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Britney Spears’ ex Kevin Federline may request evaluation before conservatorship ends

‘It was distressing to see her be in distress’

Peony Hirwani
Wednesday 30 June 2021 02:21 EDT
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Watch again: Britney Spears fans gather near LA court amid conservatorship hearing

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Kevin Federline has reportedly expressed concerns whether Britney Spears gaining full control of her life “without any expert evaluation” is a good idea, according to his lawyer.

Divorce lawyer Mark Vincent Kaplan told Page Six that the ex-husband of the “Why Should I Be Sad” singer would probably have “concerns” by looking at history in terms of her medical care.

“I’ve seen it reported that Britney wants [the conservatorship] terminated without any expert evaluation,” he said. “One thing that I can imagine will engender a further dialogue should it be terminated is that I know she had revealed in the statement she made that she had been put on lithium, and I think, as you can imagine, lithium is regarded as a very powerful psychotropic medication,” Kaplan said.

Federline hasn’t been involved in proceedings pertaining to the conservatorship, Kaplan added, but would be “very comfortable with the conservatorship being dissolved” if Spears “is able to handle herself in a way that does not jeopardise herself or her children should they be in her custody.”

“I have to hope that if some medical professional prescribed that for her that there was some condition or basis for that to be deemed an appropriate medical protocol,” he said.

Kaplan mentioned that if the 39-year-old pop star’s “conservatorship were to end and even more so to be terminated without an exit evaluation”, her ex would want to know “what the conditions were that gave rise to her being prescribed that [lithium]”.

Federline and Spears were married from 2004 to 2007 and have two sons named Sean Preston, 15, and Jayden James, 14, of whom Federline has primary custody.

The attorney touched upon how important Spears’ health and happiness are when it comes to co-parenting.

“It was distressing to see her be in distress,” he said. “Kevin really has no inside information about what goes on inside of the conservatorship, but obviously if Britney is in a healthy and good and strong place, that’s great. He wants her to be happy and healthy.”

Kaplan also told Entertainment Tonight that “it doesn’t matter how positive of an effect a conservatorship has had if it’s having a deleterious effect and detrimental effect on her state of mind. So he supports her having the best environment for her to live in and for his children to visit with their mother in.”

“Keep in mind when the conservatorship was placed over Britney, the kids were toddlers. We’re now talking about two healthy, intelligent young boys who are 14 and 15 and they can pretty much judge for themselves whether things are going down that they don’t like or what to have changed,” Kaplan added.

“And most importantly, they’re able to express to Kevin and to Britney. So that’s an extra layer of protection that didn’t exist when the conservatorship was first placed.”

For a full transcript of Spears’s address to the court, click here.

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