Jay Leno is back in court on behalf of his wife, Mavis, this time in New Hampshire. According to documents obtained by TMZ, the 76-year-old comedian has petitioned the state's 10th Circuit Probate Division to register and recognize the California conservatorship he holds over Mavis's estate, a legal step he needs in order to sell real estate the couple owns in the Granite State.

The property at the center of the filing is a modest two-bedroom, two-bathroom ranch house built in 1995, listed for just under $400,000 since Leno put it on the market in June. Because the home is held as community property, TMZ reports, Leno needs the New Hampshire court's sign-off before a sale can close. As of this week, the court has not yet ruled on the petition.

A conservatorship years in the making

The New Hampshire filing is the latest development in a conservatorship battle that began in January 2024, when Leno petitioned a Los Angeles Superior Court judge to take control of his wife's estate, citing her advancing dementia. Mavis, now in her late 70s, has been married to Leno for more than four decades. A court-appointed attorney who reviewed the case at the time told the court that Mavis's cognitive decline had progressed significantly.

Mavis "sometimes does not know her husband, Jay, nor her date of birth," the court-appointed lawyer wrote, adding that she experiences "a lot of disorientation."

The Los Angeles court granted Leno conservatorship of his wife's estate later that year, finding him "suitable and qualified" to manage her financial affairs. Leno has spoken publicly in the time since about serving as Mavis's caretaker and has largely avoided discussing the details of her day-to-day condition in interviews.

The New Hampshire petition, first flagged in court notices earlier this month and reported by MyNewsLA, is largely an administrative formality: it asks the state to treat the California conservatorship order as legally binding within its own borders so the out-of-state sale can proceed under normal property law.

Neither Leno nor his attorneys have issued a public statement beyond what is contained in the filings, and no hearing date had been set as of Sunday morning. TMZ and other outlets note the case is expected to move through the probate process in the coming weeks, after which the New Hampshire property sale could close.