Jay Leno has filed for conservatorship over his wife, Mavis Elizabeth Leno, because she suffers from dementia.
According to court documents obtained by ET, the late-night TV legend filed the petition Friday in Los Angeles County Superior Court requesting that the judge make him the conservator so that he can structure her living trust and other estate plans. The court documents state Leno “wishes to create a trust to hold each of his and Mavis’s one-half interest in their community property, in order to ensure Mavis has managed assets sufficient to provide for her care” in the event he should die before her.
The petition states “Mavis has been progressively losing capacity and orientation to space and time for several years” and that “Jay is fully capable of continuing support for Mavis’ physical and financial needs, as he has throughout their marriage,” but her “current condition renders her incapable of executing the estate plan.” The filing also states Mavis, 77, was being treated for “dementia and mood disorder.”
It’s unclear when Mavis, the comedian’s wife of 43 years, was diagnosed with dementia, but a doctor’s report from November — and attached to the petition — states Mavis has suffered with impairments to her memory, ability to concentrate and use of reason.
Under “ability to consent to medical treatment” in the doctor’s report, the doctor checked the box indicating Mavis “lacks the capacity to give informed consent to any form of medical treatment because she is either (1) unable to respond knowingly and intelligently regarding medical treatment or (2) unable to participate in a treatment decision by means of a rational thought process, or both.”
Mavis and Jay Leno on the red carpet for the 60th anniversary at The Improv on Nov. 7, 2023 in Los Angeles, California. – Getty
Furthermore, Leno states in the court documents that the conservatorship will allow him to oversee the estate, “which will provide for Mavis and Mavis’s brother [who is] her sole living heir aside from Jay.”
Leno and Mavis, who have no children, were last seen out together on Nov. 7 attending the 60th anniversary of The Improv in Hollywood. ET has reached out to Leno’s rep for comment.
TMZ was first to report the news.
Jay and Mavis Leno walk the red carpet during the 2014 Kennedy Center's Mark Twain Prize For American Humor on October 19, 2014 in Washington, D.C. – Getty
The filing comes less than a month after the former Tonight Show host told ET that his high-profile, near-death experiences over the past year have not changed his outlook on life.
“It hasn’t changed it at all,” Leno said. “Once a man hits 40, you can’t convince him of anything else.”
Leno, of course, was hospitalized after his face caught fire in a scary garage accident while he was working on a vintage car in November 2022. Then, in January 2023, Leno was badly injured and left with several broken bones after getting knocked off one of his motorcycles.
“I’m still riding motorcycles. I’m still falling off, I’m still working on cars,” Leno said. “No, once a guy learns [something], you can’t teach him new tricks.”
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