Thomas Girardi‘s brother, Robert Girardi, who has been acting as his conservator since earlier this year, will represent the disbarred attorney in his ongoing divorce from estranged wife Erika Jayne.
According to a new report, Thomas, 82, confirmed via a court filing on Tuesday that his former representative, Michael L. Abrams, is no longer working on his case and that Robert will be acting on his behalf as he splits from the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills cast member, 50.
On December 8, Us Weekly confirmed the news with readers, noting that Erika filed for divorce after 21 years of marriage in November of last year.
“After much consideration, I have decided to end my marriage to Tom Girardi,” she said at the time. “This is not a step taken lightly or easily. I have great love and respect for Tom and for our years and the lives we built together.”
In the months that followed Erika and Thomas’ split, he was placed under a temporary conservatorship after suffering a medical emergency. Then, after telling the court in June that he “[disagrees] with the conservatorship altogether” and saying he planned to “put together the reasons why the conservatorship should be dissolved,” the conservatorship was made permanent due to an Alzheimer’s diagnosis.
Attorney Ronald Richards, who previously worked for the trustee presiding over Thomas’ bankruptcy, also spoke of the recent development. In a message shared with his followers on Instagram on Wednesday, Ronald revealed that Robert was the one who removed Thomas’ former attorney from the case and suggested the move was made in an effort to evade the proceedings.
“Breaking: Thomas Girardi’s Conservator terminates TG’s family law attorney in his divorce with [Erika Jayne] and is now in pro per,” he explained. “This strategy divesture from any accountability is continued. Harder to chase a non-represented party. Default will be next.”
In addition to their ongoing divorce, Thomas and Erika are in the midst of a number of lawsuits, many of which accuse the ex-couple of misappropriating funds meant for his clients and using the money for their own benefit.
The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills season 12 is currently in production and expected to begin airing on Bravo sometime in 2022.