Catherine Rusoff
A judge ruled Thursday that Beach Boys founder and musical luminary Brian Wilson should be placed under court conservatorship to manage his personal and medical decisions because of what his doctor calls a “severe neurocognitive disorder.”
At a hearing, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Gus T. May approved the petition filed by the 81-year-old Wilson’s family and inner circle following the January death of his wife, Melinda Ledbetter Wilson, who took care of most of his tasks and affairs. .
“I believe that, based on clear and convincing evidence, guardianship of the person is necessary,” May said at the brief hearing. The judge said the evidence shows Wilson consents to the agreement and lacks the capacity to make health care decisions.
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May appointed two longtime Wilson surrogates, publicist Jean Sievers and businessman LeeAnn Hard, as her conservators.
No significant objections were raised.
Two of Wilson’s seven children, Carnie and Wendy Wilson of the singing group Wilson Phillips, asked through their lawyer that all the children be added to a group text chain about their father and that they all be consulted about medical decisions. The judge granted the stipulations.
The two daughters asked for a delay in the proceedings at an April 30 hearing while the issues were resolved, but it was clear at the hearing that consensus had been reached.
A doctor’s statement filed with the petition in February said Wilson has a “major neurocognitive disorder,” is taking medication for dementia and “is unable to adequately meet his own personal needs for physical health, food, clothing or shelter.”
Sievers and Hard have had a close relationship with Wilson and his wife for many years. In a report, Robert Frank Cipriano, a court-appointed attorney to represent Wilson’s interests, said Wilson recognized the need for the conservatorship and said he trusts the judgment of the two women.
Cipriano’s report to the court said he visited Wilson at his “impeccably well-maintained Beverly Hills residence,” where he lives with two daughters and a longtime live-in caregiver.
Wilson can get around with the help of a walker and a caregiver, Cipriano said, and has a good sense of who he is, where he is and when he is, but he can’t name his children other than the two who live with him.
He said Wilson was “largely difficult to understand and gave very short answers to questions and comments.”
Cipriano said he approved the conservatorship largely because of Wilson’s general consent.
Wilson credited Ledbetter with stabilizing his notoriously troubled life after they met in the mid-1980s and married in 1995.
Wilson, her seven children, her caregiver and her doctors were consulted before the petition was filed, according to a family statement at the time. He stated that the decision was to ensure that “there will be no extreme changes” and that “Brian will be able to enjoy all his family and friends and continue to work on current projects.”
Judges in California can appoint a conservator for a person, their finances – called an estate – or both, as was the case with Britney Spears. Spears’ case drew attention – largely negative – to guardianships, known in some states as guardianships, and provoked legislative changes. Wilson’s case is closer to the typical traditional use of a conservatorship, which is often installed for an elderly person in irreversible mental decline.
Wilson’s petition did not seek a conservator of the estate because his assets are in a trust, with Hard as trustee.
Deeply revered and acclaimed as the co-founder, producer, arranger and primary songwriter of the Beach Boys and a masterful innovator of vocal harmony, Wilson struggled with mental health and substance abuse issues that plagued his career in the 1960s.
He was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1988 along with his bandmates, including his brothers Carl and Dennis and cousin Mike Love.
