Britney Spears’s Case Calls Attention to Wider Questions on Guardianship

Legal oversight arrangements are seen as protection for some, but advocates for people with disabilities question the need for them in many cases.

For nearly 13 years, Ryan King was under a guardianship not unlike the legal conservatorship that controls Britney Spears’s life and finances. Mr. King, who works at a Washington, D.C., grocery store, has cerebral palsy, sickle cell disease, a spatial relationship deficit and an intellectual disability. He also has held his job for years, manages his own money, loves sports and cooks dinner for his family three days a week. Revelations about Ms. Spears’s wish to end the conservatorship that has bound her decision-making and finances since 2008 have drawn new attention to legal mechanisms known in many states as guardianships. These arrangements are intended to support people who are incapacitated and incapable of making decisions, and some families say guardianships have protected their loved ones, including relatives in comas or with severe disabilities.