Britney Spears

Even with the legal controversy surrounding her estate, Britney Spears had a nice President's Day weekend, with a Saturday night spent in the company of her father and her assistant, Brett, inside her Beverly Hills home.

Dad Jamie Spears, who is legally her conservator, and in charge of Britney Spears' security, medical decisions and her finances, accompanied her to dinner out the next night, meeting up with friends at Citrus at Social Hollywood.

Outside the restaurant, a celebrity news photographer asked the recovering pop star, who appeared tired but pleasant, how she was doing.

"Good," Britney replied gently.

At dinner, "she seemed totally normal and level-headed, and everyone with her seemed calm," said a witness. "She was with a table of five people."

The low-key dinner out was a stark contrast to exactly a year ago, when a frenzied train wreck Spears went into a San Fernando Valley salon and shaved her head.

But that's neither here nor there.

After a pair of epic meltdowns early this year, her family seems to be doing all it can to get Britney the help she needs and protect her from bad influences.

And if they ever need some additional help, Heidi Klum has volunteered. So we're excited for the prospect of Britney finally getting well.

The lawyer out to derail the Britney Spears conservatorship case now says Britney herself called him and asked him to take legal action.

The question is, will a federal judge buy that?

Attorney John Eardley filed papers in federal court Thursday, alleging the California courts have railroaded the singer with the conservatorship.

Eardley told TMZ directly that Britney called him, but would not disclose the circumstances surrounding the alleged call or what she said.

But we do know these facts:

1. Michael Sands, PR guru and former spokesperson for Kevin Federline's lawyer, Mark Vincent Kaplan, is now the mouthpiece for Eardley.
2. Michael Sands also represents none other than Sam Lutfi.
3. Sam Lutfi has recently been hit with a restraining order barring him from any and all contact with Britney Spears.

Therefore, while we cannot prove Sam Lutfi and Michael Sands are behind the case Eardley is trying to make, well... come on, of course they are.

John Eardley also claims that Britney Spears didn't sign a retainer agreement for his services because she is currently being "held hostage" in her own home.

That's a wee bit dramatic if you ask us. Her father, Jamie Spears, and her brother, Bryan Spears, are doing what they can to protect her while she's receiving vital bipolar disorder treatments, but she's hardly been imprisoned.

The bizarre thing? Merely by filing the paperwork in federal court, Eardley has paralyzed the California legal system from issuing more orders regarding Brit's estate until the Federal judge tells Eardley to beat it.

Stay tuned.

Everyone has an opinion on Britney Spears. Even Heidi Klum.

But rather than merely trying to sponge off Spears for publicity or money (cough, Alli Sims, Sam Lutfi), supermodel Heidi Klum offers words of encouragement, and says her family would even welcome the troubled star into their home.

"She can call me and come live in our house with us for a couple of months. I would help set her straight," said Heidi Klum, 34, who was born in Germany, in an interview set to air Monday in her native country.

"I am sorry when a young person gets thrown so off track. She has, of course, lived an extremely wild life," added Klum.

We post Britney Spears pictures every day, so here's vintage Heidi Klum.

A Beverly Hills resident, like Britney Spears, Heidi Klum is also mother to very young children (Brit has Jayden James and Sean Preston, ages 1 and 2; Heidi has two boys and a girl, ages 1, 2 and 3, with husband Seal).

Klum believes the pop star could benefit from her stable household.

"I have never been as happy as I am today," says the Project Runway star. "I have found the man of my life, and we have three great kids. They are all so different and fantastic that it really can't get better than this."

ESPN's The Sports Guy, a.k.a. Bill Simmons, was recently asked a by a reader what The Hollywood Gossip itself ponders daily: If you had the No. 1 pick in a death pool draft, would you take Britney Spears over Amy Winehouse?

Indeed, it's a question for the ages. While we would prefer the musings of his wife, The Sports Gal, Bill Simmons' response is pretty funny...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I'll do this in super-intense, face-turning-red, Todd McShay mode ...

"Mike, Amy Winehouse has to to be the No. 1 pick. This girl has every tool you'd want: She's addicted to drugs; she has no concern for her own safety; she hangs out with people who do drugs; and 'Rehab' feels like a self-eulogy every time she sings it!"

Which train wreck would you take in an office death pool?

"I judge No. 1 picks in a death pool by one thing: If CNN reports he or she died, would I be remotely surprised? In the case of Amy Winehouse? NO! As for Britney Spears, her stock has been falling with GMs across the league."

