Rachael Ray filed documents for husband John Cusimano to be her power of attorney years before suspected health issues

RACHAEL Ray filed documents for her husband, John Cusimano, to be her power of attorney months before they married in 2005. 

Rachael, 56, sparked health concerns recently when she appeared to be slurring her words in cooking videos. 

Court papers exclusively obtained by The U.S. Sun reveal she filed for her husband to be her power of attorney decades before worry began for the chef. 

The document reads, “The powers you grant below continue to be effective should you become disabled or incompetent.

“Caution: This is an important document. It gives the person whom you designate (your agent) broad powers to handle your property during your lifetime, which may include powers to mortgage, sell, or otherwise dispose of any real or personal property without advance notice to you or approval by you. 

“These powers will continue to exist even after you become disabled or incompetent.”

The document then states, “This document does not authorize anyone to make medical or other health care decisions. You may execute a health care proxy to do this.”

Rachael appointed her power of attorney to be John. 

Rachael only gave authority to John for “real estate transactions.”

Other subdivisions, which Rachael did not consent to, include banking transactions, estate transactions, business operating transactions and more. 

Rachael did not appoint another agent in the case John is “unable or unwilling to serve.”

Rachael and John signed off on the document on July 19, 2005, just weeks before their September 24, 2005 wedding. 

The document was officially recorded with the court on December 8, 2005. 

ATTORNEY SPEAKS OUT

Beverly Hills attorney Adam Michael Sacks explained a power of attorney could be granted for certain reasons, including if the requesting party has health issues. 

“It is something that would be done if you are sick,” Mr. Sacks told The U.S. Sun. “The power of attorney can make certain decisions. There are certain things you have to sign if you own a house that needs to be sold and you’re, for example, in a coma. With power of attorney, it lets that person sign for you. 

“Attorney means someone who acts for you. If I am your attorney, I can go to court and act for you. He would make the decision if she’s unable to.”

The Beverly Hills Attorney continued, “It’s not common. One of the reasons is when you know you have a problem, like you’re sick or getting older.

“It has to be someone you completely trust, like a spouse. You would have them make decisions as though it were you.”

Outside of health reasons, Mr. Sacks said power of attorney could be for financial help.

He explained of her potential reasoning, “I’m a chef, I can’t deal with money, I trust my husband or lawyer, he can take care of it.”

BUSINESS PARTNERS

Rachael’s husband is a lawyer and she did admit he helps her with the legal aspects of her career. 

She said on the November 5 episode of her podcast, I’ll Sleep When I’m Dead, “One of the things that has been essential to my life and my success, over the years has been the partner that I chose. 

“I love my husband John. And John works with me and has built our business and our brand together.

“Husband and I didn’t get married until very late in life, 37 and 38 years old. It was very important to me that I marry him because I thought, this person could be a true partner in what I believe in. 

“In helping people and building, not a business, but a community.”

She continued, “He’s a lawyer and a musician. I am not a musician and I am certainly not a lawyer. I hate reading legal documents and official stuff.

“But we balance each other in a weird way. We allow each other to be open to different worlds.”

HEALTH CONCERNS

Rachael sparked concern on her episodes of Rachael Ray in Tuscany when she appeared to be slurring her speech during the cooking show.

“Omg is she ok? What happened?” one fan reacted to the Instagram video.

Another wrote, “This is concerning. Something is not right.”

A third commented, “I love you but are you ok? I’m seriously concerned.”

Rachael has not addressed the concerns, as she instead filtered the comments on her videos.

She continues to post cooking videos from episodes to her Instagram page. 

Rachael brushed off fears for her health and returned to social media with a brand new recipe later that month.

She shared the instructions for making her shrimp and chorizo paella on Instagram.

“Hope you are doing okay,” one person commented under Rachael’s post, while other users expressed their excitement to try the Spanish rice dish.

PODCAST CONFESSIONS

The first episode of Rachael’s podcast, I’ll Sleep When I’m Dead, dropped on Tuesday, October 2 with guest Jenny Mollen.

On the episode, Rachael opened up about her love of being a homemaker while living with her husband in their Lake Luzerne, New York home. 

“I am a homemaker. I love chores, I love being in the kitchen… I really like chores,” she told Jenny. 

“What people consider physical work… I like making dinners, planning dinners, making lists.”

Rachael then went on to share her love of “physical labor,” which she admitted has been on pause.

“I like to help carry in the wood,” she said. “I had a couple of bad falls in the last couple of weeks so I haven’t been doing that in a while. 

“I love carrying wood. How many pieces of wood did John carry? Can I carry more? I don’t say that to John, I just say that to myself.”

On the November 12 episode with The Biggest Loser trainer and fitness guru Bob Harper, he told Rachael he enjoys “living in the moment” and “wanting to learn new things on any given day.”

Rachael revealed she “gets up at 4 o’clock in the morning.”

“I’ve gotten worse as I’ve gotten older, because I feel like time might be shorter, and I want my time to be more, every minute of it,” she told Bob.

RACHAEL’S CAREER

Rachael appeared on ABC’s Rachael Ray Show from 2006 to 2023. 

Rachael left the show to launch her own production company, Free Food Studios. 

She told Deadline at the time, “My passions have evolved from the talk show format production and syndication model to a platform unencumbered by the traditional rules of distribution.

“That is why I am looking forward to putting all my energies into my recently announced production arm, Free Food Studios.”

She runs the nonprofit organization Yum-o!, which “empowers kids and their families to develop healthy relationships with food and cook through three main initiatives: Cook, Feed and Fund.”

Rachael currently has two shows on FYI network, Rachael Ray’s Meals in Minutes and Rachael Ray in Tuscany.