BRITNEY SPEARS HAS regained control of her life and career for the first time in 13 years after a judge in Los Angeles terminated her conservatorship.

Brenda J Penny, sitting at Los Angeles Superior Court, listened to 30 minutes of testimony before delivering her decision.

She added two caveats – specifying that an accountant serving as a temporary conservator should retain some powers – but the complex legal arrangement is “effective today… thereby terminated”.

The decision to end the arrangement closed one of the most controversial chapters in modern pop music history and handed Spears the keys to her estimated $60 million estate.

Spears was placed under the conservatorship in 2008 after suffering a series of mental breakdowns.

Spears was also granted her wish to be freed without the need for a psychiatric evaluation, which she made clear she was against.

The judge’s decision was the culmination of years of public and private legal wrangling from multiple parties who faced allegations they did not have Spears’ best interests at heart.