Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in California
Life Support Decisions
A woman who attends my church has recently had a stroke and is now on life support which is paid for through medical. Her children who don't particularly care for her say take her off life support because we can't fly down to see her anyways, but my grandparents who are elders at the church have decided that the church should intervene and keep her alive, and they have had her on life support for the past 5 days. Therefore if she survives the church will be held responsible for her and if she dies the children say the church will have to pay for her funeral. My worry is that the children will go behind the churches back and decide to sue for keeping their mother alive when they didn't want her alive. Would they be able to do that? And do you think the church should stay out of the situation due to liabilitiy and legal issues?
2 Answers from Attorneys
Re: Life Support Decisions
It will be a sad day - maybe that day has already come - when churches cannot minister to the lonely and abandoned for fear of liability. Just because someone else might petition the court to become her conservator does not relieve her offspring from liability for her remains, nor is there such a thing as a lawsuit for "wrongful life."
Re: Life Support Decisions
It's doubtful the church could be sued and I'm not aware of damages awardable for keeping someone alive. However, if it looks like she may stay alive awhile and need further care, someone from the church may want to think about filing for conservatorship on her behalf, or referring the case to the county's public guardian office for the same.
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