Britney's Psych Stay Extended by 14 Days

Sun., Feb. 3, 2008 1:36 PM PST by Gina Serpe and Ken Baker

Britney Spears has just been given two weeks' notice.

E! News has confirmed that the troubled pop star will remain in the psych ward at UCLA Medical Center for up to 14 more days, despite the expiration of her initial 72-hour medical hold having come and gone Sunday morning.

"It is the right decision," a source close to the situation told E! News. "She is safest right now under the care of professionals."

The ball got rolling on extending Spears' stay Saturday night, when the process to keep her at the Stewart & Lynda Resnick Neuropsychiatric Hospital began. As the process was solely a hospital one, no courts were involved in the decision.

While the prolonged stay in treatment may be in keeping with the wishes of the 26-year-old's parents, the only person with the authority to request the involuntary stay is Spears' psychiatrist. E! News confirmed last week that the much respected Deborah Nadel had recently begun treating the pop star.

Though Spears' stay, unlike when she checked in to the hospital early Thursday morning, is now an involuntary one, the singer could possibly be released earlier than the 14-day time period if she either legally demands it or if her doctor deems her well enough to continue her treatment as an outpatient.

The source told E! News, however, that Spears is unlikely to attempt any legal action to extricate herself from her current situation, which under the California Welfare and Institutions Code is now dubbed a 5250, as opposed to her previous 5150 hold.

As there is no court order demanding she stay in the hospital, Spears is not legally bound to remain. However, should she wish to challenge her medical team's decision, it will have to wait until Monday, which is already poised to be a busy day for Spears' respective legal teams.

A previously scheduled hearing in her ongoing custody battle with Kevin Federline is due to start at Los Angeles Superior Court at 10 a.m. Monday. A probate hearing on her conservatorship, meanwhile, is scheduled to kick off at 1:30 on the same day.

On Friday afternoon, a court commissioner granted temporary conservatorship of Spears' estate to her father, Jamie, and the independent third-party lawyer, Andrew Wallete. Their joint conservatorship is due to expire Monday, and it's unclear if they plan to seek an extension on their powers.

Should Spears wish to challenge their legal appointment, the probate hearing would be the time to do so.