Trigger Warning: This article contains mention of death.
Brian Wilson, co-founder and main songwriter of the Beach Boys, filed for a conservatorship following the death of his wife. According to the filing, Wilson is suffering from a “major neurocognitive disorder (such as dementia).” “Following the passing of Brian’s beloved wife Melinda, after careful consideration and consultation among Brian, his seven children, Gloria Ramos, and Brian’s doctors (and consistent with family processes put in place by Brian and Melinda), we are confirming that longtime Wilson family representatives LeeAnn Hard and Jean Sievers will serve as Brian’s co-conservators of the person,” the family wrote in a post on Instagram.
Wilson’s family also noted that the iconic musician can still “enjoy all of his family and friends and continue to work on current projects as well as participate in any activities he chooses.” And as per the latest report, Wilson would like to keep his current care condition the same.
Brian Wilson’s View On His Current Care
New developments have emerged in Brian Wilson’s conservatorship case. Two months after his family requested a conservatorship with two longtime associates managing his personal affairs, the musician’s attorney filed a report detailing Wilson’s initial confusion but ultimate trust in the proposed co-conservators, as reported by PEOPLE.
As outlined in the documents, court-appointed attorney Robert Cipriano visited the iconic rock figure on Monday, April 15, at his “impeccably well-maintained residence in Beverly Hills, California, where he resides with two of his children, a long-term live-in caregiver, as well as other caregivers that assist him with his daily activities.”
Following the meeting, Cipriano conveyed his recommendation for granting the pending petition to appoint co-conservators for Wilson. Cipriano noted Wilson’s “need for a conservatorship” based on his family’s recent Capacity Declaration, his “own observations and mostly based on my client’s consent.”
Cipriano stated, “When told that the court had appointed me to represent him in the court proceedings concerning the appointment of co-conservators of his person, [Wilson] was confused as to the need for co-conservator.”
Wilson’s initial confusion about the necessity for a co-conservator was noted by Cipriano. Nevertheless, the filing revealed that Wilson expressed trust in the two proposed co-conservators: Jean Sievers, his longtime manager and publicist, and LeeAnn Hard, his longstanding business manager.
“[Wilson] confirmed that the Petitioners have worked for him for years and clearly acknowledged that they were his long-time managers who he placed his trust in, and further said that he would trust them to act in his best interests after I explained to him the duties they would have if they were appointed as his co-conservators,” Cipriano reports.
He also states that the musician “acknowledged that he relied on his spouse to assist him with his daily activities before she died and that he still needs help in that regard, including making sure he receives timely and proper medical care as well as making sure that he takes his daily medications.”
Melinda Wilson, Brian Wilson’s Wife who Was His “savior”, Died at 77
Melinda Ledbetter, the wife of Beach Boys singer Brian Wilson, died this year in January. She was 77. Wilson shared the news of his wife’s death in an emotional Instagram post saying “My heart is broken. Melinda, my beloved wife of 28 years, passed away this morning,” Wilson wrote alongside a photo of Ledbetter. “Our five children and I are just in tears. We are lost.”
The couple married in 1995. “Melinda was more than my wife. She was my savior,” Wilson added. “She gave me the emotional security I needed to have a career. She encouraged me to make the music that was closest to my heart. She was my anchor. She was everything for us.”
Wilson married Melinda in 1995, and the couple adopted children Dakota Rose, Daria Rose, Delanie Rose, Dylan, and Dash. “I’ve never had a relationship with a girl like we have,” Wilson told PEOPLE in 1998. “She’s a partner who’s also a best friend.”
The children also poured their thoughts with an additional statement on Wilson’s social media, writing: “It is with a heavy heart that we let everyone know that our mom, Melinda Kay Ledbetter Wilson, passed away peacefully this morning at home. She was a force of nature and one of the strongest women you could come by. She was not only a model, our father’s savior, and a mother, she was a woman empowered by her spirit with a mission to better everyone she touched. We will miss her but cherish everything she has taught us. How to take care of the person next to you without expecting anything in return, how to find beauty in the darkest of places, and how to live life as your truest self with honesty and pride. We love you mom. Give Grandma Rose and Pa our love.”
Wilson was earlier married to singer Marilyn Wilson-Rutherford, from 1964 until their divorce in 1978. That couple shared two children together, Carnie and Wendy Wilson.
