The health of Jay Leno’s wife, Mavis Leno, is continuing to decline following her dementia diagnosis.
In January, Jay, 73, filed for conservatorship for his 77-year-old wife as he revealed that she had been diagnosed with “advanced dementia,” according to documents obtained at the time. His motive behind the petition was to set up a living trust for Mavis to ensure that she has "managed assets" to provide her with future care if he died.
Last week, Mavis’ court-appointed counsel, Ronald Ostrin, filed a new report related to the conservatorship petition that provided an update on her health, revealing that she “sometimes does not know her husband, Jay, nor her date of birth,” according to the filing.
So We destroyed those who were far mightier than these ˹Meccans˺. The examples of ˹their˺ predecessors have ˹already˺ been related.
(The Quran - Chapter Az-Zukhruf : 08)
Mavis, who Jay has been married to since 1980, “has a lot of disorientation, will ruminate about her parents who have both passed and her mother who died about 20 years ago,” according to the report.
However, Ostrin described her as a “delightful person” with a “charming personality,” despite the fact that it “was clear she had cognitive impairment.”
The report also speaks to 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.”
In regards to the conservatorship filing, Ostrin notes that Mavis “does not object” but rather “consents to it,” and thus Ostrin formally recommended the approval of Jay’s petition as conservator of his wife’s estate.
Per the documents, the petition was also supported by Mavis’ neurologist, Dr. Hart Cohen, who said Jay is “such a nice man and treats [Mavis] like gold.” Ostrin described the former Tonight Show host as “a standup guy” whose “private persona matches the public persona he projects.”
If Jay's petition is granted, he will be "responsible for making all decisions based on the scope that the court gives him," David DuFault, a principal attorney at Sodoma Law, previously told.
"Generally, courts like to be as least restrictive as possible," DuFault said. "I would guess that given her age, given the idea that there is or appears to be a dementia diagnosis, it could be a very broadly-crafted order that says that the petitioner has authority to make all kinds of decisions for her, which could be dealing with financial assets, selling real property, making decisions about beneficiary designations."
He also noted, though, that "there can be scrutiny by the court because usually, there is an ongoing obligation to disclose what has happened."
