CALIFORNIA PROBATE CENTER

The Authority for Probate Litigation and Estate Planning in California

What to Do With Your Trust, Advance Health Care Directive, and Durable Power of Attorney After Divorce

Posted on | June 30, 2010 | No Comments

The answer is simple and after you read the following example you will understand shortly why I must emphasize it:  REVOKE IT IN WRITING! Gary Coleman laid bleeding to death at the bottom of the stairs while his ex-wife talked to a 911 operator at the top of the stairs. In that conversation, recorded on tape, his ex-wife refused initially to walk down the stairs to administer aid, and delayed giving aid afterwards because she apparently “just can’t be here with the blood. I’m sorry, I can’t do it. I can’t. … There’s blood all over and I can’t do anything.”

Afterwards, Coleman laid comatose in the hospital and his ex-wife still had the medical power of attorney through an advance health care directive. Under California law, an advance health care directive should be automatically revoked at divorce – see California Probate Code § 4797. However, because some facts are not immediately accessible through the media, that law was not honored at the hour of his death. It could be that under the Health Care Decisions Law, a revocation of an agent is handled differently than the underlying instructions. But regardless of the law, such fine distinctions are likely little comfort to Coleman, because in that advance health care directive or medical power of attorney, Coleman selected the following:

I direct that my health care providers and others involved in my care provide, withhold, or withdraw treatment in accordance with the choice I have marked below: (b) Choice to Prolong Life. I want my life to be prolonged as long as possible within the limits of generally accepted health care standards.” (emphasis added).

In other words, he did not want anyone to pull the plug. Against those wishes, his wife allegedly took him off of life support. To top it off, she is now in a court battle to become executor of his estate. It may be too late for Coleman, but let this be a lesson to everyone else. If you are divorced and have not tidied up your affairs, now would be the time to consult an attorney to learn the proper method of revoking it.

Category: Trust and Estate Litigation
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