"She's getting help, she's on bipolar meds and she jettisoned some of the negative influences in her life. We're starting to hear whispers that she might drop out of the top five. I've had GMs across the league tell me that Mary-Kate Olsen and Dennis Rodman have moved ahead of Britney Spears on their boards ..."

Not unlike his famous namesake, we don't know exactly where Osama is, but law enforcement officials are investigating him and hunting him down.

According to TMZ, Osama Lutfi, better known as Sam Lutfi, is officially under investigation by the LAPD for allegedly drugging Britney Spears.

Law enforcement sources say the Major Crimes Division of the LAPD is on the case. The conservators of Britney's estate, her father Jamie Spears and his lawyer Andrew Wallet, have complained that Sam drugged Britney.

Britney's mom (and Jamie's ex-wife), Lynne Spears, made this claim in court documents, saying Sam Lufti did it to "keep her under his control."

The LAPD says its investigation of Sam Lutfi is "very much active."

Laying low, Sam Lutfi could not be reached for comment, however, Michael Sands, his spokesperson, confirmed his client is aware of the investigation.

Britney Spears' family is doing all it can to keep Lutfi away from her as she receives treatment for bipolar disorder. As conservator, Jamie Spears has control of Britney's legal, medical and financial decisions until at least March 10.

Her brother, Bryan Spears, is also helping manage her money as a trustee of her estate until Britney is capable of handling her own affairs again.

However, in a bizarre legal twist, a lawyer filed legal papers in federal court Friday asking a judge to seize control of the conservatorship case on grounds that Britney Spears is at great risk in the L.A. County Court system.

Legal experts say the federal court may now have jurisdiction simply due to the paperwork being filed by New York lawyer Jon Eardley.

If the federal court has jurisdiction, we believe the conservatorship of Brit's estate and all related court orders remain in effect, however, no further orders can be made or modified until a federal judge returns the case to the state.

It is not known who Jon Eardley is working for, but if you ask us, this filing (which came out of nowhere) reeks of a shady legal ploy by Sam Lutfi to wrest control of Britney Spears away from her family. We will keep you posted.

Britney Spears' estimated $100 million fortune is now out of her control, but it's in good hands - those of her brother, Bryan Spears, and his lawyer.

For 30-year-old Bryan Spears, that means a big new role - keeping tabs on everything from cash to pay for medicine to money for daily expenses.

Bryan Spears was made a co-trustee to his famous sister's revocable trust, where the singer keeps most of her money, according to court documents.

So what does it mean to be a trustee?

Bryan Spears, along with Ivan Taback, a partner in the New York-based law firm of Proskauer Rose, who was also named a co-trustee - have the legal power to pay for Britney Spears' "continued security, medicine, food, other daily living expenses, and expenses pertaining to psychiatric and medical services."

Bryan Spears, who normally keeps a low profile, is helping Britney Spears get back on track as the co-trustee of her estate. Britney is being treated for bipolar disorder.

"This is nothing new," Bryan Spears said. "This was a decision made some time ago and signed off on by Britney, before she was married to Kevin Federline, before she had kids. Anyone with a large trust, trustees are named. This is nothing new."

The troubled 26-year-old singer, who was recently released from the UCLA Medical Center psych ward, has been stripped of her trustee powers because she is currently considered "legally disabled" by the court.

A judge has also extended the conservator role of her father, Jamie Spears, until March 10, when another hearing on her progress will be held.

The motion to make Bryan and Taback co-trustees was filed by Taback's law firm. However, according to the motion, neither party can act unilaterally, but require "unanimous consent" with the other trustees to act.

The co-trustees can't sell or lease Britney Spears' home without a court order, nor can they remove any of Britney's property from the state.

The trustee appointments were made a week after the conservators were granted the right to fire Britney's business manager, Howard Grossman.

They have also sought a restraining order against her "friend" Sam Lutfi, which has been granted, although the evil one has yet to be formally served.

It just wouldn't be Valentine's Day without tons of staged photos of The Hills' couple you love to hate, Heidi Montag and Spencer Pratt.

But only close behind Montag and Pratt in the world of bizarre celebrity romances are two stars named ... Britney and Adnan!

On his way to visit Britney Spears last night, Adnan Ghalib was spotted making a last-minute pit stop by TMZ, who talked to him on tape.

What do you get a girl who has everything (except her two sons, and her marbles)? Luckily for Adnan Ghalib, she doesn't have expensive taste.

Adnan Ghalib stops by a convenience store to snag a Rock Star energy drink for his rock star girlfriend, Britney Spears. He's a true romantic.

