10 tips on health care proxy and why you need it

A bad accident or a stroke - we can't predict if something will happen to us, nor can we prevent it. But there is something we can do:

Prevention, so that important things are decided in our best interests should a medical emergency arise. One possibility is the health care proxy.

It prevents a court from appointing a guardian to make decisions for us. Even family members do not automatically have this power of attorney - they must be appointed.

Create your individual health care proxy directly here and sign up for Ninebarc for free.

What is a health care proxy?

A health care power of attorney is a document that specifies one or more people to take care of your personal and most important affairs should you become unable to do so. Without a health care power of attorney, a third-party guardian is usually appointed by the court.

1. The health care proxy consists of two sections.

Personal care: medical treatment and place of residence

Asset management: asset management and banking matters

The health care proxy does not have to be granted for all areas. You can select areas.

2. Important notes

Such an arrangement also has disadvantages. The proxy is not controlled by anyone. He or she acts alone as your legal representative. It is therefore possible that he or she withdraws money from your bank account or makes decisions about your life that you do not like. It is therefore important to clarify your wishes and ideas with the candidate during your lifetime and to choose someone in whom you have complete trust.

The health care proxy should therefore only be issued to someone you trust.

3. Care decree

If you do not want to completely relinquish decision-making power even in an emergency, you can draw up a care directive. With this document, you tell the guardianship court who you want as a guardian and also who you do not want to appoint. The guardian is appointed and controlled by the court. In addition, the guardianship order contains details of your wishes in relation to medical or other personal matters. Here you can state that you want to be cared for at home for as long as possible or which nursing home you would like to go to.

4. health care proxy or living will? Both!

If you already have precise ideas about how decisions should be made in medical matters, a living will may be important. Here you can determine yourself which measures should be taken in a medical emergency and which should not. The health care proxy does not specify the criteria according to which the person designated by you should make decisions.

If you have neither, an independent guardian or carer will be appointed by the court to decide what is best for you.

Health is a very personal decision. Anyone who wants to make important medical decisions themselves until the end of life also needs a living will, because a health care proxy is not sufficient. If it is a matter of life and death, the proxy cannot make decisions for himself or herself, only with the approval of a guardianship court. If you have a living will, there is clarity between doctor and patient about what treatments should and should not be carried out. In this case, a judicial decision is not necessary.

• Care directive

Proposes persons to the court to act as guardians (Decisions are controlled by the court)

• Health Care Proxy

You yourself authorise one or more persons of your choice and thus prevent the appointment of a third-party guardian by the court. (The authorised representative decides alone)

• Living will

Instructions to guardian or proxy about medical decisions, especially at the end of life

Create a free account now and simply generate a template for your individual health care proxy.

5. Why not the family?

The law prevents family members from automatically taking over the care of an adult who can no longer make decisions for themselves.

Before you register a person you trust for a health care proxy, you should discuss the matter in person. The proxy takes on important tasks that can also be burdensome. He or she may have to find a nursing home, liquidate an apartment, fill out forms, handle banking matters, and pay bills. This can be a lot for one person, so you can include more than one person in the power of attorney to share the responsibilities.

6. In what form must the document be written?

The health care power of attorney is a contract between you and the agent or agents.

The following details must be included:

• Location

• Date

• First and last names

• Address

• Date of birth

The contract must be signed and the proxy or proxies must also be named with their full name, address and date of birth. The authorized persons should also sign the contract to signal that they want to take over the responsibility.

You can find samples of health care proxies at the medical associations of the federal states or at the Federal Ministry of Justice.

7. The authorised representative may be appointed in the following areas

You can specify which areas the power of attorney applies to with a task list. If a house purchase or sale is pending, notarisation is necessary. Many banks do not accept a health care power of attorney, so you should fill out various bank forms before the authorized representative can act on your behalf.

• Asset Matters

Account management

Settle accounts

Sell house or flat

• Health care

Choose a doctor, physician or nurse

Hospital Affairs

Access medical records

Allow examinations or treatments

• Residence and housing matters

Nursing home or at home

Decisions about house or apartment

• Mail and telephone as well as internet and mobile phone

Read mail and emails

Conclude or cancel mobile phone or telephone contracts

• Authorities and courts

Instruct lawyers, solicitors

Request IDs

Pension insurance matters

• Death

Place of burial and method of burial

8. Important details

• In order to arrange everything on your behalf, for example to arrange cancellations of existing contracts, an authorised representative or agent must have access to all accounts, memberships, contracts or subscriptions.

• There are also areas that cannot be mentioned in a health care proxy and where no one else can make decisions for you.

• Will: no one can write a will for you

• Marriage: No one can decide for you to marry

• Dangerous surgeries: The decision to have a heart transplant or similar dangerous treatments cannot be made for you. (This is where the court must get involved.)

• Matters that cannot be decided by the authorised representative(s) shall be decided by the guardianship court.

• You can only grant a health care proxy if you are legally competent. You must be at least 18 years old. You can also revoke a power of attorney for health care by informing the authorized representative or agent in writing and destroying the original power of attorney.

9. How can I prevent abuse?

When you issue a health care proxy, you determine the scope of the decision-making power yourself. An unrestricted power of attorney is a general power of attorney; it also gives the authorized person the right to make monetary gifts on behalf of the principal. However, you can specify the amount of gifts in advance and describe for what purpose they are allowed.

To prevent abuse, several people can be appointed either as individual proxies for specific areas or collectively as a group.

With a joint health care proxy, the authorised persons can only make decisions and act together. However, this can also have disadvantages. If the persons do not agree, measures can be blocked by the veto of one person. To prevent this, it is good to assign different areas to proxies or even to establish an order of priority.

10. When does the health care proxy end

Usually, it ends with the death of the grantor of the power of attorney. To ensure that it is still valid after death, it is worth introducing a clause stipulating this. This way, the proxy can still take care of the funeral. The power of attorney can then be terminated by the revocation of the heirs.

Conclusion

When we suddenly and unexpectedly can no longer make decisions for our own lives for medical or other reasons, someone has to step in. An accident or stroke could be such a situation.

The protection through a health care power of attorney has nothing to do with age. Even young couples who own a property benefit in an emergency from having handed over the powers of attorney to their partner. Because without a power of attorney, even spouses are not recognized as legal representatives.

With your Ninebarc account you can create an individual and legally compliant template for your health care proxy and gain access to more precaution-related documents.

Sign up for free now