Living will

With a living will, you specify in advance which treatment and life-sustaining measures you would like to receive from the doctors treating you in an emergency.

Description

If you are no longer able to decide on your own medical treatment, a living will can help. In the advance directive, you can specify in advance which measures should and should not be taken in specific cases of illness.

Refer to your living will in a health care proxy or care directive and inform your authorised representative or carer. This will ensure that the wishes in your living will can be honoured if necessary.

Note: A living will does not need to be notarised.

Prerequisites

As long as you are capable of giving consent, you can draw up, amend or revoke your living will at any time.

Required documents

You can use the template provided by the Munich care centre or write your own document. Your wishes must be clearly stated in the document. It is also important that the specific illness situations are clearly described. We recommend that you seek medical advice when drawing up a living will.

The template is included in the "Form set of the Munich Care Centre", which you can download under "Forms and links". Printed copies are available from the care centre or at the information desks in the social centres. We will send you up to two powers of attorney by post if you send us a stamped envelope with 1.60 euros.

Questions & Answers

Does a living will have to be medically reviewed?
A medical or legal review is not mandatory. However, medical advice can be helpful in order to fill out the living will correctly.
It makes sense to leave a copy of the living will with your family doctor or to inform a trusted person of the other storage location.

Do I have to renew the living will?
There is no obligation to do so. However, you should re-sign your living will every one to two years to confirm that it is up to date.

Where can I get personal advice?
The Munich guardianship associations will provide you with personalised information close to your home and free of charge. You can also obtain information on living wills and other advance directives from the care centre of the City of Munich.

Legal basis

  • §§ 1814 ff. BGB
  • Guardianship Authorities Act (BtBG)
  • Act on the Procedure in Family Matters and in Matters of Non-Contentious Jurisdiction (FamFG)
  • Social Codes

Landeshauptstadt München

Sozialreferat
Schuldner- und Insolvenzberatung, Betreuungsstelle

Internet

Postal address

Landeshauptstadt München
Sozialreferat
Schuldner- und Insolvenzberatung, Betreuungsstelle

Mathildenstraße 3a
80336 München

Fax: +49 89 233-25056

Address

Mathildenstraße 3a
80336 München

Telephone consultation hours:
Monday to Friday: 9 am to 12 pm
Thursday: 2 to 4 pm

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