The Commissioner in Britney Spears' conservatorship case has extended Jamie Spears' tenure as conservator until the next hearing, March 10.

The judge granted a request to have Britney's older brother, Bryan Spears, named as the trustee of his sister's trust. Bryan, 30, and attorney Ivan Taback have been granted the authority to serve as co-trustees.

That was to be expected, but this next part? Out of nowhere.

A New York lawyer has filed papers in Federal court, asking that Britney's conservatorship case be taken away from L.A. County Superior Court.

Attorney Jon Eardley claims Britney Spears' rights have been snatched away from her and she has been cut off from life as she knows it.

Eardley claims that "It is doubtful that Ms. Spears can receive equal protection and a fair trial or hearing in the custody proceedings because of the intense media scrutiny of what would normally be private aspects of a person's life."

Jon Eardley wants an injunction issued promptly in federal court, asking the judge for the power to protect Britney Spears in the custody case as well.

The documents say the "deprivation of her civil liberties by the conservator is so severe as to interfere with the effectiveness of the scheduled medications that are covered by the Food, Drug and Cosmetics Act."

Legal experts say this last part is the attempt to get the Federal court to accept jurisdiction of the case, effectively giving Jamie Spears the boot.

It's not clear who Eardley is working for in filing this. Yet if you ask us, it seems quite likely that you-know-who is behind it.

Sam Lutfi and his PR spin doctor, Michael Sands, must have something to do with the filing. Britney's confidant and self-proclaimed manager is at odds with Jamie.

Attorney Jeryll Cohen, representing Jamie Spears, says they still haven't been able to formally serve Sam Lutfi with a restraining order against him - he somehow has avoided it despite partying in public places with Alli Sims and Perez Hilton.

Either way, we'd be surprised if he weren't behind this strange filing. We know Osama Lutfi well enough to know he doesn't give up power easily.

A commissioner will consider extending Jamie Spears' temporary control over his daughter's estate in a hearing Thursday afternoon, amid signs that his approach is keeping Britney Spears both safe and out of trouble.

Britney's somewhat-estranged father has been overseeing her well-being and her enormous fortune since February 1, when L.A. Superior Court Commissioner Reva Goetz named him and attorney Andrew Wallet as co-conservators.

This temporarily gives them the right to control her finances, as well as hire bodyguards who protect Britney Spears and restrict her visitors.

So far, the co-conservators have done what they can to keep the pop star on a tight leash, forcing Britney to keep a (relatively) low profile - no pink wig, 4:30 a.m. Starbucks runs, twice weekly stays at the Four Seasons, etc.

Jamie Spears and Britney Spears have had a strained relationship for many years, but he seems to be genuinely trying to help his daughter get back on track.

Since taking over as co-conservator, Jamie has gotten a restraining order against Sam Lutfi, attempted to sack Britney's lawyers, and kept the star at home, save for some dance sessions and a shopping trip with mom Lynne.

While Britney Spears has been on her best behavior, sources say she's been texting friends from inside her house, complaining of boredom.

"She's getting proper medical care and has professional security. The chaos has been removed from the situation," says one insider, who anticipates that Goetz will prolong the temporary conservatorship at the hearing.

It is possible Spears could appear, but don't count on it. The 26-year-old will be represented by her court-appointed attorney, Samuel Ingham. Jamie Spears and Andrew Wallet will almost certainly be on hand today.

The hearing is set for 1:30 PST / 4:30 EST.

Yes. Star Magazine is claiming Britney Spears and Adnan Ghalib married during their quick jaunt to Rosarito, Mexico, back in January.

The two had a secret wedding, according to the celebrity gossip magazine, despite Adnan Ghalib being legally married to AzLynn Berry.

Star Magazine told the New York Daily News of the supposed quickie wedding that "Our source on this was not in Rosarito Beach at the ceremony, but is very familiar with the fact that [wedding] documents exist."

Star also claims Britney gave Adnan $250,000 to buy out AzLynn Berry.

[SIDE NOTE: Check out the other headline that claims Jamie Lynn Spears and Casey Aldridge have moved into their very own double-wide trailer!]

Britney Spears allegedly told her lawyers, who imposed a $1,000-a-day spending limit on the pop singer, that she needed the cash for a new Mercedes.

The Hollywood Gossip heard speculation that Britney Spears married Adnan Ghalib back on January 12, but this rumor was never confirmed.

Now Star Magazine has supposedly connected the sketchy, married dots. You tell us, celeb news fans ... do you believe this story?