After her emotional plea to end her conservatorship, what happens next for Britney?

After last week’s court case where Britney Spears asked for her conservatorship to end, you may have been wondering what the next steps are for her. 

The singer has been under conservatorship since 2008, when concerns over her mental health led her father to apply for legal authority over his daughter’s life. 

In court last week, Britney asked for the conservatorship to end, and for her to be able to have control of her own life once more. She revealed that under the conservatorship she has not been allowed to marry her boyfriend, and has not been allowed to have an IUD removed, despite the fact that she wants to have more children. 

She has also been under strict control, despite still performing and bringing in huge amounts of money that she has no power over. 

Although Britney made it clear last week that she wants her conservatorship to end, in order to do so she will have to file a petition to terminate the order, which would require a separate hearing. 

In the petition, she would have to show that the conservatorship is no longer required. As part of this process, the court can ask for her to be medically evaluated, which she has said she was opposed to. 

Several aspects of her statement last week imply that she had been kept in the dark about her right to challenge the conservatorship. She told the judge in her hearing that she didn’t know that she could petition to end the legal arrangement. 

“I didn’t know I could petition the conservatorship to be ended,” she said. “I’m sorry for my ignorance, but I honestly didn’t know that.” She added, “My attorney says I can’t — it’s not good, I can’t let the public know anything they did to me.” One of the conditions of her conservatorship prevents her from meeting with a lawyer without her court-appointed lawyer present, who was chosen for her in 2008. 

We might not hear frequent updates if Britney does pursue having the conservatorship overturned, as her lawyer requested that any further hearings will be held in private. As they would discuss mental and medical issues, as well as conflict with her father, there are grounds for this request to be granted.