The family of Brian Wilson has filed to place the Beach Boys singer and visionary songwriter under a new conservatorship due to his dementia. The decision comes shortly after the death of Wilson’s wife, Melinda Wilson, who was his previous conservator since 1995.
A statement posted to Wilson’s social media pages stated that his longtime representatives LeeAnn Hard and Jean Sievers will act as his new co-conservators. The statement noted that the decision was made with careful consideration with Brian, his seven children, and his doctors.
“This decision was made to ensure that there will be no extreme changes to the household and Brian and the children living at home will be taken care of and remain in the home where they are cared for by Gloria Ramos and the wonderful team at the house who have been in place for many years helping take care of the family,” the statement read. “Brian will be able to enjoy all of his family and friends and continue to work on current projects as well as participate in any activities he chooses.”
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Court filings obtained by The Blast state that the 81-year-old Beach Boys sonic architect “does not have the capacity to give informed consent to the administration of medications appropriate to the care and treatment of major neurocognitive disorders (including dementia)”. A hearing to determine the new conservatorship arrangement is scheduled for April 26th, however, Wilson will not be able to attend. This is in accordance with a doctor cited in the court filing who wrote that Wilson “often makes spontaneous irrelevant or incoherent utterances, has very short attention span and while unintentionally disruptive, is frequently unable to maintain decorum appropriate to the situation.”
Wilson was previously cared for by his late wife Melinda, who died on January 30th at the age of 77. Melinda had served as Brian’s conservator since they married in 1995, as well as his manager and as Brian wrote following her passing, “my savior.” The couple adopted five children together, some of whom still live with Brian and will remain there per the new conservatorship proposal.
After delivering some of the most technically masterful recordings of the 1960s with The Beach Boys, including Pet Sounds, Wilson suffered a series of mental breakdowns in the latter half of the decade. His mental health worsened with his chronic drug use and, in 1975, first employed psychologist Eugene Landy to help him improve his mental state. Following a drug overdose in 1982, Wilson went under Landy’s care full-time and the psychologist isolated the musician from his family, drained his financial resources, and even took songwriting and production credits on his solo releases. Following years of legal battles from Wilson’s family, in 1991 Brian took out a restraining order against Landy.
After escaping his svengali, Wilson was assigned a court-appointed conservator Jerome Billet beginning in 1992. The agreement ended in 1995 when Wilson sued Billet for $10 million for his mishandling of a suit brought against Brian by his former Beach Boys bandmate Brian Love. Following the dissolution of Billet’s conservatorship, Melinda assumed responsibility for Brian’s well-being.
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