for the conservatorship to stand before it is removed.

US conservatorship vs Court of Protection deputyship – how Britney Spears’ case would be dealt with in England and Wales

Britney, at last week’s hearing, stressed how much of a strain this case had been on her and her health. In the Court of Protection, if the case had proceeded in England and Wales, Britney would be considered to be the protected party as the subject of the proceedings. It is common for the protected party’s views and wishes to be considered in proceedings so far as these are attainable.

In practice, this would not be as public, when compared to Britney’s case, and would normally involve a private visit being arranged with the protected party which would generally be outside of Court hearings. That persons’ thoughts would then be put forward to the Court during any hearing.

The Court of Protection, as a minimum, would also require the protected party to undergo a capacity assessment to ascertain whether they have the capacity to make the decision in question. A capacity assessment will need to be completed by someone medically trained and qualified to do so. Britney has been opposed to the equivalent of a capacity assessment and it appears she will be continuing on the basis that this is not necessary unless the Court orders otherwise. By comparison, this would be unlikely in the Court of Protection as the Court will seek to rely on evidence being provided by an expert, as the Court of Protection only has jurisdiction if the protected party lacks capacity.

The biggest difference between Britney’s case and regular UK Court of Protection cases is the publicity of the case. There is no doubt that this is largely because it is Britney, however, if this were in England and Wales would the publicity still follow? Court of Protection proceedings are generally private and kept from the public. Details of proceedings should not be disclosed to anyone outside of the parties or their lawyers unless ordered by the Court.

The final hearing into Britney’s conservatorship is still to be set and it is unknown whether this hearing will be as public as the case has already been. If this were in the Court of Protection, we would expect to see Britney’s lawyers putting forward the argument as to why the conservatorship should cease. Britney’s father, or his lawyers if represented, will then have a chance to put forward reasons why the conservatorship should not end before the Judge makes a final binding decision.

In the event the Court bring the conservatorship to an end, it may follow that Britney brings a claim against her father in relation to his actions during the conservatorship. We do not expect this case will be over without a further battle for all parties, again showing the emotional involvement of such cases.