Jay Leno has taken legal action to safeguard his wife Mavis Leno’s financial assets as she battles with dementia. The former host of NBC’s Tonight Show has filed for a conservatorship of his wife’s estate in a Los Angeles court. The submitted papers, obtained by E! News, disclose her medical condition and were filed on Jan. 26. Leno’s petition, as reported by NBC News, seeks a substituted judgment to authorize estate planning and implement a testamentary plan that he believes his wife would have executed if she were capable.
According to the documents, Mavis has been progressively experiencing a decline in capacity and orientation to space and time for several years. Due to her current condition, which renders her unable to execute the estate plan, Leno has requested the Court to appoint him as conservator of his wife’s estate. This is solely for the purpose of filing a petition for substituted judgment on her behalf, ensuring that her wishes regarding the distribution of her assets upon her death are fulfilled.
Leno, 73, and his wife, 77, who have been married for 43 years, have chosen to keep her health battle private and have not publicly discussed it. However, Leno has often lovingly mentioned his wife on “The Tonight Show,” which he hosted from 1992 to 2009 and then again from 2010 to 2014. On occasion, she has accompanied him to red-carpet events, with their most recent appearance being at the Improv comedy club’s 60th anniversary show in Hollywood last November.
Leno stated in the petition that he believes his wife consents to him being appointed as conservatorship of her estate. A follow-up court hearing has been scheduled for April 9, as per the records.