Many pensioners in Germany are faced with the question of whether they need a living will and power of attorney.
Both have advantages and disadvantages.
Hamburg/Berlin – If you can no longer take care of your own affairs, you need someone to take care of the legal issues.
In the same way, many people need a precise regulation if they want or refuse medical measures in an emergency.
For this there is the so-called living will and power of attorney for consumers.
For pensioners in particular, the issue of regulation and authorization in health emergencies is an important issue.
24hamburg.de
explains what you need to know
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Goal: | prevention |
Affected: | citizens in Germany |
Regulation: | Living Will and Power of Attorney |
Special group: | Pensioner |
Living wills and health care powers of attorney: This has also changed for pensioners in 2023
Various reforms will come into force in 2023, which will also affect pensioners.
The guardianship law reform has strengthened the right to self-determination and expanded the pension register.
In addition to objections to the spouse's emergency representation right, isolated living wills can now also be registered in order to record individual pension regulations.
Previously, spouses could not make decisions about their partner's treatment in an emergency unless they were named as legal guardians in a health care proxy.
The new marital emergency representation law gives the spouses automatic decision-making powers for three months – in relation to medical and financial decisions such as treatment and care contracts.
In this context, many also ask themselves the question of what happens to the house if, as a pensioner, you have to go to a nursing home.
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Living wills and health care powers of attorney – what is worthwhile for pensioners is often an individual decision.
(24hamburg.de assembly)
© IMAGO (2) / Steinach
Living will: Pensioners should know these advantages and disadvantages
A living will is a written document in which a person sets out in advance their wishes and expectations regarding their medical care and treatment.
A living will, which you can also get from your family doctor for a fee, comes into effect if the person concerned is no longer able to make their own decisions about their medical treatment due to illness, accident or another cause.
Pensioners in particular should be aware of the following advantages and disadvantages of living wills:
Benefits of a living will:
Determine in advance which medical measures you want or reject.
This preserves self-determination.
Clear instructions to medical staff and relatives.
This can avoid misunderstandings or disagreements.
Relief for relatives to protect them from difficult decisions.
Disadvantages of a living will:
A living will cannot cover all possible situations or decisions that may arise during medical treatment.
It can happen that a living will is unclear or contradictory.
A living will needs to be updated regularly to ensure it is current and valid.
Advantages and disadvantages of a power of attorney for pensioners
In contrast to a living will, a power of attorney enables a pensioner to authorize one or more people in advance to make decisions on their behalf – if they are no longer able to do so due to old age, illness or an accident.
The health care proxy can cover various areas of life, such as health and care decisions, property and financial matters, and legal decisions.
With a Power of Attorney, the person can ensure that their wishes are respected and that a trusted person is managing their affairs, rather than having a guardianship court make a decision for them.
These are the advantages and disadvantages of a power of attorney:
Benefits of a Power of Attorney:
You can decide for yourself who should act for you when decisions are made.
It is also possible to nominate several people.
You can revoke the power of attorney at any time.
You determine which areas of life are to be covered by the authorized person
In an emergency, the authorized representative can act quickly without having to wait for the guardianship court.
Disadvantages of a power of attorney:
... but also therefore no control of the guardianship court.
Risk of the authorization being misused.
Without authentication, no important financial transactions such as banking or real estate transactions can be carried out.
By the way: If pensioners and surviving dependents remarry after losing a spouse, they are no longer entitled to a widow's pension.
There is still money – the pension settlement: This is how high the one-time payment for pensioners is.
List of rubrics: © IMAGO (2) / Steinach