How to Revoke an Advance Directive in Colorado

Your medical wishes can change after a new diagnosis, a divorce, or simply a shift in your comfort level with certain treatments. Colorado law makes revoking or amending an advance directive straightforward — but if you skip a step, your old instructions can linger in hospital systems and create dangerous confusion during an emergency.

Colorado's Revocation Rules Under C.R.S. § 15-18-109

Colorado permits revocation of a Living Will (Declaration as to Medical or Surgical Treatment) at any time, by any means that communicates intent. Under the statute, you can revoke by:

• Written revocation — a signed, dated statement declaring the prior document void
• Physical destruction — tearing, burning, or otherwise destroying the original
• Oral revocation — verbally telling your attending physician you revoke the directive (the physician must document this in your medical record)
• Executing a new directive — a later-dated Living Will automatically supersedes prior versions

The same flexibility applies to the Medical Durable Power of Attorney (MDPOA) under C.R.S. § 15-14-503. You can revoke it by notifying your agent in writing, executing a new MDPOA naming a different person, or by any written instrument that clearly expresses revocation.

How to Change Your Healthcare Agent

Replacing your healthcare agent requires more than a phone call. To avoid the situation where two people both believe they hold authority:

1. Execute a new MDPOA naming your replacement agent and alternate(s)
2. Send written notice to your former agent stating their authority is revoked
3. Notify your primary care physician and any hospital where the old MDPOA is on file
4. Request that the old document be removed from your electronic health record (MyChart, Kaiser portal, etc.)

If your former agent is an ex-spouse, Colorado's divorce revocation statute (C.R.S. § 15-11-804) automatically revokes any fiduciary appointment to the former spouse upon entry of the divorce decree. However, relying on automatic revocation without executing a new MDPOA leaves you temporarily without a named agent — the proxy consensus process kicks in, requiring all interested persons to agree unanimously.

The Notification Problem Most Families Miss

Revoking on paper is only half the job. Advance directives are distributed to multiple locations — your primary care office, specialist clinics, hospital medical records departments, your healthcare agent, and sometimes a state or hospital registry. If even one outdated copy survives in a system, a crisis-mode medical team may follow old instructions.

After any revocation or change, distribute updated copies to:

• Your named healthcare agent and alternates
• Your primary care physician's office
• Any hospital where you've registered directives (UCHealth, Banner Health, Kaiser Permanente portals)
• Your home (replace the copy on the refrigerator or bedside if using a CPR Directive or MOST form)
• Your attorney, if one holds your estate planning file

Partial Amendments vs. Full Replacement

Colorado law does not explicitly provide for "amendments" to a Living Will — the cleaner approach is to execute an entirely new document reflecting your current wishes and destroy the old one. Trying to cross out sections or initial changes on an existing form creates ambiguity that hospital legal departments may refuse to interpret.

For the MDPOA, you can revoke specific provisions while keeping the agent appointment intact by executing a written addendum. But in practice, redrafting the full document takes less than 20 minutes and eliminates any question about what's current.

When Revocation Takes Effect

Oral revocation of a Living Will becomes effective the moment your physician documents it. Written revocation takes effect when communicated to your healthcare providers. There is no waiting period, no filing requirement with any court, and no notarization needed for revocation — even though execution of the original document required witnesses or a notary.

This asymmetry is intentional: Colorado prioritizes your ability to change your mind quickly, especially during a medical crisis when circumstances shift.

The Colorado Advance Directive & Living Will Kit includes revocation templates, agent change notification letters, and a distribution tracking checklist so no outdated copies linger in the system.

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