# Advance care directive and living will

If illness, an accident or dementia leaves you incapable of judgement, you can no longer decide for yourself. With an advance care directive, you determine in advance who looks after your person, your assets and your legal affairs. With a living will, you set out which medical procedures you agree to, and who talks to the doctors if necessary. Without such documents, only spouses and registered partners have a limited statutory right of representation for everyday matters. For medical decisions, the law sets out an order of family members. For everything else, the adult protection authority (KESB) must intervene. You can only create both documents while you yourself are capable of judgement.

This guide covers: The advance care directive (Art. 360-369 CC) for representation in personal, financial and legal matters in the event of incapacity of judgement, the living will (Art. 370-373 CC) for medical decisions, and statutory representation by spouses and registered partners and representation for medical procedures where no such documents exist.

Not covered: Provision for minor children, care-related hospitalisation, the law of succession and wills, and cantonal forms and fees in detail. There are separate guides on these, or cantonal information services.

## Your answers

- What would you like to arrange? (Who looks after my assets and my affairs (advance care directive) / What medical treatment I want or don't want (living will) / Both / I don't know yet)
- What is your current living situation? (Married or in a registered partnership / Unmarried, but living with a partner / Living alone / I don't know, or would rather not say)
- Have you already made an advance care directive or a living will? (Yes / No / I'm not sure)
- Who do you want to arrange this for? (For myself, as a precaution / Someone close to me has already become incapable of judgement / I don't know)

## Watch out

An advance care directive is not a will. It does not settle who receives your assets after your death; you set that out in a will, a separate document with its own formal requirements. The advance care directive only governs representation during your lifetime, for as long as you are incapable of judgement, and is subject to its own safeguards, such as review by the adult protection authority. The Federal Supreme Court has expressly distinguished between these two legal transactions.

Sources: [BGer 5A_336/2024 vom 17. Januar 2025, E. 3.5.4](https://mcp.opencaselaw.ch/entscheid/bger_5A_336_2024#e-3-5-4)

The KESB checks not only whether your advance care directive is formally valid, but also whether the person you chose is actually suitable to take on the specific tasks. In a case that went as far as the Federal Supreme Court, the cantonal court considered an appointee suitable for personal care, but not for asset management, because of an ongoing family conflict. For each area of responsibility, therefore, choose a person who is genuinely suitable for it, and bear family tensions in mind.

*Applies if: What would you like to arrange? → Who looks after my assets and my affairs (advance care directive) / Both / I don't know yet*

Sources: [ZGB · Art. 363](https://www.fedlex.admin.ch/eli/cc/24/233_245_233/de#art_363), [BGer 5A_624/2024 vom 27. August 2025, E. 3.2.1](https://mcp.opencaselaw.ch/entscheid/bger_5A_624_2024#e-3-2-1)

The appointee can terminate the advance care directive at any time, giving two months' notice, by written notice to the KESB; for good cause, they may terminate it without notice. Check periodically, therefore, whether the person you chose is still willing and able to take on the task, and keep a substitute ready.

*Applies if: What would you like to arrange? → Who looks after my assets and my affairs (advance care directive) / Both / I don't know yet*

Sources: [ZGB · Art. 367](https://www.fedlex.admin.ch/eli/cc/24/233_245_233/de#art_367)

If your interests are endangered or no longer protected, the KESB intervenes of its own motion or at the request of someone close to you. It can give the appointee instructions, require an inventory, periodic accounts or reports, or withdraw some or all of their powers. So a family member who notices problems can turn to the KESB at any time.

*Applies if: What would you like to arrange? → Who looks after my assets and my affairs (advance care directive) / Both / I don't know yet*

Sources: [ZGB · Art. 368](https://www.fedlex.admin.ch/eli/cc/24/233_245_233/de#art_368)

In urgent cases, the doctor does not wait to check for a living will or for the person entitled to represent you, but immediately takes the necessary medical procedures, in accordance with your presumed will and your interests.

