Step by Step Towards a Healthcare Proxy

Prepare for emergencies: In the event of a stroke or after an accident, you may not be able to talk to doctors yourself.

In order for your partner, family or close confidants to be able to make decisions for you, you must grant them power of attorney.

You can compose your power of attorney with a computer or by hand. This form from the Federal Ministry of Justice and Consumer Protection is also helpful.

Choose a close family member, your partner or a good friend.

Be sure to ask if this person wants to be your representative. After all, there is a great deal of responsibility involved.

You can appoint one or more people as your representative. Several representatives can, for example, take care of different aspects of life or decide on everything together.

The person you have chosen can:

• take care of all your affairs or
• take care of selected aspects (e.g. only health issues).

The representative can, for example: 

• decide where you should live when you can no longer live in your own home,
• talk to the doctors who are to treat you and decide what medical treatment you will receive in hospital,
• enforce your Patient Decree,
• manage your assets and pay bills, 
• talk to the authorities and arrange your affairs with them.

Exception: For banking transactions, you need a bank mandate. Contact your bank or savings bank about this.

Are you unsure of something or do you have any questions? You can turn to the Consumer Advice Centre in advance.

You must sign the healthcare proxy for it to become valid. Also write down the location and date of the signature.

Important: Your representative must show the original power of attorney to be able to take care of you in an emergency. They therefore must know where the power of attorney is located. 

You can also register the healthcare proxy and the name of the representative(s) with the Zentralen Vorsorgeregister der Bundesnotarkammer (“Central Provision Register of the Federal Council of Notaries”).

You can always revise the content of the healthcare proxy or change representatives. 
If you write a new power of attorney, you must destroy the old one. 
If you have registered the healthcare proxy, remember to change the entry in the Zentralen Vorsorgeregister (“Central Provision Register”).