News that Lamar Odom and Khloe Kardashian's divorce was never finalized led to the revelation that she's reportedly in charge of making his medical decisions. This means that when he was on life-support, she was deciding or about to decide whether to keep him alive or pull-the plug. Would you want a soon to be ex-spouse making that decision?
Here's how it happened and how to prevent it from happening to you. Odom and Kardashian signed their divorce papers back in July. However, a divorce is never final until a judge approves it and issues a final divorce decree. This can take months because of an all too typical backlog in the court system. Since the decree was never issued, the two legally remain husband and wife. So, if you or someone you know is in the midst of a long, nasty divorce and something happens to one of you, will the soon to be ex-spouse be calling the shots? It depends. In every state, residents have the option to fill out two legal forms. The first form, usually called a healthcare directive or a living will, enables you to lay out your medical wishes in advance. For example, if heaven forbid you find yourself on life support, you can decide now whether you want to stay on and for how long or be taken off. The second form, enables you to delegate the responsibility over your medical decisions to a person you trust, also known as a healthcare proxy. In some states, if you legally designate your spouse as the healthcare proxy and you are divorced or legally separated, that document will automatically be revoked. However, in other states it will remain effective, so check your state laws. But, you are free to update it and reassign the responsibility to someone else at any time if you do end up getting divorced.
Unfortunately, many people don't fill out either of these forms because they either don't know about their existence or they don't think about these kinds of distressing topics in advance. The likely scenario is that Odom did not fill out either legal document. Therefore, the responsibility over his medical decisions defaulted to his next of kin, which is always, first and foremost the legal spouse. Hence, Kardashian found herself in a position of power over Odom's medical decisions despite their estrangement. If for some reason she had refused the responsibility then it would have defaulted to a parent or his children. Did Odom have any recourse? Well, his parents or children could have contested Kardashian's authority in probate court and asked for a guardianship or conservatorship. However, that likely would've taken months and there is no guarantee they would've prevailed. In the meantime, Kardashian is in charge.
So, the moral of this tale is that if there is someone in your family that you really don't want making your life or death decisions, consider taking control now and filling out one or both legal documents in your state: a living will and a healthcare proxy. The state specific forms are available on some websites like Legal Zoom and Rocket Lawyer, but it's always best to consult an attorney. Make sure they are filled out properly, notarized and filed correctly so that they are legally valid and your medical emergencies don't become the subject of an E! reality show.