While average people are making due with less, those involved in helping pop princess Britney Spears rise to the lip-syncing top again are cashing in. Britney’s father Jamie, long credited for helping his daughter regain the sobriety and body shape required to reach mass appeal again, got an extra $51k from his daughter this Christmas. The court awarded him the money as back pay for overtime and increased work, which brings his value to around $75 per hour, or $16,125 per month retroactively. Jamie Spears will also get another $1,200 a month to rent an office.

Britney’s brother Bryan Spears is going to receive a whopping $200,000 for work he did for his sister before the conservatorship. Bryan is a co-trustee of Britney’s estate along with an attorney.

TMZ reports that Britney is due to receive another bill from the team of overpaid lawyers presumably working on her conservatorship case. She owes something near $1 million. For her custody battle with ex Kevin Federline this year she owed nearly $900,000 to teams on both sides. That means she will have racked up $2 million this year in legal fees alone.

In related Britney news, she’s fired the team of two choreographers responsible for the same repetitive hand-waving performance she’s been giving in media appearances. Life & Style reports that they’re history and that Britney will presumably hire other people to help her look competent on tour. She’s not singing live so she has to have something going for her other than looking cute:

Britney Spears is moving on from longtime choreographers Wade Robson and Andre Fuentes, the duo who successfully launched the pop star’s comeback with appearances in Europe and Japan and on U.S. TV, Life & Style has learned. “Wade and Andre were only hired to choreograph the promotional tour for Circus, which ended in Japan last week,” an insider tells Life & Style. Wade directed Brit’s dance moves for her first big U.S. tour in 1999, and Andre has worked with Britney since her 1998 L’Oréal Hair Zone Mall Tour. There’s no word yet who will replace the pair. But we’re sure Brit will have somebody on board soon!

[From Life & Style, received via e-mail]

Britney needs to mix it up a little because there are a lot of overpriced leeches depending on her. Her dad deserves the compensation, but it’s pretty clear there were more than a handful of lawyers attached to her various cases dragging things out for billing purposes.

Britney was seen out driving again on Sunday. Her driving without a license charges were dismissed this October after a mistrial was declared. She has a valid Louisiana driver’s license, but has not transfered her license to California as required. Britney’s side argued that she planned to move back to Louisiana and still considered it her home. She has enough people on the payroll there.

Credit: Fame Pictures