Decide beforehand
If you have trustworthy people by your side, you can specify in advance in a health care proxy (Switzerland: Vorsorgeauftrag) who may and should later act on your behalf – for example, if you can no longer make decisions for yourself due to an illness or accident. The prerequisite, of course, is that the trusted person in question is also willing to accept the power of attorney.
Validity of the power of attorney
Every health care proxy should be issued in writing. They specify the areas in which the power of attorney is valid. It can cover all areas of life (general power of attorney) – the authorized person then has full decision-making power in all situations in life. The counterpart to this would be a special power of attorney (individual power of attorney), which only regulates certain responsibilities, for example:
- Management of assets
- Disposal of real estate
- Representation in pension, provision and tax matters.
- Health matters (e.g. consent to operations) –> health power of attorney (see below)
- Decisions on measures involving deprivation of liberty (e.g. fitting of bed rails or belts only with the court’s consent)
- Determination of residence, including placement in a nursing home
- Inspection of medical records and contact with attending physicians
- Personal care (personal matters), e.g. accommodation, treatment, nursing. If a living will also exists, it should be noted in the advance directive that this takes precedence over the advance directive.
- Asset management (financial matters)
- Legal transactions (legal matters)
Special case of health care power of attorney
Please note: A health care power of attorney is not identical to a living will.
Create and deposit a power of attorney
If you do not explicitly specify a time from which the power of attorney is to take effect, it is valid from the time it is signed. Keep the document in a safe place that is also known to all authorized representatives. This can be at a bank, a lawyer or a notary.
* Federal Chamber of Notaries (chamber under public law), Central Register of Provisions, e-mail: [email protected], Internet: www.vorsorgeregister.de Telephone: 0800 – 35 50 500 (toll-free)
In Austria, a health care proxy is not effective as soon as it is signed. Rather, it requires a further step, namely at the moment when the grantor of the power of attorney loses the decision-making capacity for the matters specified in the power of attorney (evidenced by a medical certificate). The power of attorney must then be registered in the Austrian Central Register of Representatives (ÖZV). It is then effective.
It is best to keep the original advance directive in an easy-to-find place. In some cantons, you can also deposit it with the child and adult protection authority (KESB) for a fee. A copy can be given to the authorized representative – with information on where the original is kept.
The advance directive becomes valid as soon as it has been checked and validated by the KESB. The authorized representative then receives a corresponding document.
A case for one or more
It makes sense for you to give power of attorney to a somewhat younger person who will most likely be resilient for years to come and who has some organizational talent. Your life partner may enjoy your utmost trust, but he or she may become incapable of making decisions sooner than you due to a sudden illness.
Downloads:
- Health Care Proxy (Germany)
- Health Care Proxy (Austria)
- Health Care Proxy (Switzerland)