Jamie’s fate to be decided

With the cries to #FreeBritney at a deafening pitch, Britney Spears will have yet another day in court — and a pivotal one as she works to break free from the conservatorship she’s been in since 2008.

The next conservatorship hearing is Wednesday, Sept. 29 at 1:30 p.m. PT/4:30 p.m. ET. It will take place at the Stanley Mosk Courthouse in L.A., though the superstar will likely appear virtually as she has previously.

There are several items on the docket, but at the top is the removal of the star’s father, Jamie Spears, as conservator of her estate. And, if that box gets checked, there will also be the appointment of a temporary conservator to replace him. Britney’s attorney Mathew Rosengart wants the replacement to be certified public accountant John Zabel. Jamie has no plans to step down and, in a filing Monday, tried to discredit his potential replacement.

Going into the hearing, it is not expected that the conservatorship will end on Wednesday, despite Jamie petitioning for it. Rosengart has made it clear his primary goal is removing Jamie, who Britney has accused of conservator abuse. The conservatorship ending would be his second priority, though he’s already said his target date for it to end is this fall.

“I don’t believe the conservatorship will terminate on Sept. 29,” California-based family law attorney Christopher C. Melcher of Walzer Melcher tells Yahoo Entertainment. “Britney’s lawyer is saying she’s in favor of terminating the conservatorship, but there are loose ends that need to be dealt with. Rosengart wants it to wind down rather than just end abruptly.”

Jamie’s call to terminate the conservatorship, in docs filed on Sept. 7, has really been “a strategic game,” says Melcher, who thinks “Jamie’s trying to walk out of this scot-free.”

While it makes a good headline that Jamie was the one calling for the conservatorship to be terminated, his filings spell out very specific prerequisites to him doing so. One, is having the accounting being approved — so that he’s not on the hook for over $1 million. 

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We’ve looked at the specifics before, but Jamie wants Judge Brenda Penny to sign off on expenditures he made as conservator — notably charges Britney is disputing. It includes $1.3 million in attorney fees Jamie rang up fighting his removal, including $531,065 spent on “media matters” for a crisis PR expert. Also at issue is a $500,000 payment to Britney’s former business manager, Tri Star Sports & Entertainment Group. The company, under Lou Taylor, had been getting a five percent commission on Britney’s gross entertainment-related income. However, when Britney went on a work strike — unhappy with her father and management — the company was suddenly only receiving $200,000 annually. Tri Star asked for a…