Celebrity Conservatorships

We’ve all heard, unless we live under a rock, about Britney Spears and the conservatorship she was under for many years until 2022. If you have paid any attention to news about her recently, you’ve seen the concerns raised about her ability to care for herself and whether a new conservatorship should be entered. Conservatorship can and has been a controversial topic (just see the Netflix movie I Care a Lot) because it runs the risk of significant peril for the person under the control of the conservator. However, it is designed to protect those who are unable to care for themselves any longer, for a variety of reasons, including mental health or physical issues. Frequently mental health (see Amanda Bynes) or dementia/Alzheimers (Brian Wilson, Mavis Leno) is a reason for why a person may no longer be in a position to make decisions for themselves or take good care, so that they need help. We’ve also seen situations that seem questionable (Wendy Williams and Nichelle Nichols come to mind).

In each of the celebrities I mentioned (Bynes, Wilson, Leno), the party consented to a close family member or friend to be appointed as the conservator, most recently Wilson, whose children have signed off on longtime employees being the joint conservators. When done properly, a conservatorship can allow an individual to retain dignity and ensure that the care needed is available to them. Britney Spears is an outlier, but certainly not the only celebrity for whom control over finances and health by a family/friend has been questioned. https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-features/stan-lee-needs-a-hero-elder-abuse-claims-a-battle-aging-marvel-creator-1101229/

h

If you have a loved one who is unable to care for themselves, or unwilling, depending on their legal capacity, a variety of options are available for discussion. Please contact the law office, we can help.