When Family Members Disagree about Care Arrangements….

While courts are most often called upon to appoint guardians or conservators in the absence of an authorized agent, another way in which courts may be required to act is when family members disagree about the course of care under private arrangements.  High profile examples of how this can arise often involve celebrities.  The latest example seems to involve comedian Tim Conway, where his wife and daughter are reportedly at “odds over his medical treatment.”  From People magazine‘s online site comes this sad report:  

The 84-year-old Carol Burnett Show star’s daughter Kelly is asking to be appointed conservator of her father and be in charge of his medical treatments, according to court documents obtained by PEOPLE and first reported by The Blast.

Kelly, 56, filed the documents in Los Angeles on Friday, claiming Conway’s wife Charlene is “planning to move him out of the excellent skilled nursing facility he is currently at” and place him in one that won’t give him access to “registered nurses at all times and his 24-hour caregiver and speech therapist (to help with swallowing).”

Charlene is Conway’s second wife. He was previously married to Kelly’s mother Mary Anne Dalton from 1961-78. (In addition to Kelly, they share daughter Jackie and sons Jaime, Tim Jr., Pat, Corey and Shawn.)

Kelly also states that Conway cannot “properly provide for his personal needs for physical health, food, and clothing” and is “almost entirely unresponsive.”

Second marriages, where the families did not blend well, often seem to be a factor, especially if money becomes an issue.   My thanks to my Dickinson Law colleague Laurel Terry for sharing this item for our Blog.