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Beach Boys co-founder Brian Wilson may soon be under a conservatorship following the diagnosis of a “major neurocognitive disorder,” such as dementia, not even a month after his wife died.
The family filed for a conservatorship with the Superior Court of California on Feb. 14, and said in documents that the musician, 81, was unable to manage his everyday needs. His wife, Melinda, who died on Jan. 30 at age 77, was his caretaker because he was “unable to properly provide for his own personal needs for physical health, food, clothing, or shelter,” the court documents said. She was also named as the agent in his advance healthcare directive, the documents state.
The documents filed on Wednesday are a follow-up to that directive, because the singer-songwriter did not name a successor to his late wife, according to the documents. “A conservator of the person needs to be appointed for Mr. Wilson due to Mrs. Wilson’s passing and the lack of successor agent named in his advance healthcare directive.”
The petition is for conservatorship of the person only, not the estate that would manage the finances. The court documents state Wilson is unable to give informed consent to his medical treatment and that the co-conservators would manage the care for his neurocognitive disorder.
Having a successor to the main agent named in estate plans (be it in a healthcare proxy or a power of attorney) can keep issues like this one out of court and away from a conservatorship. Individuals can name one, or even more, successor agents to step in if the primary agent is unavailable, according to Northwestern Medicine.
“This decision was made to ensure that there will be no extreme changes to the household and Brian and the children living at home will be taken care of and remain in the home where they are cared for by Gloria Ramos and the wonderful team at the house who have been in place for many years helping take care of the family,” the Wilson family said in a statement on social media.
Ramos was identified as the housekeeper, People reported. The family told the magazine that family representatives LeeAnn Hard, Wilson’s business manager, and Jean Sievers, his publicist and manager, will serve as co-conservators. Hard is not requesting to be conservator of the estate because Wilson has his assets held in a trust and she is the trustee of his trust, the documents said. Hard is also his agent under power of attorney.
“While the court should appoint Ms. Sievers and Ms. Hard as co-conservators of the person, after they are appointed they intend to file, if appropriate at the time, a petition for substituted judgment to establish a new irrevocable Advance Health Care Directive for Mr. Wilson, which would effectively terminate the need for a conservatorship of the person. Mr. Wilson will remain in his home, and it is Ms. Sievers’s and Ms. Hard’s intent to ensure that all of Mr. Wilson’s daily living needs are satisfied and he has the best possible care while remaining in his home,” the documents stated.
The news of the possible conservatorship comes on the heels of a filing by comedian and late-night host Jay Leno for a conservatorship for his wife, Mavis Leno, in an effort to carry out estate planning on her behalf.
Celebrities have been in the news in recent years for a lack of estate planning — including those who have died intestate, like Prince, or who left behind controversial documents, as Lisa Marie Presley did — but Wilson did have some documents in order. His wife Melinda was named as his agent in an advance healthcare directive, and she was the person who attended to his everyday needs, People reported.
Wilson’s court hearing is slated for April, according to court documents.
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