Gary Coleman’s Ex-Wife Ignores Husband’s Living Will
Posted on | June 17, 2010 | No Comments
A living will that Gary Coleman signed in 2006 named then-wife Shannon Price as his agent to make medical decisions if he was unable to do so. The living will stated, “If I am unable to give informed consent to medical treatment, I want my agent to give or withhold such consent for me based upon any treatment choices that I have expressed while competent, whether under this Power of Attorney or otherwise. If my agent cannot determine the treatment choice I would make under the particular circumstances, then my agent should make the choice based on what my agent believes to be in my best interest.”
Coleman gave doctors two ways to take him off life support in the living will: “Life support should be ended after two doctors decide my condition is incurable, terminal and expected to result in my death within 12 months or if doctors have diagnosed that I have been in a coma for at least 15 days and that the coma is irreversible, meaning that there is no reasonable possibility of my ever regaining consciousness. Then, my agent is authorized to require that medical treatment which would prolong irreversible coma or delay my inevitable death… not be instituted, or if previously instituted, to require that it be discontinued.”
A spokesperson for the Utah Medical Association has said that the desires of a family member trump whatever is written in a living will. A spokesperson for he hospital Coleman died in has also said Price’s directions to doctors trumped Coleman’s living will desires.
Coleman’s death raises many legal issues as it pertains to estate planning and family law. It is unclear if Coleman and Price were common-law married after divorcing in 2008. Complicating the matter further is a will Coleman signed in 2005 which named a family friend, Anna Gray, as executor of his estate.
Each state has different estate planning and probate laws. To learn more about estate planning in the state of New York, contact Nassau County Estate Planning lawyer Stuart W. Moskowitz, CPA. His website is located at http://www.stuartmoskowitz.com and you can reach his office at 516-409-0769.
Tags: cpa > estate plannning > ex wife > family law > gary coleman > life support > Living Will > nassau county estate planning lawyer > new york > power of attorney > shannon price > stuart moskowitz > utah medical association
Contact Stuart W. Moskowitz Stuart W. Moskowitz, Esq., CPA
Posted on | April 12, 2010 | No Comments
Tax and Estate Planning Attorney and CPA Stuart Moskowitz has been providing legal and accounting advice and representation to individuals and small businesses throughout the metropolitan area including Nassau County and Queens County for more than 19 years as an attorney and for more than 22 years as a CPA. Call (516) 409-0769 for a free one half hour initial consultation today.
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