§ 1003 [Validity of Deceased Patient Property Writings]

When someone dies and their will, deed, or other property document is being questioned in court, the doctor-patient privilege does not apply. This means a doctor can be forced to share private medical information about the deceased person if that information relates to whether the document was valid.

For example, if family members are fighting over whether a deceased person was mentally competent when they signed a will, a doctor could be called to testify about that person's mental or physical condition at the time. The deceased person's right to keep their medical information private does not block this kind of testimony.