County Care of Film Maker Challenged : Mamoulian Widow, Kin Dispute Estate Control

A dispute over control of the estate of the late Hollywood director Rouben Mamoulian erupted Wednesday--one day before he was to be buried--as a lawyer representing relatives of the film maker and his widow announced that they planned to challenge Los Angeles County’s control of the couple’s affairs.

Beverly Hills lawyer Ada Sands, who said she represents a niece and five nephews of the couple, said she will seek to have the county relinquish its authority in the matter--”if not peaceably, then by (legal) force”--and allow the family to handle its own affairs.

She also charged that the county’s public guardian office, the court-appointed conservator over the couple, had not properly cared for them.

Charges Denied

A spokesman for the county agency denied the charges, noting that several servants cared for the elderly couple. The Mamoulian’s $3-million Beverly Hills mansion had fallen into disrepair long before the county agency came in, officials said.

Mamoulian, one of the founders of the Directors Guild of America, had been inactive as a film maker for the last 30 years.

The case was initially referred to the public guardian office last summer by a hospital where the ailing 90-year-old film maker had been cared for.

“They said that Mr. Mamoulian had been deteriorating for several years and they felt that we needed to get involved,” said public guardian Deputy Director Ilona Bryman.

Conservatorships are provided by probate courts for the protection of the elderly or mentally ill who are unable to care for themselves or their financial affairs and may be subject to exploitation or fraud, a county spokesman said.

Temporary Appointment

The public guardian office was temporarily appointed conservator over Mamoulian’s estate last June. In October, the agency also was designated conservator for Mamoulian’s wife, Azadia.

At a court hearing last Friday, the county agency was granted permanent conservatorship over Mamoulian despite a request by a longtime family friend that she be appointed. And, after the director’s death later that day, control of his estate was transferred to the county’s public administrator, since no relatives stepped forward, officials said.

Since then, however, a niece of Mamoulian’s from England and five nephews of his widow from the Washington area have come forward and plan to challenge both the conservatorship of Azadia Mamoulian and the administration by the county of her late husband’s estate, Sands said.

“The public administrator’s office has done its job and the family now wishes them to acquiesce and let them take over,” Sands said. “This is not a charity case. . . .”

“If there are relatives and they can show a good plan that Mrs. Mamoulian would be well cared for, then certainly we would recommend that the court appoint them,” Bryman said.

Services for Mamoulian will be held at 1 p.m. today in St. Mary Apostolic Church in Glendale.