Casey Kasem Family Feud Escalates

The war of words in the family drama surrounding ailing radio legend Casey Kasem was renewed Monday in court papers filed by his wife in response to efforts by three of her husband's children by another woman to establish a conservatorship over the 81-year-old deejay known for the national syndicated show "American Top 40."

Ahead of Tuesday's scheduled probate court hearing, attorneys for Jean Kasem again attack the motives of her husband's children from his first marriage.

"These children single-handedly and irreparably shattered the lives of their father, his wife and youngest daughter, the calm of their home and their neighborhood by engaging in uncalled for public demonstrations and personal attacks in the media," Jean Kasem's new court papers state. "They are doing so with a professionally orchestrated media and legal campaign that has disgraced their father and vilified their stepmother ..."

Kasem has advanced Parkinson's disease, and the feud between his second wife, to whom he has been married since 1980, and his three children from his first marriage has escalated into demonstrations in front of the Kasem home in Holmby Hills, where they have claimed their stepmother has been preventing them from visiting their father.

On Oct. 15, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Roy Paul said he would need more information about the situation before taking any action and set Tuesday's hearing date to consider a conservatorship petition by Julie, Kerri and Mike Kasem.

Paul asked for an independent evaluation of the elder Kasem by a physician agreed upon by all parties, as well as a report by a probate investigator.

Samuel Ingham, the patriarch's court-appointed attorney, said he needed more time to review two competing health care directives in which both sides claim to have power-of-attorney to make medical decisions on behalf of Kasem.

Ingham said he was under the impression that Kasem is getting proper care, but did not have complete details of his condition.   According to court papers filed Oct. 7 by his daughter Julie, a physician's assistant, and her husband Dr. Jamil Aboulhosn, a UCLA Medical School associate professor, Kasem "has been isolated from his daughters, friends and other family by Mrs. Kasem."

The siblings sent an email to their stepmother on Oct. 3, seeking information about the doctor caring for their father, but she failed to respond, the petitioners allege.

According to Jean Kasem's court papers, no conservatorship is needed for her husband. He is under the ongoing care of his primary doctor, and his wife has arranged 24-hour care for him, her court papers state.

"These children falsely claim that their stepmother is wicked and is keeping her husband prisoner in his home behind closed doors and that they no longer have access to him through no fault of their own," according to Jean Kasem's court papers. "They ask this court to grant them access to Jean and Casey's home even though they do not have never lived there. For reasons they know all too well, their presence at this state would be toxic and extremely distressing for Casey, Jean and their daughter, Liberty, who have had enough of their cruelty."

Jean Kasem's court papers also state that her stepchildren ostensibly obtained a health care directive on behalf of their father in 2007 that was "procured at a UPS store and without the apparent benefit of legal counsel."

In April 2011, Casey and Jean Kasem agreed to give her the power to make decisions for her husband's physical welfare and he revoked the 2007 document, according to Jean Kasem's court papers.

She also argues that if the judge decides her husband needs to be placed under a conservatorship, she should be the one named.

Julie Kasem stated under penalty of perjury in her conservatorship petition that she does not owe her father money, according to Jean Kasem's court papers, which state that her stepdaughter in fact borrowed hundreds of thousands of dollars from him over the years and did not repay the money.

- City News Service