After 13 years of being in total control of his daughter’s finances, Jamie Spears has finally been forced to step down from his position as Britney Spears’s conservator. Suspended for the moment, he’s been replaced by California accountant John Zabel, who will temporarily manage Britney Spears’ estate. A permanent position will likely only become necessary if the next Nov. 12 hearing does not abolish Spears’ conservatorship entirely, as her legions of fans desperately hope it will.

Though the push from the public has been to remove the conservatorship completely, there is a reason why Spears and Mathew Rosengart, her lawyer, chose to move more slowly. As the #FreeBritney movement gained ground and Spears herself spoke out against her conservatorship, things looked so severe for Jamie Spears that he actually agreed to step down of his own accord earlier this summer. “Mr. Spears is willing to step down when the time is right, but the transition needs to be orderly and include a resolution of matters pending before the Court,” his Aug. 12 filing read. Then at the recent Sept. 29 hearing, his legal team took it one step further and actually advocated to terminate the conservatorship immediately.

If Rosengart agreed to end the conservatorship now, Jamie Spears and his team could choose not to hand over their records, including any of the financial documents from the past 13 years. It seems that Rosengart wants there to be not only a healthy transition period for Spears between now and Nov. 12, but also a complete investigation into Jamie Spears’ potential misconduct and mishandling of Spears’ estate as well. He and his staff have already been accused of controlling Spears’ reproductive health, checking her into mental institutions against her will and putting recording devices in her bedroom. Now her lawyer suspects foul play involving her finances, too. 

Spears told Judge Brenda Penny, “My dad, and anyone involved in this conservatorship and my management who played a huge role in punishing me when I said no … Ma’am, they should be in jail.” Even if her conservatorship is not quite over yet, removing Jamie Spears is still a huge victory for Spears. Furthermore, if her transition period with Zabel proves that she’s capable of living on her own, there is no reason her conservatorship will not end for good in November. Until then, it’s up to her fans to keep voicing their support and keep her story in the news, and it’s up to Rosengart to initiate the investigation into Jamie Spears’ possible corruption.