Britney SpearsBritney Spears has reportedly paid out at least $2.7million in legal fees over the last year.

According to documents filed at the Los Angeles Superior Court, the star has paid the bulk of the fees in relationship to the conservatorship order established in February 2008. Britney was placed under the control of her dad Jamie Spears and lawyer Andrew Wallet after she was judged to not be competent enough to manage her own life and financial estate following her breakdown and repeated hospitalisation.

The documents, filed on Monday, also show that she’s spent $460,000 on custody issues related to her two children with ex-husband Kevin Federline; $113,000 fighting a civil suit in Florida against her former manager; $26,000 on a driving offence dating from August 2007; and $7,000 on a dispute over mould at a property she rented in Malibu.

She has also had to pay for additional expenses connected with the cases, such as using a specialist courier service to ensure confidential delivery of legal messages and hiring private courtrooms to keep the proceedings secret.

A lawyer connected with the case, Geraldin Wyle, is quoted in the court documents as saying that the expense is due to the “complex and challenging issues” involved but: “Since the initiation of the conservatorship, as a result of the concerted efforts of Mr Spears as well as all the professionals involved, all aspects of Ms Spears’ life have been stabilized and continue to improve.”

Britney is currently a third of the way into her North American tour: last night she played in Washington DC and her next concert is in Pittsburgh on Friday. After she finishes the US and Canadian dates in May, she’s set to play nine dates in the UK in June.