Health care proxy
The advance care directive is a legal document in which you make provisions for the event that you become incapable of judgment. In other words, if you are no longer able to manage your everyday life and your own affairs due to an accident, illness or other circumstances, you have the option of appointing a person to make decisions on your behalf with an advance care directive. This allows you to ensure that your personal wishes and ideas are fulfilled. Otherwise, official measures will be ordered and, if necessary, a guardian will be appointed by the KESB.
The advance care directive basically covers three areas:
- Personal care: health, medical care, determination of residence, general well-being. In this area, there are overlaps with the living will. You can either appoint the same person or ensure that responsibilities are clearly defined.
- Property care: financial decisions, income management, asset protection. Property custody is linked to personal custody.
- Representation in legal dealings with banks, authorities, business partners, family, etc.
We will be happy to advise you individually, taking your current situation into account.
Thanks to the advance care directive, your self-determination is guaranteed. Otherwise, official measures will be ordered and, if necessary, a guardian will be appointed by the KESB. With an advance care directive, you can relieve your family, as it gives clear instructions and regulates who is responsible for your personal and financial affairs. This helps to avoid conflicts within the family and makes it easier for your loved ones to make decisions in difficult times.
We will be happy to advise you on the preparation of your advance care directive and work with you to draw up an individual template. In principle, an advance care directive is valid if it is written, dated and signed by hand. Or we can organize a notarial certification for you. Contact us and we will work with you to find the right solution.
The advance care directive only comes into force once the incapacity has been confirmed and validation by the KESB has taken place. It is valid as long as the person concerned is incapable of judgment and is alive.
Yes, even if you are married, it can make sense to draw up an advance care directive. Although spouses have a right of representation and can act on each other’s behalf, there are limits to the decisions you can make without specific powers of attorney or legal documents. An advance care directive enables you to arrange certain matters in advance and ensure that your wishes are respected.
Whether the advance care directive can be deposited with the KESB is regulated at cantonal level. In the canton of Solothurn, for example, this is not possible, but it is in the canton of Aargau. However, you can make a note at the registry office of where you have deposited the advance directive (e.g. “in the red folder in the chest of drawers”) so that people know that there is one and where it is kept if necessary. Of course, it is important that you inform the relevant persons, especially the authorized representatives, where the original of the advance care directive is located. This enables them to act quickly in an emergency. It is not advisable to deposit the advance directive in the safe deposit box at the bank, as access is only granted to the heirs under certain conditions. If you wish, we can keep your advance care directive with us and take the necessary steps in the event of an emergency.
Living will
In the living will, you specify your treatment wishes in the event that you are no longer able to make your own decisions. This allows you to make your own decisions about your healthcare. The living will also serves as a guide for doctors and relatives to ensure that your wishes are respected. If your medical wishes are unclear, relatives may disagree about what decisions should be made for you. A living will can avoid conflicts and help to ensure that decisions are made in the patient’s best interests. In the living will, you also specify which medical treatments you want or do not want and whether you want life-sustaining measures such as artificial respiration or artificial nutrition.
The advance care directive specifies who is responsible for you in financial, legal and medical matters in the event of incapacity and who should act on your behalf. With a living will, you specify how you wish to be treated. We recommend that you draw up both an advance care directive and a living will. Please note that the power of attorney must be validated and activated by the KESB before the designated person can act on your behalf. However, the living will is valid as soon as it has been signed.
Naturally. We recommend a regular review of the directive (every three to four years) to ensure that your wishes and requirements are still up to date. The health situation and life circumstances change and we change with them. If you want to make a change, you can do this by making handwritten entries, dated and signed, in an existing document. However, the document must remain legible and unambiguous.
In the living will, you record your ideas and wishes in writing and thus ensure that treatment is carried out as you wish in the event of disagreements or doubts. They also relieve the burden on relatives in a difficult situation and provide clarity. Write your living will in as much detail as possible to help your relatives make the right decision for you.
Your living will is binding for doctors if it is handwritten, dated and signed and does not violate any legal regulations.
Yes, because accidents also affect younger people, with unforeseeable consequences. In the worst cases, accidents lead to coma or severe brain damage, which can last for months. It is therefore advisable to draw up a living will for younger people too.
The living will is used in the event of incapacity. This means when someone is so impaired that he or she is no longer able to make medical decisions. The instructions in the living will then come into play.
It is best to keep your living will where it can be easily found in an emergency. Also make sure that your representative has access to the original document. Alternatively, you can leave your living will with us. We would be happy to discuss possible options with you.
We will be happy to advise you on the various options and the implications of a living will and recommend that you discuss your instructions with your doctor in any case. In this way, you can ensure that the measures you have taken are also sensible and feasible for you.
Estate planning
The executor is responsible for settling the estate in accordance with the testator’s will and in compliance with the legal requirements. He takes care of the administrative tasks, ensures that everything runs smoothly, that the last will and testament is complied with, that the inheritance is secured and prevents potential conflicts. This relieves the burden on relatives and allows them to concentrate on their grief. The executor can take action immediately after the death and fulfill outstanding liabilities until the competent authority has completed the heir tracing process. We are happy to take on this task for you.
The decision as to whether you need a will depends on various factors: Your assets, your family situation and your wishes regarding the distribution of your estate. A will also helps to minimize potential disputes among heirs by giving clear instructions on how to distribute your assets. We will be happy to advise you and organize the legal review of your will to ensure that it complies with the legal requirements and meets your needs.
A will is a one-page document in which you record your last wishes for the distribution of your estate. An inheritance contract, on the other hand, is an agreement between the testator and heirs that contains binding provisions.
Naturally. We even recommend a periodic review of your estate planning, especially if your circumstances or wishes change. It is important to ensure that your documents are always up to date.
Yes, the distribution of the estate is determined by statutory provisions. However, there is also scope for the testator to determine his or her own ideas for the distribution of the inheritance. These are then implemented as long as they do not violate mandatory legal provisions. The statutory provisions do not always correspond to the individual wishes of the testator. For this reason, many people opt for targeted estate planning by drawing up a will to ensure that their assets are distributed according to their own wishes.
You can keep your will at home in a safe place. You must ensure that your heirs and the executor have access to this location. It is not recommended to deposit the will in the safe deposit box at the bank, as access is only granted to the heirs under certain conditions. Alternatively, you can deposit the will with us or, for a fee, with the inheritance office or a notary.
Instructions in the event of death and funeral arrangements
In the instructions for the event of death, you specify your wishes for your funeral and define how it should be handled. You can choose the coffin and – in the case of cremation – the urn, plan the funeral and express your music wishes. When the time comes, we make sure that you get the farewell you wanted. We would be happy to advise you personally and individually.
In any case, the arrangements can be adapted. We recommend a regular review of the funeral arrangements, because life changes and we change with it.
Yes, this is possible, but it is not a must. Your family will then have to pay for the funeral costs. We would be happy to advise you individually on this topic.
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