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What is a living will?

In the event of an accident or illness, close relatives are not automatically authorized to legally represent you. With a living will, you can make a precautionary statement of your wishes regarding medical and nursing treatment.

A living will is a written statement of your wishes to doctors (or authorized representatives, legal guardians, nursing services, hospices, relatives) in the event that you are no longer able to decide on your own medical and nursing treatment.

For example, because you: 

According to Section 1901a of the German Civil Code (BGB), there is a legal right to the living will being observed. Failure to do so is considered bodily harm.

2 What is regulated in a living will?

The living will sets out in writing which medical and nursing measures should be carried out - and which should not.

A living will also sets out wishes with regard to life-sustaining measures. It is necessary to take a position on this if the doctors are to follow the instructions in the living will.

This applies to these measures, among others:

3 Why is a living will useful?

In the event of an accident or illness, many people do not want to "twilight" for years, but want to be remembered as alive as they were. With a living will, you decide for yourself when doctors should exhaust the possibilities of human or device medicine and what care measures should follow.

It is true that spouses or life partners can make decisions for each other in emergency medical situations within the framework of spousal emergency representation law. However, this has strict limits: This provision expressly refers only to emergencies. Spouses are only authorized to act if a doctor has confirmed their partner's incapacity in writing.

In addition, the spouse's emergency power of attorney is only valid for a maximum of 6 months. A living will is recommended for comprehensive precautions, as it offers considerably more freedom of action.

Without a living will, the doctor or authorized representative or legal guardian must jointly determine the patient's presumed will.

4 What are the requirements for a living will?

The author must be of legal age and capable of giving consent.

The living will is valid without restriction, provided it meets the legal requirements. It comes into force when you sign it and is valid until your death, unless you revoke or destroy it.

5 How do you draw up a living will?

The living will must be in writing (not necessarily handwritten) and must always be signed and dated by hand. If necessary, the signature of a witness (e.g. a doctor) is advisable.

6 How is a living will formulated?

In principle, a living will can be freely formulated. Here are a few tips.

Premature general waivers and vague formulations, e.g:

It is better to clearly define when the waiver applies.

The regulations on living wills are legally valued higher than those on organ donation.

If you want to combine both, add the following passage to the living will: "If, in the event of imminent brain death, I can be considered as an organ donor according to medical assessment and medical measures must be carried out or maintained in the short term to maintain vital functions, then my willingness to donate my organs will take precedence until then."

It can be useful to regularly review the contents of the living will and revise it if necessary, especially if your wishes or your medical situation have changed. 

7 Where is the living will kept?

It is important that the living will can be found in the event of an emergency! It is therefore advisable to keep it easily accessible (e.g. in an "Important documents" folder). Also inform your family, your doctor and your closest confidants about the living will.

It is also advisable to make a note on an emergency card: "My living will is located ...". It is also advisable to register in the Central Register of Advance Directives of the Federal Chamber of Notaries - hospitals must carry out research here. 

8 What is the difference between a living will and a health care proxy?

With a living will, you decide as a precautionary measure which medical and nursing treatments should be carried out if you are no longer able to make decisions yourself.
With a health care proxy, you transfer these and other decisions to a person you trust. In the health care proxy, you make arrangements for the areas of health care, residence and housing matters, property care, post and telecommunications, and official matters, among others.

It makes sense to draw up the living will together with the health care proxy. This allows you to make comprehensive provisions for all areas of life.

9 Download: Living will form

You can download the form free of charge from the website of the Federal Ministry of Justice:

Living will form

Another option is the legally compliant creation and archiving of a living will via our cooperation partner Deutsche Vorsorgedatenbank.

Not only useful in old age

pme Familienservice advises and supports your employees

When exactly does the living will come into effect? How can it be used if I have no relatives who can make it for me? What happens if I have an accident abroad? There are often many questions about living wills. 

At pme Familienservice , we advise employees of our cooperation companies with a corresponding contract and support them in drawing up an individual living will. 

Find out more about the pme Familienservice