UPDATE: During a court hearing held Monday, Feb. 1, a judge granted Tom Girardi's family's request to place him under a conservatorship. Tom's brother, Robert "Bob" Girardi, was appointed temporary conservator and given the "power to contract" on his behalf.
Tom, who was not present for the hearing due to what the judge described as "medical inability," will remain under the conservatorship through March 30, 2021.
An attorney for Tom's brother told E! News in a statement, "There was an urgent need for Bob Girardi to have the power to engage counsel in the bankruptcy proceeding on his brother's behalf, and Tom's court-appointed counsel clearly agreed, as did the Court today."
Keep scrolling for more details on the case.
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Erika Jayne's estranged husband Tom Girardi is unable to take care of himself or his finances on his own due to a cognitive condition, according to his brother Robert "Bob" Girardi, who has filed legal papers to request that a temporary conservator be appointed to handle his personal and financial affairs.
Tom, 81, has not replied publicly to his sibling's filing, made at a Los Angeles court on Tuesday, Jan. 19. Erika, 49, who is in the midst of proceedings to divorce her ex and is also named in an embezzlement lawsuit filed against him, has also not made any public remarks. The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star's rep had no comment when reached by E! News.
In his filing, Robert maintains that his brother's "current condition has sadly deteriorated to the point where he cannot care for himself without assistance" and that "his short-term memory is severely compromised and, on information and belief, he is often not oriented as to date, time or place."
Last month, Tom's lawyer told a federal judge at a hearing about the embezzlement lawsuit that his client has had "issues of his mental competence." Tom, who phoned in, spoke only once to let the judge hear his voice and when asked to explain what happened to the money he was accused of embezzling, his lawyer told the judge, "I've advised him to decline that," according to the Chicago Sun-Times.
Robert also states in the papers that he has "first-hand knowledge that Tom lives alone and cannot care for himself," noting that for the last 25 years, he has had hired help to assist him and that his longtime housekeeper "is set to quit because he is unable to pay them any longer."
"Tom's cognition has declined significantly. As such, Tom cannot prevent his property from loss or dissipation or resist fraud or undue influence," the filing states. "[His brother] believes Tom's short-term memory is severely impacted and he is, at times, disoriented as to date, time and place. According, he is unable to handle his financial affairs and protect his property at present."
The papers also say, that "Tom is currently personally subject to multiple lawsuits, including an involuntary bankruptcy. Tom does not understand the dire situation and says his money situation will clear up next week. It is obviously to [Robert] (and anyone else who knows him) that Tom cannot make the decisions needed to handle the important issues relating to this property."
Tom has been summoned to appear in court to argue his case on June 9.
"This is a heartbreaking time for Bob Girardi," Tom's brother's lawyer, Nicholas Van Brunt, told E! News in a statement. "The decision to seek appointments as his brother's conservator and guardian ad litem were not taken lightly, but they were necessary."
The papers also state that given Tom's "current mental condition and challenges with memory, it is reasonably certain that Tom will be unable to maintain a position for or against a conservatorship." However, it adds, Robert believes that if one were appointed, his brother "would not object" to the appointment because the siblings "have a trusting and healthy relationship."
(This story was originally published on Friday, January 22, 2021 at 10:53 a.m. PST)
—Reporting by Alli Rosenbloom and Beth Sobol