Health care proxy

Advice and support in matters of health care proxies is available from local care authorities, care associations, lawyers and notaries. You can also contact the nearest local court with general questions about guardianship.

The Federal Chamber of Notaries offers the Central Register of Lasting Powers of Attorney. The Central Register of Lasting Powers of Attorney enables you to find lasting powers of attorney quickly and reliably.

• Register of precautionary measures

The power of attorney is generally valid without any form and can therefore also be issued verbally. However, even in cases where the law does not stipulate a mandatory form for the power of attorney as an exception, it is strongly recommended that it is drawn up in writing for security and also for reasons of proof.

In the case of notarization or legal representation: the statutory fee, the amount of which depends on the value of the matter.

• § Section 492 of the German Civil Code (BGB)
• § Section 1901c of the German Civil Code (BGB)
• § Section 415 of the Code of Civil Procedure (ZPO)
• § Section 1820 (2) of the German Civil Code (BGB)
• § Section 1831 of the German Civil Code (BGB)
• § Section 1832 of the German Civil Code (BGB)

• Application for registration of a health care proxy
• Application for registration of the authorized representative
• Sample of a health care proxy

See also the brochure

• Who can help me when...

The law stipulates that the power of attorney must be in writing in order to be effective in some important cases that are often the subject of powers of attorney. For example, if the health care proxy is also to authorize the proxy to consent/not consent or to revoke consent to medical measures and there is a risk that the person granting the power of attorney will die or suffer serious and prolonged damage to health as a result of the measure or failure to take the measure. In this case, the power of attorney must also expressly name the measures. The same applies if the authorized representative is to be entitled to arrange placement or placement-like measures, such as deprivation of liberty through mechanical devices such as bed rails or restraints. The consent of an authorized representative to a coercive medical measure and the consent for the necessary transfer of the principal to a hospital against his or her natural will also require that the power of attorney is granted in writing and expressly includes consent to these measures.

You can also have your signature on the power of attorney certified by the guardianship authority or a notary. This allows you to avoid any doubts about the authenticity and identity of your signature from the outset. A notarized form is - apart from exceptional cases (see below) - not necessary, but often useful. In particular, notarization of the power of attorney increases its evidential value considerably and largely excludes the possibility of objections being raised later against your legal capacity and the seriousness of your decision in the event of representation.

Notarization of the power of attorney is always necessary if the power of attorney is to be granted irrevocably for the purchase or sale of real estate or condominiums. A revocable power of attorney can also become de facto irrevocable if the grantor of the power of attorney becomes legally incapacitated and can therefore no longer declare an effective revocation of the power of attorney. It is therefore advisable to have every health care proxy that also authorizes the purchase or sale of real estate notarized. If the power of attorney is to authorize the taking out of consumer loans, notarization is also required. Although a power of attorney to take out a consumer loan can also be issued in writing, it must then contain certain information on the respective consumer loan agreement in accordance with the German Civil Code, which can only be provided once the content of the agreement has already been negotiated. A precautionary power of attorney, which is only intended to generally authorize the taking out of consumer loans at a later date, cannot contain such information. Notarization also makes sense if you run a commercial business or are a partner in a partnership or corporation. Notarization can also avoid any subsequent doubts about the validity of the power of attorney, because notarization proves that you and no one else made the declarations in the power of attorney and that nothing has been changed or added.

23.03.2023