Question:

Two recent stories in the news – Jay Leno initiating custodianship for his wife, Mavis who has dementia, and Gene Hackman and his wife dying almost at the same time – when it comes to a loved one with dementia – what are the legal realities you need to plan for?

Response:

They’re very different realities. In Jay Leno’s case, perhaps proper estate planning could have avoided the need for a conservatorship, but perhaps not. Sometimes even with the best drawn estate planning instruments in place, something comes up which means that a family member needs to obtain the authority of a court appointment.

But I was surprised to read on-line that the reason for the conservatorship was that Mavis Leno didn’t have an estate plan and they want to put one in place. This is consistent with a lot of wealthy entertainers not having estate plans in place, including Aretha Franklin, Sonny Bono, James Gandolfini, Stieg Larsson and Prince.

The Hackman story appears to have been the result of the couple choosing to isolate themselves. His wife, Betsy Arakawa, chose to be his sole caretaker and she apparently died unexpectedly and suddenly from a hantavirus. While the result in this case was especially tragic and unusual, isolation can often be a problem. It can lead to neglect and to both physical and financial abuse, not to mention loneliness. This is less a legal issue than one that raises questions about the decisions Ms. Arakawa made.

In terms of lessons from these two cases, I’d say get your estate planning in order while you have capacity to do so and don’t go it alone — get help if you’re caring for someone with dementia.

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