Tom Girardi’s younger brother Robert filed the official letters ofconservatorshipin court on Monday, making him the effective conservator over Tom’s person and estate.
The letters of conservatorship are a follow-up to a previous ruling made at a June 9 hearing, when Robert was appointed as Tom’s permanent conservator. The appointment left him responsible for deciding the appropriate care for Tom, 82, as well as giving him control over his estate.
“It’s obviously a heartbreaking situation for Robert, but we agree with the court’s rulings yesterday,” Robert’s lawyer, Nicholas Van Brunt, said in a statement to PEOPLE at the time.
Tom Girardi.Irfan Khan/Los Angeles Times via Getty
During the hearing, Tom — the estranged husband ofReal Housewives of Beverly HillsstarErika Girardi— alsospoke out about his conservatorship for the first time. “Obviously, I disagree with the conservatorship altogether,” he told the court, according toLaw360.
“I think that we should put together the reasons why the conservatorship should be dissolved, and then we’ll address it, address the court,” the once-famed attorney continued. “Right now, I have nothing to say to the court.”
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Despite his statements, however, the judge found that Tom “consents and does not object” to the conservatorship.
Earlier this year, Tom’s lawyers claimed that he “has had issues” with “mental competence” and it was later announced that he had beendiagnosed with dementiaand late-onset Alzheimer’s disease.
He underwent a mental assessment on Feb. 26 as part of Robert’s petition to become his permanent conservator. Robert was granted atemporary conservatorshipin February, which became permanent at the June hearing.
Erika and Tom Girardi.Jerritt Clark/Getty; Steve Eichner/Sipa
Listen below toour daily podcast PEOPLE Every Dayfor more onErika Girardiand Tom Girardi.
Prior to his diagnosis, Erika, 49, hadfiled for divorcefrom Tom, telling PEOPLE in November that it was not “a step taken lightly or easily.”
A month after she filed for divorce, Tom and Erika weresued for allegedly using the split to embezzle moneyand have since faced aslew of other legal controversies.
source: people.com
