It’s been four years since Britney Spears’ infamous meltdown, but it doesn’t seem that there is an end in sight for the conservatorship that took away control of so much of the then-embattled singer’s life and affairs.

Issued by Los Angeles Judge Reva Goetz, the conservatorship gave Britney’s father Jaime Spears complete control over Britney’s personal life, finances, and her career. Now, at almost 31-years-old and the star of one of TV’s biggest hit shows in “The X-Factor,” you’d think the courts would allow her to take back her life and manage her money and children how she chooses. Heck, recently Forbes named her the second-highest-paid woman in Hollywood.

After years of constant headlines, Britney hasn’t had any issues in the past couple of years – so why does Jaime and her manager/soon-to-be husband Jason Trawick have to watch her every move?

ABC News has published a list of Britney’s expenditures, which include $2,595.80 on hair and makeup, $4,648.00 on massages, grooming and nails, and $54,292.12 on clothes – exorbitant of course, but for a diva-ish singer it’s just another day at the office. The list even includes such “normal” shopping trips as excursions to Toys R Us, Target and Sears. That, folks, is called being a mom.

So if she is mentally stable and making all the money by being Britney, when does the conservatorship end? Will her fiance take over everything once they are married? Or will her father continue to baby his first born? It seems that Jaime Lynn has handled her responsibilities as a mom well, so why can’t papa bear let Britney do the same?

Hopefully Spears will regain her independence soon. It remains to be seen how her children will turn out, having to deal with their mom’s life in the spotlight and limited abilities to parent them over the last few difficult years. But this much can be said with certainty – like her hair, Britney’s career seems to have fully regrown itself. Now, all she needs to do is get a judge to agree.