*Applies if: What would you like to arrange? → What medical treatment I want or don't want (living will) / Both / I don't know yet*

Sources: [ZGB · Art. 379](https://www.fedlex.admin.ch/eli/cc/24/233_245_233/de#art_379)

Without an advance care directive, the statutory right of representation for everyday matters and assets applies only between spouses or registered partners who live together or provide each other with regular personal care, and even then only to a limited extent. If you live with a partner without being married, or if you live alone, that person, however close to you they may be, has no such statutory right of representation for asset and legal matters; for medical procedures, a partner who lives in the same household as you and looks after you can still be entitled to represent you under the statutory order. If your interests are otherwise endangered and there is no valid provision in place, the KESB must intervene, generally with a deputyship. This is an important reason to make an advance care directive, particularly as an unmarried couple or as a person living alone.

*Applies if: What is your current living situation? → Unmarried, but living with a partner / Living alone / I don't know, or would rather not say*

Sources: [ZGB · Art. 374](https://www.fedlex.admin.ch/eli/cc/24/233_245_233/de#art_374), [ZGB · Art. 378](https://www.fedlex.admin.ch/eli/cc/24/233_245_233/de#art_378), [ZGB · Art. 388](https://www.fedlex.admin.ch/eli/cc/24/233_245_233/de#art_388)

## What to do

**1.** Tell the Civil Register Office that you have made an advance care directive, and where it is deposited. On request, the office records this in a central database that the adult protection authority can access if needed. This does not replace carefully keeping the original itself.

*Applies if: What would you like to arrange? → Who looks after my assets and my affairs (advance care directive) / Both / I don't know yet*

Sources: [ZGB · Art. 361](https://www.fedlex.admin.ch/eli/cc/24/233_245_233/de#art_361)

**2.** Choose a person you trust, who is able to take on the task in terms of time and in person, and speak to them beforehand. Also name a substitute in case the first person is not suitable, does not accept the directive, or later terminates it. You can split the tasks, for example assigning personal care and asset management to different people.

*Applies if: What would you like to arrange? → Who looks after my assets and my affairs (advance care directive) / Both / I don't know yet*

Sources: [ZGB · Art. 360](https://www.fedlex.admin.ch/eli/cc/24/233_245_233/de#art_360)

**3.** If a wording in the advance care directive is unclear, or a secondary point needs to be added that you have not settled, the appointee can ask the KESB to interpret or supplement it. Describe the tasks as clearly as possible, therefore, to spare the appointee this step later.

*Applies if: What would you like to arrange? → Who looks after my assets and my affairs (advance care directive) / Both / I don't know yet*

Sources: [ZGB · Art. 364](https://www.fedlex.admin.ch/eli/cc/24/233_245_233/de#art_364)

**4.** Have the fact that you have made a living will, and where it is deposited, entered on your health insurance card. This way, the treatment team can quickly find out in an emergency that a document exists and where it is kept. Also give a copy to the person of trust you have designated and to your GP.

*Applies if: What would you like to arrange? → What medical treatment I want or don't want (living will) / Both / I don't know yet*

Sources: [ZGB · Art. 371](https://www.fedlex.admin.ch/eli/cc/24/233_245_233/de#art_371)

**5.** Here is how to proceed: draft the text, describe the tasks or medical wishes clearly, and discuss the draft with the intended person. Use a recognised template, for example from a cantonal authority, a professional organisation or a notary, rather than starting from scratch. Then write, date and sign the advance care directive by hand, or have it made as a public deed; for the living will, it is enough for it to be typed, dated and signed. Keep the original close at hand, and tell your family and people you trust where it is kept.

*Applies if: Have you already made an advance care directive or a living will? → No / I'm not sure*

**6.** Review your existing document periodically, for example every two to three years or after important events such as marriage, separation, a move, or a new diagnosis, and give a changed version a new date. Ask the appointees whether they still want to take on the task, and tell your family that the documents exist and where they are kept.

*Applies if: Have you already made an advance care directive or a living will? → Yes / I'm not sure*

## The law

Two documents let you make provision for the case that illness, an accident or dementia leaves you incapable of judgement: with an advance care directive, you determine who looks after your person and your assets and represents you in legal transactions. With a living will, you set out which medical procedures you agree to or do not agree to, and who talks to the doctors if necessary. You can create one, the other, or both documents; they complement each other.

