(WJW) – Comedian Jay Leno has filed to be the conservator of his wife’s estate following her dementia diagnosis, according to court documents obtained by multiple news outlets.
Leno’s wife, Mavis Leno, can’t execute an estate plan due to her condition, USA Today, NBC News and CBS News reported, citing a conservatorship petition filed Friday in Los Angeles.
The filing states that 77-year-old Mavis “has been progressively losing capacity and orientation to space and time for several years.”
“It is my professional opinion that, due to her condition, Mavis is unable to meaningfully participate in the hearing on the Petition to Appoint a Probate Conservator nor would she understand the nature, force or effect of the hearing should she attend,” a doctor wrote in the filing, according to CBS News.
Dementia impairs a person’s memory and the ability to make everyday decisions, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which noted on its website that Alzheimer’s is the most common form of the illness.
Leno, 73, is asking to manage Mavis’ half of their shared property and assets in a trust, which would provide for her, her brother and Leno, USA Today reported.
“Jay is fully capable of continuing his support for Mavis’s physical and financial needs as he has throughout their marriage,” the petition states.
The couple does not have children and have been married since 1980.