Britney Spears has hit another setback in her ongoing attempts to free herself from her father’s conservatorship. The New York Times reports that Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Brenda Penny declined to immediately remove Jamie Spears as the head of Britney’s estate, although she said she will consider further petitions for his suspension or removal “down the road.”

Samuel D. Ingham III, Spears’ court-appointed lawyer, told the judge during the hearing that Britney and Jamie have not spoken in a long time. “My client has informed me that she is afraid of her father,” he said. “She will not perform again if her father is in charge of her career.” The pop star has been on an indefinite hiatus from work since early 2019.

In court filings, representatives for Jamie Spears said that his “sole motivation has been his unconditional love for his daughter and a fierce desire to protect her from those trying to take advantage of her.” The judge did approve a corporate fiduciary, the Bessemer Trust, to serve as co-conservator over Britney’s estate alongside her father, which she had requested.

Since August, Britney has been seeking to make significant changes to the conservatorship, which began in 2008 following a string of public meltdowns. An attorney for Britney’s mother and Jamie’s ex-wife Lynne Spears, who was also present at the hearing as an “interested party,” called the relationship between Britney and her father “toxic.”