Forman exhibited dementia as marriage failed, wife testifies
As his four-year marriage was falling apart last year, former Broward Clerk of Courts Howard Forman was absent-minded, his wife says. He wasn’t taking his medications, one of which was intended to combat early signs of dementia, and he was skipping medical appointments, she testified Wednesday.
Brenda Forman, who married her husband in 2013 and rode his name into office as his successor in 2016, took the stand to defend herself against a claim that she acted in bad faith when she tried to declare him senile and appoint herself guardian of his personal and financial affairs.
Her court papers were filed March 30, 2017, the day after Howard Forman, 72, filed for divorce.
To find that she filed her claim in bad faith, Broward Circuit Judge Mark Speiser would have to believe that Brenda Forman knew her husband was not incapacitated. She made the claim, Howard Forman’s lawyers allege, to stall divorce proceedings and keep control of his finances. His lawyers would then be entitled to seek legal fees associated with fighting the claim. The exact dollar amount would be determined at a later hearing.
Speiser heard testimony Tuesday and Wednesday morning from witnesses who described Howard Forman as mentally sharp and politically engaged in late 2016 and the first half of 2017.
Brenda Forman’s testimony stood in sharp contrast to theirs. She said she would find his pills on the floor and in other areas of their Davie home, indicating that he was not taking them.
“I took the initiative and stood there and watched him take it to make sure he was taking his medication,” she said. She claimed he had trouble writing numbers on the right lines when making out checks.
But Howard Forman’s mental capacity was not foremost on Brenda Forman’s mind, his lawyer Jody Leslie said. “She was more concerned with the loss of income than she was with Mr. Forman’s medical issues,” she told the judge.
Brenda Forman, who went by Brenda Jenkins at the time, worked in the clerk’s office making $22,000 a year when she married Howard Forman. Her new job comes with a salary of more than $165,000.
Howard Forman held that job, and that salary, until Dec. 31. According to figures cited by Leslie on Wednesday, he will now collect more than $150,000 a year between retirement and Social Security benefits. He also collected $890,000 in deferred retirement benefits at the beginning of the year.
Leslie showed that Brenda Forman withdrew a $9,000 pension payment from a joint account and deposited it into her own account soon after Howard Forman filed for divorce. Brenda Forman said he withdrew the money and she used it to pay his bills.
Brenda Forman’s motion to have herself appointed as guardian was dismissed last December after mental health experts determined that Howard Forman “is not incapacitated in any respect.”
Forman himself filed a petition to appoint an independent guardian in June, admitting that he, “although mentally competent, is incapable of the care, custody and management of (his) property by reason of age or physical infirmity.”
His lawyers maintain that the petition was filed in part to block the possible appointment of Brenda Forman as his guardian.
Speiser will hold a hearing Feb. 9 to hear closing arguments from both sides on whether Brenda Forman filed for guardianship in bad faith.
rolmeda@SunSentinel.com, 954-356-4457, Twitter @SSCourts and @rolmeda