Ford heirs lose battle to oust mother’s allegedly abusive caregiver

Henry Ford II and Kathleen DuRoss Ford

The heirs of Henry Ford II have suffered defeat in their battle to force their mother’s companion — who, they claim, abused her — to give up control of her life, Page Six has learned.

Frank Chopin was an attorney to Ford II — the late president of the Ford Motor Co. and eldest grandson of Henry Ford — and after his death became an attorney to his widow, Kathleen DuRoss Ford. Chopin moved into Kathleen’s $44 million Palm Beach, Fla., estate and became her caregiver.

But in 2019 her daughters, Deborah DuRoss Guibord and Kimberly DuRoss, mounted a legal challenge to oust Chopin, who Kathleen — a paralyzed 80-year-old — had given power of attorney over her affairs. They allege he tried to control their access to her and, according to reports, abused her by “[forcing] pills down her throat.” Chopin vehemently denies abuse.

Then Wednesday, a Palm Beach judge denied their request, leaving Chopin in control for the rest of her life — and leaving her daughters, grandchildren and even her sister, Sharon, 82, distraught.

Her granddaughter, Tara DuRoss, told Page Six that Chopin had limited them to scheduled conference calls and meetings away from her home, and now the calls had stopped. “I used to call her every day,” Tara, 23, told us. “We just want to be able … to see her.”

Chopin told us it’s untrue that Tara spoke to Kathleen daily. He called her an “idiot child,” and said the family were “estranged” unless “they wanted something.”

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Ford heirs lose battle to oust mother’s allegedly abusive caregiver 

See Also:
Daughters claim widow of Henry Ford II is being abused by longtime companion