Here’s a question for all of you lawyers and legal beagles out there: if an adult is under a comprehensive conservatorship, can she legally give a deposition? I guess I know the answer to that – I mean, children can be deposed, correct? That’s what this is like – Britney Spears’ conservatorship means that her father is in control of her money, her life, her homes, her property. Her conservatorship is the reason why Kevin Federline has full legal custody of their children to this day. Her conservatorship is also the reason why it’s a complicated legal situation for Kevin Federline to get more money in child support. Well, it looks like K-Fed wants Britney to sit for a deposition. K-Fed to Brit-Brit: “You got served!”
Britney Spears has officially been served with a subpoena to sit for a deposition to “discuss her personal finances” in her child support battle with ex Kevin Federline, a source exclusively tells Us Weekly.
“Her lawyer, Laura Wasser, accepted the subpoena on Britney’s behalf,” the source explains. “The subpoena also included financial discovery, including Britney’s most recent tax returns, and a completed income and expense declaration.”
The source adds that the deposition is scheduled to take place in the next two weeks.
Federline, 40, filed to increase child support payments from the 36-year-old pop icon on May 22. The duo, who were married from 2004 to 2007, share two sons: Sean Preston, 12, and Jayden James, 11. He also shares Kori, 15, and Kaleb, 13, with ex-fiancée Shar Jackson and 6-year-old Jordan and 3-year-old Peyton with wife Victoria Prince.
I’ve said this dozens of times now, and I’ll probably say it a dozen more times before this is all said and done, but I still don’t understand why Jamie Spears didn’t just pay K-Fed what he wanted, as opposed to opening this can of worms. I do not believe that Britney knows what’s happening in her personal finances whatsoever. The deposition will likely show that, so what’s the point of this? Maybe Kevin is trying to establish that it’s Jamie Spears who doesn’t want Kevin to get more in child support?
Photos courtesy of WENN.
Pay him the money…money isn’t an issue for Brittany…and it will only be for a few more years…if Brittany’s father TRULY cared about his daughter’s fragile well being…he would grit his teeth and pay the money…oh and get off his high horse regarding this situation…cause HE’S making HUGE bank off of his daughter too….and I mean…HUGE!
Well to honest Jamie’s pay is approved by the court so it’s not like he gets to call his own salary. Everything is approved by the courts.
Is it perhaps that Kevin is asking for an astronomical amount due to the fact Brit-Brit made a slew of money in Vegas? I haven’t a clue as I haven’t followed her life in quite a while. I heard recently she is worth over $200 million. (If that in fact is true) I’m sure her father can give Kevin a decent amount.
It would be great if she’s putting a huge amount in trust for HER kids somewhere, so the money is untouchable by Kevin and his wife. She may also be worth that much money, but also have a lot of expenses. We don’t know how liquid her assets are.
It wouldn’t be her putting that money away is the issue. The conservatorship effectively removes her control over her own finances. I suspect part of the problem here is that a lot of people are making a lot of money off of her mental illness and resent KFed for cutting into their share.
I say this man and/or his wife should get a job. The money spent on Brit’s kids should be put in trust and make Fed work for each and every amount of money taken from the trust to support HER kids. Not his other 4. Otherwise, perhaps he should downsize in spending? Doesn’t matter that she’s making all this money. She should not support HIS other children and wife.
what Britney the Brand is worth and what her actual income is are two different things. I have no doubt that her brand is worth $200+ million but that pays a lot more than Britney’s income. What her income actually is is what matters in this case.
bma, the court says her conservatorship estate is only ‘some’ of her wealth.
And her conservatorship estate finances are made public every year…
http://www.tmz.com/2017/09/12/britney-spears-expenses-massages-conservatorship/
I think Britney would give him the money, she sees her sons are happy with their siblings. This would bring the fight directly to her and assess what she’s aware of and what her opinion is. It is her children that he’s taking care of. I have no idea why Jamie wouldn’t just agree to his requests if it was in line what other child support structures look like.
Britney gets the freedom from raising her kids and K-Fed does all the hard work – if I were him, I’d be singing ‘gimme gimme more gimme more’ all day long.
She has them half the time and pays all of their expenses. Kevin and his wife are both able-bodied and can work.
The only reason she can’t be the primary custodian of her kids is the fact she’s still under this stupid conservatorship. If she’s healthy enought to work that hard to make money, why she still have to be under conservatorship?
Also, she pays for all of her kids expenses and gives 20K per month to Kevin. Who here gets 20K a month to be a parent, a job you are supposed to be doing? If he wants to live fancy, as she says, you better work b***h.
