Jay Leno granted conservatorship over mentally impaired wife’s estate

LOS ANGELES – Jay Leno was granted a conservatorship Tuesday over the estate of his 77-year-old wife, who has advanced Alzheimer’s disease that sometimes leaves her unaware of her birthdate or who her husband is.

Leno, 73, filed a petition for conservatorship of the estate of Mavis Leno in Los Angeles Superior Court on Jan. 26. On Tuesday, Judge Brenda J. Penny granted his request and said he was doing the right thing. The judge also said Mavis Leno was in good care and that she understood these are difficult times for the comic, who made a virtual appearance during the hearing.

Jay Leno arrives at the Kennedy Center Honors on Sunday, Dec. 3, 2023, at The Kennedy Center in Washington. FILE PHOTO (Photo by Greg Allen/Invision/AP)

“The court finds from clear and convincing evidence that a conservatorship of the estate is necessary and appropriate in that (Mavis Leno) is unable to care for his/her financial affairs and is subject to undue influence and the conservatorship is the least restrictive alternative needed for the protection of (Mavis Leno),” according to a minute order prepared by the clerk for Penny, the same judge who ended the Britney Spears conservatorship after 13 years in 2021.

Mavis Leno’s lawyer, Ronald Ostrin, had previously filed a report with the court, saying he supported a conservatorship and that Mavis Leno does as well.

Ostrin says that according to Mavis Leno’s neurologist, Dr. Hart Cohen, Mavis not only sometimes does not know her husband or her birthdate, but also has “a lot of disorientation, will ruminate about her parents who have both passed (including) her mother who died about 20 years ago.”

Cohen was hired for consultation after Mavis Leno had a car accident in 2018 and has been following her mental condition since, according to Ostrin.

“I received and reviewed substantial medical records which supported Dr. Cohen’s opinion,” Ostrin says. Cohen says the comedian “loves his wife very much and waited to bring this matter out of respect to her. He said that Mr. Leno was a nice man and treats Mavis like gold,” according to Ostrin.

Ostrin further says that he visited the Leno home in Beverly Hills on Feb. 13 and found Mavis Leno to be a “a delightful person, and although it was clear she had cognitive impairment, she still has a charming personality and could communicate.”

Mavis Leno appeared happy and also “expressed a desire to vote and told me a little about her philanthropic work. She reposed great faith and confidence in Mr. Leno and relied on him for her protection and guidance,” according to Ostrin.

The couple married in 1980. Mavis Leno is a philanthropist and feminist who keeps a low profile compared to her comedian husband, a former host of “The Tonight Show.” (CNS)