Jay Leno’s wife Mavis Leno’s health continues to deteriorate following her dementia diagnosis.
In January, Jay, 73, filed for guardianship of his 77-year-old wife after discovering she had been diagnosed with “advanced dementia,” according to documents obtained by PEOPLE at the time. His motive behind the petition was to set up a living trust for Mavis to ensure that she “manages assets” to provide for her future care should he die.
Last week, Mavis’ court-appointed attorney, Ronald Ostrin, filed a new report in connection with the conservatorship petition that provided an update on her health, revealing that she “sometimes does not know her husband, Jay, or her date of birth,” according to the filing. reached by PEOPLE.
Mavis, to whom Jay has been married since 1980, “has a lot of disorientation, will be thinking about her parents who have both died and her mother who died about 20 years ago,” the report said.
However, Ostrin described her as a “wonderful person” with a “charming personality”, despite the fact that “it was clear she had a cognitive impairment”.
Inside Jay Leno’s request to become his wife’s conservator — and what legal experts say could come next
Jay Leno and his wife Mavis Leno at the premiere of HBO’s “Billy Crystal 700 Sundays” in Los Angeles on April 17, 2014.
David Livingston/Getty
The report also talks about the nature of the couple’s relationship, which Ostrin described as “long-term, loving and supportive,” as Mavis sees Jay as “her protector and she trusts him.”
Regarding the guardianship petition, Ostrin notes that Mavis “doesn’t object” but “agrees to it,” and thus Ostrin formally recommended approval of Jay’s petition as guardian of his wife’s estate.
According to the documents, the petition was also supported by Mavis’ neurologist, Dr. Hart Cohen, who said Jay was “such a nice man and a hard worker [Mavis] like gold.” Ostrin described the first Tonight’s show host as a “standup guy” whose “private persona matches the public persona he projects.”
Jay Leno filed for guardianship of his wife Mavis’ estate after she was diagnosed with dementia
If Jay’s request is granted, he will be “responsible for making any decisions based on the scope that the court gives him,” David DuFault, managing attorney at Sodoma Law, previously told PEOPLE.
“In general, courts want to be as restrictive as possible,” DuFault said. “I would imagine that given her age, given the idea that there is or appears to be a diagnosis of dementia, it could be a very broadly worded order saying that the applicant has the authority to make all sorts of decisions for her, which could deal with financial assets, sale of real estate, making decisions on assigning beneficiaries.”
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He also noted, however, that “there may be oversight by the court because there is usually an ongoing obligation to find out what happened.”
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Source: HIS Education