Revoking, Updating, and Storing a Personal Directive in Nova Scotia

A Personal Directive in Nova Scotia has no expiry date. Once signed, it stays legally active until you deliberately revoke it — even if your delegate has moved away, your marriage has ended, or your health has changed dramatically since you wrote it. That permanence is both the document's strength and its biggest maintenance risk.

An outdated directive sitting in a Green Sleeve on your refrigerator can authorize someone you haven't spoken to in years to make life-or-death decisions on your behalf. The fix is straightforward, but it requires more than just writing a new document — you need to destroy every old copy and notify everyone who might act on the outdated version.

When You Should Revoke or Update

The Personal Directives Act doesn't require periodic reviews, but certain life events should trigger an immediate update:

Divorce or separation. Section 6 of the Act automatically revokes the appointment of a spouse as delegate upon divorce unless your directive expressly provides otherwise. Review the rest of the directive for outdated names or instructions and replace them as needed.

Marriage. Unlike a Will — which is automatically revoked by marriage in Nova Scotia — a Personal Directive survives marriage. That means your pre-marriage directive could still name a sibling or friend as delegate rather than your new spouse. If you want your spouse making healthcare decisions, you need to update.

Your delegate becomes unavailable. If your primary delegate has died, moved out of province, developed their own health issues, or simply told you they're no longer willing to serve, the directive still activates. If no alternate can act, clinicians may need to use the statutory process under Section 14 for decisions not covered by clear instructions in the directive.

A significant change in your own health. A directive written when you were healthy and active might not reflect your priorities after a cancer diagnosis, a stroke, or a dementia diagnosis. Specific treatment instructions that made sense before ("I want aggressive treatment for any reversible condition") might need revising.

How to Revoke a Personal Directive

Nova Scotia law provides two methods:

Method 1: Execute a new directive with a revocation clause. This is the cleanest approach. Your new Personal Directive should include a formal opening statement like: "I hereby revoke all previous Personal Directives made by me." The new directive must meet the same execution requirements as the original — signed, dated, and witnessed by one independent adult who is not your delegate or their spouse.

Method 2: Execute a standalone revocation document. If you want to cancel your existing directive without immediately replacing it, you can sign a written revocation instrument. It must be signed and witnessed under the same standards as a Personal Directive. This leaves you without any directive in place, so clinicians would rely on the statutory substitute decision-maker hierarchy if you lose capacity.

Once properly signed and witnessed, the revocation takes effect. No court filing is required and no government agency needs to be notified — the Personal Directives Act is entirely private.

Destroying Old Copies

This step matters more than people realize. Nova Scotia has no central registry for Personal Directives, so an outdated copy can create confusion about which wishes are current in an emergency.

After signing your new directive (or standalone revocation), track down and physically destroy every copy of the old one:

• The original in your Green Sleeve on the refrigerator
• Any copy in your family doctor's patient file
• Copies given to your former delegate, alternate delegates, or family members
• Digital scans stored in cloud folders, email attachments, or shared drives
• Any copy filed with a long-term care facility or hospital

Shred or burn paper copies. Delete digital files and empty the trash. Then send written notice to every person and institution that held a copy, confirming the revocation and providing a copy of the new directive.

Where to Store Your Current Directive

Because there is no provincial registry, the burden of making your directive accessible falls entirely on you. If first responders can't find it, they may default to full treatment because they do not have the information or medical order needed to act on those wishes.

The Green Sleeve. Nova Scotia Health's Green Sleeve program is the closest thing the province has to a standardized storage system. The Green Sleeve is a bright green plastic folder that EMS paramedics are trained to look for on or near the top of the refrigerator during an emergency call. Place your signed Personal Directive inside the sleeve alongside your completed Goals of Care form and any Expected Death at Home form.

You can ask your care team or Nova Scotia Health how to obtain a Green Sleeve.

Your delegate. Give your primary delegate and any alternate delegates a complete copy. They need to be able to produce it at a hospital if the original is at home and they're at the bedside.

Your family doctor. Ask your physician's office whether it can keep a copy in your medical record, but do not rely on that as a province-wide registry. Also give copies to your delegate and current care providers.

A wallet card. Carry a card in your wallet stating that you have a Personal Directive, naming your delegate with their phone number, and noting that the Green Sleeve is on your refrigerator. This helps if you're found incapacitated away from home.

Digital backup. Store a high-resolution PDF of the signed directive in a secure cloud folder and share the link with your delegate. A digital copy isn't a substitute for the signed original, but it gives your delegate access to the current information while the original is located.

A Regular Review Schedule

Consider reviewing your Personal Directive every two to three years, or immediately after any of the life events described above. The review doesn't require a lawyer — read through the document, confirm you still agree with the instructions, and verify that your delegate is still willing and able to serve.

If nothing has changed, you don't need to re-execute. If anything needs updating, draft a new directive with a revocation clause and go through the full destruction and notification process.

The Nova Scotia Advance Directive & Living Will Kit includes a revocation notification checklist, a document storage and access log, and step-by-step instructions for the Green Sleeve staging process — so you can manage the full lifecycle of your directive without missing a step.

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