I read that her contracts no matter what request her to be under c-ship. I think people don’t give her enough credit, she is fine. Nobody forces her to work she’s not a slave. Britney just have serious social anxiety and sadly the meds effect her dancing 🙁 Damn, pop culture as a collective should be ashamed of what it did to her.
Sim – social anxiety doesn’t cause you to drive yourself around with your toddler on your lap. This is not a simple case of severe anxiety.
Britney does not have them half the time, the children live and go to school from Kevin’s residence. Is she even allowed to be alone with them? She most definitely wasn’t for at least a long stretch, as part of why she would have lost custody even without the conservatorship was because there was evidence of neglect when Britney had the kids.
I was talking about her behavior now. Driving with her son on her lap was ignorance.
Kevin has full legal custody, her sons see her on weekends and when she is not working. It’s fair they live with him – he’s unemployed after all.
It went way beyond the driving incident. Again: evidence of abuse and neglect.
Her inability to have custody of her children stems from circumstances well beyond her control. It’s not a freebie situation involving a mother who f*cked off for the hell of it. By recent accounts, they spend a significant amount of time with her these days, anyway. Kfed is married to an able-bodied woman, neither of them hold down full time jobs, and the majority of their expenses are paid for by Britney’s monetary contributions (including the home). I’m glad he is there for his children, and I’m not begrudging him the child support, but I’m not patting him excessively on the back, either, for doing his job (raising his children) in circumstances significantly better than most single parents.
I think Jaime paying up would have been smarter in the long run since it wasn’t worth the hassle and her income has rebounded significantly in the past few years, so the expense wouldn’t have been that extreme. Ultimately, the only people getting hurt by this situation are the kids and likely Britney herself – who literally has no functional control of her income or legal maneuvers to deal with the situation properly.
Britney would have lost custody no matter what when they split. Does no one remember the abuse and neglect allegations?
Now, it’s possible that she would have eventually been able to sue and get custody back (had she never ended up in the Conservatorship), we’ll never know.
I remember them, and I agree with the court’s custody decision. My point is that if she’s still under the conservatorship at this point, she’s clearly severely mentally ill, even with treatment. (Her abuse at the hands of her parents certainly didn’t help, either.) That is not her fault, and I don’t believe in dragging her for it. She’s involved with her kids lives as best she can, not f*cking off because she doesn’t want them. She should be paying appropriate amounts of child support, and the courts should decide if she is, but I could hypothetically see where her father’s coming from in not wanting her illness to be used as leverage against her.
She did not ask for illness. He is lazy and awful, hope that the kids see that once they are 18.
She has her kids a lot, and she doesn’t just pay kfed 20 grand a month, she pays for nearly everything those kids need, she bought the house he lives in!! I agree he should get more money, but not the amount hes asking for!!
I saw a very recent pap picture of Brittany somewhere or other today and….yes I know I should not judge a book by its cover, but she does not look that great in the eyes, a little off kilter. I agree her Dad should just show KFed the money.
Kfed is trash, but ultimately, Jaime would have benefited from thinking about the long game here where his daughter’s mental health and the boys’ happiness was concerned. Agreeing to compromise and up the payments would have been less messy for everyone involved.
Needs or wants? The boy’s every need are more than taken care of by her. He’s more than capable of working, especially when his job is mostly at night. His wife has her masters in special needs education. She could work. He could stop paying child support out of Britney’s money, that would free up more for his boys with her. Brit’s not responsible for his other offspring, but he wants her to be financially. How is that fair?
I also have no doubt that he will get his financial windfall. It should be increased because her income has greatly increased, but it’s still not right that he uses her to support all six of his children’s needs. (and probably his and his wife’s)
I completely agree, Lady D. If his current wife is able to work, she should get out there and work, especially since her qualifications seem to far outweigh his. He can continue being a stay-at-home father, providing the very critical early-years parenting/care to the younger children. Also, how healthy is it having two non-working parents/caregivers for a long period? Are the children learning good work habits, punctuality, commitment to a long-term earning plan and financial independence etc., or are they learning that someone else is there to pick up the tab? I do think that child support should be reviewed periodically, but there is absolutely nothing preventing Federline or his wife from working.
I mean, that feels a bit like extortion. “Pay me and I won’t drag her through a painful custody dispute”. But this actually makes me think that Jamie has all his financial ducks in a row regarding Britney Inc – which he’s required to do anyhow as he is regularly audited as a part of his Conservatorship.
