Britney Spears and Justin Timberlake are back together! The former flames will record a duet for her new album, OK! can exclusively reveal. The song, written by Justin, will be laid down under the auspices of his super-producer pal Timbaland and will be the first single released. “Justin has been a huge supporter of Britney at the label,” a source at Jive Records tells OK!.

Confirmation of the new album and news of Justin’s involvement come at a critical time in Britney’s life. As OK! was first to report, on July 17, Britney gave up her fight to regain custody of her sons from ex-husband Kevin Federline. He has had sole legal and physical custory of Sean Preston, who turns 3 on Sept. 14, and Jayden James, 22 months, since last October, and that status will remain in place for the foreseeable future.

“It was a win-win for all sides” the 26-year-old singer’s attorney Laura Wasser tells OK!. “For Britney, it was always about getting more time with the boys, and she achieved that.” Britney now has her sons two days a week for nine hours each visit, plus one 24-hour visit each week, Wasser reveals. If all goes well, there is a plan to expand another of those day visits into a second overnighter in two months.Those visits are still restricted to Britney’s Studio City, Calif, home, however, and must be supervised. “The protections that were in place for the boys during visits remain exactly the same as when temporary orders were in place,” Kevin’s attorney Mark Vincent Kablan tells OK!.

As the parent with sole legal and physical custody, Kevin, 30, has the authority to make all decisions regarding the boys’ schooling, medical care and religious upbringing.

So why did Britney agree to a settlement that left full custody with her ex-husband? She had no choice, an insider tells OK!. “As long as her father is in place as her conservator, she is not getting custody back. Legally, she is essentially a child with no ability to make decisions for herself. No court would give custody to a parent who is under a conservator.”
How long that will last is anyone’s guess, but Britney has made considerable progress. And just having the custody battle behind her seems to have taken weight off her shoulders. A visibly joyful Britney played with Preston and Jayden in her backyard the day after the settlement was reached. Adds the insider, “With the court fight over, she can concentrate on just being best motther she can be while she still works on getting herself better.”

That includes collaborating with Justin, 27, and throwing herself back into her career. After attending an autism fund-raiser on July 19, Britney headed to the recording studio, where she worked untill 2:15 a.m. “Getting back to work is a huge step in putting her life back together,” the source says. “And once that happens - whenever it is - she’ll be ready to regain shared custody of her children.”

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