Do children have family decision-making rights over a spouse?
My father is married to his fourth wife, and he has four children from his second wife. Do we have rights to any decision making?
Expert Answer
That depends on whether your father is competent, has finalized any legal documents directing decisions—and most importantly, on what you want to decide.
As long as your father is considered legally competent—basically, able to recognize and understand his legal rights and any documents that might control them—he alone has the right to make decisions that relate to his care and finances.
If he becomes incapacitated, things could get a bit messier, as you seem to know. If he is unable to express his own wishes for his medical care, for example, doctors and other medical personnel generally defer to the present spouse for direction—although the more sensitive ones will also listen close relatives such as children.
And if he dies without leaving a will, the property he owns at death will be divided and distributed according to the formula set out in state law—usually, a portion to the current spouse and the rest to be equally divided by all living children.