Its not Jaime’s money so he can’t just pay Kevin. He has to justify it to the court that oversees the conservatorship. In order to do that, he probably needs Kevin to offer more justification than simply “I am owed more.” Britney’s wealth puts her in a position that the standard guidelines don’t apply— child support is meant to support the child and not just be a windfall for the payee. Once you get to a certain wealth, the court’s take a closer look at the support needed to keep the child’s households even versus whether the amount awarded is a windfall for the payee. If its true that Britney is paying $20k/month cash support PLUS all the other expenses (school, extracurriculars, house, car, nannies, etc.) then the Court overseeing the conservatorship is absolutely going to want justification before Jaime can agree to pay Kevin more from Britney’s money. People are oversimplifying the child support issue and refusing to attempt to understand the conservatorship issue.
Is it possible that this is being driven by Britney herself in some rudimentary way. It may be that Kevin is doing the right thing by her in bringing some shady things to light. I will always remember some comments courtney love made years ago relating to Jamie Spears and Britney. They kinda ran true. But were deleted quite quickly.howver was pretty damning around the exploitation she received as a child and then of course her first real relationship with Justin Timberlake
i honestly doubt it. I know Jaime wasn’t the greatest father (I recall there being alcohol abuse issues) but it seemed to me it was Lynn who was the exploitative one. I always got the feeling that Jaime stepped up where he had failed before and truly does have Britney’s best interest at heart…I think sometimes he seems callous and controlling because he refuses to allow her to be taken advantage of again a la Sam Lufti and to an extent Federline. If Lynn were more involved with this, I’d side-eye the shit out of it. But she doesn’t seem to have a hand in anything Britney-related any more. Britney seems healthy nowadays (as much as she can be) and frankly I don’t think Kevin has HER best interests at heart either.
Yes. She was never protected by her parents neither was Jamie L. The excuses for her father are really something. There are so many people making large money whose faces are unknown and her father allows it.
Britney is not even going to waste time siting for that deposition.
Any legal action taken against her must be filed against her conservators.
From an earlier lawsuit against her…
“The lawyers go on to state that the lawsuit shouldn’t be filed against Spears because she is currently under conservatorship and was under that same conservatorship when the singer employed Flores as her bodyguard.
‘Moreover, Ms. Spears is not the proper party defendant in this case. Because she is in a conservatorship, the co-conservators are the proper parties to this matter. As a consequence of the probate court appointing the conservators court proceedings must be conducted through the conservators. This is yet another reason this matter should be transferred to the probate court,’ the docs state.”
https://radaronline.com/exclusives/2010/11/britney-spears-former-bodyguard-motivated-money-claims-conservators/
The current custody agreement was finalized when Britney was in a conservatorship.
Therefore her conservators (her father and lawyer) would be the defendants in this case.
Yeah, I suspect it’s definitely a PR move to prove he’s serious. There’s no way she’ll actually wind up behind a stand.
It seems kind of exploitive to subject someone that has already been deemed legally incompetent to manage their financial affairs to a subpoena about them. What is the point of that to make her look stupid? Subpoenaing Jaimie would have made sense but this feels like emotional blackmail.
When I was reading about Jesse Williams and his child support issues, I checked out California’s child support calculator and put in the equivalent of $6 million a year. That’s $250K an episode times 24 episodes. It came in around $37,000/month in child support for two children.
Just because Britney’s company is taking in $137 million over four years, does not mean Britney is getting paid $137 million over four years. There are taxes, payroll, expenses, etc. her company is paying for. Britney’s actual salary may only be $1 million to $2 million a year (if that) and the rest invested in other businesses, stocks, a retirement account, etc. If that is the case, which I think it probably is, Britney is paying what she should.
Kfed and his wife need to get jobs.
Wouldn’t things like a retirement account come straight out of HER pay though? And I doubt that would be considered in the calculations. I don’t imagine (could be wrong) that a company can file away money in a retirement account for an individual like that in this kind of scenario and it just ‘not count’. Her Vegas show had grossed over $103 million in less than 250 shows. Just ONE of her shows broke a box office record of $1,172,000+ – I know that the people that contracted her obviously are making a ton from this – but she’s definitely not getting chump change for her work. In 2013 she signed a deal for 30 million for 2 years of shows – 24 weeks of work. That’s over 1 million per week worked. I have no idea what she’s signed recently – but you can guarantee she’s doing well. She’s a proven draw.
It doesn’t matter what those contracts are for. Those checks go to her corporate identity, not Britney Spears private citizen. The only thing the courts will look at are her personal tax filings. They will also take into account what extras she’s paying for those boys like school, security, clothing, housing, medical expenses, etc.
