AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 12, TITLE 16, TITLE 21, AND TITLE 31 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO THIRD-PARTY DECISION MAKING.

This Act updates the terminology used to describe or citations used to reference those who make financial or health-care decisions on behalf of a principal or individual, including when that principal or individual lacks capacity. This Act takes effect on September 30, 2025, to coincide with when the Delaware Uniform Health-Care Decisions Act of 2023 (DUHCDA 2023) takes effect. Section 1 of this Act amends § 3982 of Title 12 by: (1) Removing the phrase “durable power of attorney for health-care decisions” and instead citing to the definition of “advance health-care directive” under DUHCDA 2023. A durable power of attorney for health-care decisions, or other similar variations on that phrase, are synonyms for a power of attorney for health care. A power of attorney for health care is included in the definition of advance health-care directive under DUHCDA 2023. For shorthand, elsewhere in this Synopsis this change will be referred to as “citing to the DUHCDA 2023 to remove synonyms.” (2) Changing "surrogate" to "default surrogate" to align with the new definitions of "surrogate" and "default surrogate" under DUHCDA 2023. For shorthand, elsewhere in this Synopsis this change will be referred to as “aligning the term ‘surrogate’ with the DUHCDA 2023”. (3) Added reference to an agent under a durable power of attorney to § 3983(4)a. since it is in § 3983(4)b. and those paragraphs should mirror each other, as paragraph (4)a. handles a situation when there is no decision maker willing or able to serve and paragraph (4)b. addresses a situation where a decision maker is determined unsuitable. Section 2 of this Act amends § 3983 of Title 12 by aligning the term ‘surrogate’ with the DUHCDA 2023. Section 3 of this Act amends § 1121 of Title 16 by: (1) Completing the list of internal citations. (2) Repealing § 1121(b)(40) because § 1122 defines the decision makers to whom third-party decision making passes when an individual lacks capacity to make decisions. Additionally, § 1121 is where resident rights are listed, not the rights of third parties. Section 4 of this Act revises § 1122 of Title 16 by: (1) Revising the description of legal standards for when decision making authority passes to a third party under the processes listed, including deleting that a standard is when a resident is "unable to communicate with others" and adding a reference to federal law since a representative payee under § 205(j) of the Social Security Act is included in the list. (2) Citing to the DUHCDA 2023 to remove synonyms. (3) Aligning the term ‘surrogate’ with the DUHCDA 2023. Section 5 of this Act amends § 1145 of Title 16 by: (1) Citing to the DUHCDA 2023 to remove synonyms. (2) Aligning the term ‘surrogate’ with the DUHCDA 2023. Section 6 of this Act amends § 2503A of Title 16 by: (1) Citing to the DUHCDA 2023 to remove synonyms. (2) Aligning the term ‘surrogate’ with the DUHCDA 2023. Section 7 of this Act amends § 5530 of Title 16 by: (1) Citing to the DUHCDA 2023 to remove synonyms. (2) Repealing subsection (e) because it refers to a list of individuals that was removed by SB 309 (GA 152) in favor of citing directly to DUHCDA 2023. Section 8 of this Act amends § 5531 of Title 16 by citing to the DUHCDA 2023 to remove synonyms. Section 9 of this Act amends § 2718 of Title 21 by: (1) Correcting the word “advanced” to “advance” in “advance care directive”. (2) Listing the advance planning documents referenced in the citation to § 9706(h) of Title 16. Section 9706(h) allows the promulgation of regulations related to EMS provider compliance with identified advance planning documents. It is not the section that establishes or defines the advance planning documents. Section 10 of this Act amends § 3912 of Title 31 by changing the term “power of attorney” to “agent” because an agent is the actor whereas the power of attorney is the document or grant of authority to act as agent. Section 11 of this Act is an effective date. This Act takes effect on September 30, 2025. This Act also makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual.