Lamar Odom remains in a coma in Las Vegas after being found unconscious in a Nevada brothel after going on a weekend bender with cocaine and herbal viagra. His estranged wife, Khloe Kardashian, is reportedly making his medical decisions for him even though they separated two years ago and signed their divorce papers in July. Los Angeles divorce courts have a four month backlog of divorce cases.
Several quick points:
1. When individuals separate, they should implement new estate planning documents including health care powers of attorney. During a divorce, the estranged spouse will be better off financially if the other spouse dies prior to the divorce finalization so it is best not to have the spouse in charge of one's medical decisions.
2. That said, new estate planning documents are usually not a priority for a guy who was allegedly recently found on skid row.
3. Odom's mom died when he was a teenager, his father was a heroin addict, and he had an infant die of SIDS. When the Kardashian family was his oasis of normalcy, the man never had a chance.
Thanks to Kathy Chabot for the post topic suggestion.
