Explainer: will Britney Spears finally be free after conservatorship ruling?

A judge on Wednesday suspended Britney Spears’s father from the conservatorship that has controlled her personal life and finances for 13 years, a major victory for the singer.

The ruling could pave the way for the end of the conservatorship, which has given her father and others authority over her medical care and career since 2008. Here’s what lies ahead.

What did the judge order?

After a contentious debate that dragged on for nearly two hours, the Los Angeles judge Brenda Penny ruled that Jamie Spears, the singer’s father, should be suspended from his daughter’s conservatorship, effective immediately. Britney Spears’s lawyer, Mathew Rosengart, had argued that it was vital to his client’s wellbeing that her father be promptly removed, noting that she had repeatedly testified about his abuse and would be “extraordinarily distraught” if he remained in control of her estate. He said the involved parties could move forward with efforts to terminate the entire arrangement once Jamie was gone.

Related: Britney Spears’ father suspended from conservatorship in victory for singer

Jamie’s lawyer had argued that the judge should instead terminate the conservatorship immediately, so that the request for suspension would be moot. But the judge ultimately concluded that “the current situation is untenable” and “reflects a toxic environment which requires the suspension of James Spears”.

What happens next?

Jamie, who was overseeing his daughter’s estate, is being replaced by John Zabel, a certified public accountant chosen by Britney Spears’s team, the judge ruled. Zabel will be stepping up as a temporary fiduciary conservator. The judge also set a hearing for 12 November for the parties to discuss full termination of the conservatorship, which Britney Spears, her father and others involved in the arrangement have said they support.

“The conservatorship can and should be wound up and terminated promptly,” Rosengart told the judge, adding that he was prepared to present a “termination plan” to the judge. Jodi Montgomery, a licensed conservator who oversees Spears’s healthcare and other personal affairs, has also signaled that she would support an end to the conservatorship and could work with Spears’s team on the process.

Judge Penny also scheduled a court hearing for 13 December in which the parties will discuss matters related to various parties’ fees (this hearing will be separate from the discussion of ending the conservatorship).

What does this mean for Britney Spears?

Britney Spears has been objecting to the conservatorship for years, records have shown, and has been especially vocal about removing her father from the arrangement. The ruling on Wednesday was a huge win for the pop star, and it means that her father will no longer control her finances and estate. She and her attorneys have alleged that Jamie Spears paid himself more per month than she was given as an allowance, and she has also said that she would not perform while he remained in control of her money.

The professional accountant will now oversee her money while the conservatorship remains in effect. Spears is also one step closer to ending the arrangement altogether, which she publicly called for in court earlier this year. If the arrangement is entirely dissolved, her assets would be returned to her control, and she would no longer have a professional conservator overseeing her medical care and other personal life matters.

What does this mean for Jamie Spears?

Rosengart, Britney Spears’s lawyer, alleged that Jamie Spears had been aggressively objecting to suspension so that he could “avoid accountability and justice”. Rosengart, whom Britney hired in July, has repeatedly pledged that his team would investigate Jamie and others involved in the conservatorship and he has suggested that those investigations will continue.

The suspension means Jamie Spears and his lawyers will have to hand over financial records to the replacement conservator, who is temporarily taking over the estate duties. Rosengart suggested in court on Wednesday that the records could contain “revelations” of his “corruption”, and he noted that Jamie had “reaped millions” from her estate. The conservatorship is set up in such a way that Britney Spears was forced to pay her father and his attorneys and others on the opposing side in the legal battles.

Jamie Spears will also face questions about the allegations in a recent New York Times documentary that he had hired a security firm that was secretly surveilling his daughter’s phone, recording her conversations in her bedroom and monitoring fans who protested to end the conservatorship. Rosengart said law enforcement would determine whether any criminal conduct occurred.

Jamie Spears’s lawyer, Vivian Thoreen, did not directly deny the spying allegations, though she broadly disputed the content of the documentary. On Wednesday, Thoreen also defended her client’s actions as conservator, saying “Mr Spears has faithfully and loyally served as a court-appointed fiduciary” and calling his record “impeccable”.

Will the conservatorship be dissolved?

Typically, it is very difficult for people to get out of conservatorships once they are placed in the arrangement. But in this case, attorneys on all sides and others involved in the conservatorship have suggested that they support ending the conservatorship, citing Britney Spears’s own testimony.

Supporters of the #FreeBritney movement have long argued that the conservatorship was unnecessary and contradictory, noting that the pop star has continued her successful career while the court deemed her incapable of making basic decisions about her life.

It’s possible that the parties could present a termination plan to the judge in November, and that the judge could immediately approve it. But it is unclear how the next few weeks and months will play out.