Child support is not meant to be a financial windfall for the other parent. Kevin saying the boys have to share a room at his house is not a hardship.
I feel like it has been said overand over in br comments that Jamie can’t just sign off, he has to justify the increase. Financials are supervised by the court and he has to justify to the court at their annual review why exactly the increase was necessary
I thought the point of child support was to ensure that the kids have more or less the same standard of living at both homes – so they’re not living high off the hog with one and eating ramen for every meal with the other – because that disparity (even if not that extreme) affects the kids’ relationships with their parents in an unhealthy way. If that’s the case, i think the substantial increase in Britney’s earnings should mean Kevin should see an increase in support – even if that means that other kids/spouse in his household benefit incidentally.
This is how I view this situation as well. Is it “fair” that Britney ultimately “supports” the siblings? Not really. But it is the right thing, the kind thing to do.
Except it’s not equal… her child support payments aren’t calculated as his income for determining how much child support he owes Shar Jackson for his children with her. Her child support would be based on his claims of making $3,000 a month. That is a SERIOUS disparity in living styles. How they live with their mom versus how they live when with their dad, in the lap of luxury in a house paid for by Britney, Inc.
Kevin gets all expenses paid, from his housing to nannies to the boy’s tuition, and $20,000 on top of that. It’s going to be hard to justify to the court as to why exactly he needs an increase. (Especially nannies. Why does he need nannies when both he and his wife are essentially stay at home parents?!?)
As a few of you have been saying this is not a normal child support case. There is that wrinkle called he conservatorship. She cannot just give Kfed the money. It has to be approved by the courts.
The court will decide what if any increase he will receive. I appreciate the commenters above explaining how her dad can’t just give Kevin what he wants. I hope Kevin has to show his financial docs too, how does he pay for his kids with his wife, his child support to his ex etc..
On the other post about Jesse Williams and his wife, most all the comments said she was getting out of control asking for 70k for two kids and spousal support I believe. Apparently he also pays the kids private school aside from the child support. She’s losing her good will, she’s out of control etc..
Why is it ok for Britney to pay all her kids expenses and have to pay 60k that Kevin is requesting?
It’s very obvious he said it himself he’s not making as much anymore as a dj, of course he needs an increase to support the REST of his family 🙄
As you said, ultimately the lawyers will duke it out before the judge. Britney is represented by Laura Wasserman a very well known Hollywood attorney whose clients include Angelina Jolie, Maria Shriver and Christina Aguilera. KFed is represented by Mark Vincent Kaplan, another high powered Hollywood lawyer.
BTW, Britney is on vacation right now in Miami with both boys. She posted pics and videos of them on her Instagram page. It looks like they’re having a good time.
I suspect Jesse’s ex is starting high so she won’t wind up settling low. I find it very unlikely she’d get those exact amounts, and her lawyers know it. I wouldn’t be surprised if Kfed was doing the same by upping his demand.
This was back in the Chicago area in 1984, but my father made his lawyer depose me when I was a child. It was terrifying. It was because of my parent’s battle over child support. According to the lawyers involved, it was highly irregular. They also put me on the stand during the courtroom hearing. My father was allowed to view my testimony, stare me down & scoff at me. When it was time for the “adults” to testify, however; I was required to leave the courtroom. There really are so many jerks reproducing.
An acquaintance’s mother had to take the wealthy father to court in order to get him to help pay for school tuition. Some people are just flop human beings.
^my comment was in response to someone above asking if Britney could be deposed and also if children can be deposed.
They have settled lawsuits on her behalf before. Jamie could petition the c-ship judge to approve a change in child custody amounts. Her diagnosis is unclear. She seems to have social anxiety. She could also have bipolar disorder, a personality disorder or some other condition. No one has ever offically commented on her condition. Her records are sealed by the courts. I hope she is properly being cared for and the c-ship is in her best interests. I would love an independent party examine her case to verify that it is in her best interests. Kevin stepped up to the plate to care for the boys when she became ill. He has not said anything negative about her since the c-ship started. He had the amminition to refuse visitation, but did not use it. Jamie and Kevin must have some sort of agreement that allows her to see them quite often. I suspect she is not officially in charge when she has the children. I suspect a nanny, bodyguard, or someone else officially watches over both her and the boys. If Kevin is owed more money per California laws, give it to him. He seems like a hands on dad.
When I read laypersons opinions how she doesn’t need conservatorship because she can work… She can work and live a relatively normal life precisely because of it. All signs point to a very serious mental illness here, and some ill people need outer source of structure to be able to have any order in their lives.