Why Is Tom Girardi’s Conservatorship So Controversial?
The latest news about Tom Girardi and his conservatorship have critics claiming that Girardi is faking cognitive impairment to protect himself from allegations that he was stealing millions of dollars from his own clients dating back to at least the 1996 case that made Girardi famous and became the basis for the Oscar-winning film “Erin Brockovich.”
The allegations that Girardi had been siphoning money from his clients, including family members of victims of the 2018 Lion Air plane crash, dragged Girardi and his firm Girardi Keese into bankruptcy. As a result, Girardi’s attorney claims his client’s assets are frozen. A bankruptcy trustee reported in court documents that Girardi’s personal estate has more than $57 million in liabilities.
Further muddying the waters, in November 2020, Erika Jayne, Girardi’s third wife and a co-star of the reality show “Real Housewives of Beverly Hills,” surprised friends and fans with the announcement that she was filing for divorce after 20 years of marriage.
In June, a California bankruptcy judge approved the appointment of a special investigator to look into Jayne’s finances to determine whether she has any assets that should be seized to repay Girardi’s growing number of alleged victims.
What Is a Conservatorship?
A conservatorship is a court case in which the court appoints a responsible adult or organization to act as conservator to manage the daily life and/or finances of a conservatee who is unable to adequately care for themselves due to old age, or physical or mental disabilities.
There are two basic types of conservators:
- A conservator of the estate is appointed to supervise the financial affairs of individuals who are found incapable of doing so themselves. For example, a conservator of the estate may pay bills, manage assets, and collect the conservatee’s income or public assistance benefits.
- A conservator of the person is appointed to supervise the personal affairs of individuals who are found by the court, even with appropriate assistance, to meet their most basic personal needs. For example, a conservator of the person is responsible for ensuring the conservatee has proper food, clothing, shelter, and health care. They may also need to make important medical decisions for the conservatee.
What’s the difference between a temporary conservatorship and a permanent conservatorship?
- A temporary (or emergency) conservatorship generally lasts 30 to 60 days. It grants a responsible adult the authority to exercise temporary control over a vulnerable person’s finances and/or health care decisions in order to protect the individual from potential harm to themselves or others.
- A permanent conservatorship provides for the conservator to control the conservatee’s person and/or estate (depending on the type of conservatorship) indefinitely. Permanent conservatorships are generally granted for conservatees with serious cognitive disabilities that are not expected to improve.
Does Tom Girardi Agree with the Conservatorship?
When Girardi was asked by Judge Juarez at the conservatorship hearing whether he disagreed with the request by his lawyer to make his temporary conservatorship permanent, he appeared to mumble his response: “Obviously I have a disagreement with conservatorship altogether … do everything we can to dissolve it as soon as possible.”
When asked to clarify whether he objected to making the temporary conservatorship permanent, Girardi told the judge: “Not at this time. I think that we should put together reasons why the conservatorship should be dissolved and then we’ll address the court, but right now I have nothing to say to the court.”
While the court does usually ask proposed conservatees capable of expressing their wishes how they feel about being placed under a conservatorship, the court doesn’t only consider their opinion. In addition to examining the conservatee’s medical history and other evidence, the court will generally hear testimony from the conservatee’s family members, friends and physicians before making a determination about whether to deny or establish the conservatorship. All this to say, a proposed conservatee does not have to agree with a conservatorship to be placed under one.
If a conservatorship is granted, and the conservatee disagrees with the court’s decision, there are steps they can take to try to have the conservatorship terminated. However, once a permanent conservatorship is granted, it can be very difficult to contest, since the court, by granting the conservatorship, agreed that the conservatee lacks the competence to handle their personal and/or financial affairs on their own. And since the conservatee ostensibly can’t handle their affairs on their own, it would be challenging for them to hire a lawyer and take legal action to terminate the conservatorship.
That said, due to the controversy surrounding pop star Britney Spear’s conservatorship and the light it shed on how restrictive conservatorship can be (particularly for conservatees who don’t definitively need to be under one), conservatorship reforms have recently been enacted in California to prevent conservatorship abuse and further protect conservatees.
What Type of Conservatorship Does Tom Girardi Have?
The type of probate conservatorship Girardi is under is a permanent general conservatorship of the person and estate, which means that the court has determined Girardi requires assistance with his essential daily needs and health care, and with his finances. Such a conservatorship generally would not be able to be terminated unless Girardi were to regain capacity or die. Girardi is under conservatorship because of a diagnosis of dementia, which is a progressive degenerative disease, so it’s unlikely his conservatorship will be terminated during his lifetime.
While there are alternatives to conservatorship, such as a power of attorney or trust, they can only be executed by competent persons. As such, if a person has already lost capacity, they will not be able to utilize these alternatives; they will need conservatorship.
Is Tom Girardi’s Conservatorship Warranted?
Based on the latest news about Tom Girardi’s conservatorship case — namely that Girardi has been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease and is suffering from short-term memory loss — the conservatorship does seem to be warranted. Persons with Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia are often placed under conservatorship, which serve to protect both their person and finances against harm.
The allegations that Girardi is faking his condition to avoid the consequences of his reported misconduct could ultimately be proven true, but currently, not enough facts about the case have been revealed to make a determination about the veracity of this claim. What we can be certain about is that the court does not hand out conservatorships liberally, as conservatorships relegate the rights of an adult to those of a child.
Before granting conservatorship, the court generally reviews the conservatee’s medical records and may even hear testimony from their family, friends and physicians. That is to say, if Girardi’s medical condition has been fabricated, the cooperation of many people, including Girardi’s medical providers, would have been required.
Media Inquiries
Keystone’s probate attorneys are experts at explaining the intricate details of conservatorships and are often called on to share our expertise in this complex area of law. For commentary on the latest news about Tom Girardi’s conservatorship case, don’t hesitate to reach out to one of Keystone’s conservatorship attorneys.
You can watch Keystone’s Roee Kaufman explaining the legal process behind pop star Britney Spears’ conservatorship on NewsNation Now, and read his comments on the topic in Insider and Law & Crime.
To request an interview with one of Keystone’s conservatorship lawyers, contact us.
