(Reuters) – A judge on Wednesday granted Zsa Zsa Gabor’s husband temporary conservatorship of her affairs, ending one chapter in a legal battle over the 95-year-old actress who has been in failing health for more than two years.
Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Reva Goetz appointed Prinz Frederic von Anhalt, 69, as Gabor’s conservator for six months and set a January 9 hearing to evaluate his administration.
In a declaration submitted to the court, Dr. Debra Judelson described Gabor as being “bedbound, unable to hear or see clearly, unable to respond or answer questions, becomes agitated when outside of familiar environment.”
Gabor’s daughter, Constance Francesca Gabor Hilton, filed a court petition in March seeking conservatorship after learning her mother’s home was in default over missed mortgage payments and that von Anhalt had obtained a large loan using equity in the house, according to a statement from Hilton’s attorney.
Gabor’s real estate holdings are worth more than $10.6 million, according to her only daughter, who is 65 years old.
Both von Anhalt and Constance Hilton attended Wednesday’s hearing, but did not address the court. They had previously reached an interim agreement that von Anhalt would be temporary conservator, leading to Goetz’s ruling on Wednesday.
Key disputes included the ability of Hilton and her mother’s friends to visit Gabor, as well as Gabor’s financial protection, Hilton’s attorney told reporters outside the courtroom.
In her heyday, Gabor was celebrated for her bubbly personality and beauty that helped land her a string of wealthy husbands, including hotel magnate Conrad Hilton, Constance’s late father. Gabor had a penchant for calling everyone “dah-ling” in her thick Hungarian accent, and with her two sisters, Eva and Magda, was a fixture on Hollywood’s social circuit.
But in recent years, she has suffered through hip replacement surgery, had much of her right leg amputated, and is largely confined to her home.
(Reporting by Bob Tourtellotte; Editing by Jan Paschal)