Sources: [ZGB · Art. 360](https://www.fedlex.admin.ch/eli/cc/24/233_245_233/de#art_360), [ZGB · Art. 370](https://www.fedlex.admin.ch/eli/cc/24/233_245_233/de#art_370)

You can only create an advance care directive while you have capacity to act: you must be of full age and capable of judgement, that is, able to recognise the significance of your decision and to act accordingly. For a living will, capacity of judgement alone is enough; the law does not prescribe a minimum age for it. What always matters is the point in time when you create the document. If you later become incapable of judgement, a validly created document remains effective even so.

Sources: [ZGB · Art. 13](https://www.fedlex.admin.ch/eli/cc/24/233_245_233/de#art_13), [ZGB · Art. 16](https://www.fedlex.admin.ch/eli/cc/24/233_245_233/de#art_16), [ZGB · Art. 360](https://www.fedlex.admin.ch/eli/cc/24/233_245_233/de#art_360), [ZGB · Art. 370](https://www.fedlex.admin.ch/eli/cc/24/233_245_233/de#art_370)

In the advance care directive, you instruct one or more natural persons or legal entities to take on your personal care or the management of your assets, or to represent you in legal transactions, in the event that you become incapable of judgement. You must describe the tasks you want to assign, and you can give the appointee instructions on how to carry them out.

*Applies if: What would you like to arrange? → Who looks after my assets and my affairs (advance care directive) / Both / I don't know yet*

Sources: [ZGB · Art. 360](https://www.fedlex.admin.ch/eli/cc/24/233_245_233/de#art_360)

An advance care directive is only valid if you write it out completely by hand from beginning to end, date it and sign it, or if you have it made as a public deed, that is, before a notary. A document written on a computer and only signed is not enough. If the form is not followed, the document does not count as an advance care directive. If it contains instructions on medical treatment and is dated and signed, these can, however, count as a living will.

*Applies if: What would you like to arrange? → Who looks after my assets and my affairs (advance care directive) / Both / I don't know yet*

Sources: [ZGB · Art. 361](https://www.fedlex.admin.ch/eli/cc/24/233_245_233/de#art_361), [ZGB · Art. 371](https://www.fedlex.admin.ch/eli/cc/24/233_245_233/de#art_371)

Your advance care directive only takes effect once the adult protection authority (KESB) establishes this. If it learns that someone has become incapable of judgement, it asks the Civil Register Office whether there is an advance care directive. If one exists, it checks whether it was validly made, whether incapacity of judgement has actually occurred, whether the appointee is suitable, and whether further measures are needed. If the appointee accepts the directive, the KESB advises them of their duties and issues them with a document setting out their powers.

*Applies if: What would you like to arrange? → Who looks after my assets and my affairs (advance care directive) / Both / I don't know yet*

Sources: [ZGB · Art. 363](https://www.fedlex.admin.ch/eli/cc/24/233_245_233/de#art_363)

The appointee represents you only within what the advance care directive describes, and must carry out their tasks with due care, as required by the rules on agency contracts. If they must deal with a matter that the advance care directive does not cover, or if they have their own interests in a matter that conflict with yours, they must notify the KESB without delay. In the event of such a conflict of interest, their powers cease to apply by operation of law.

*Applies if: What would you like to arrange? → Who looks after my assets and my affairs (advance care directive) / Both / I don't know yet*

Sources: [ZGB · Art. 365](https://www.fedlex.admin.ch/eli/cc/24/233_245_233/de#art_365)

If you become capable of judgement again, the advance care directive loses its effect by operation of law. If your interests would be endangered by this, the appointee must continue to carry out the assigned tasks even so, until you can safeguard your own interests again. Transactions that the appointee carries out before they learn that the directive has ended remain binding on you, as if the directive still existed.

*Applies if: What would you like to arrange? → Who looks after my assets and my affairs (advance care directive) / Both / I don't know yet*

Sources: [ZGB · Art. 369](https://www.fedlex.admin.ch/eli/cc/24/233_245_233/de#art_369)

In the living will, you set out which medical procedures you agree to, and which you do not, in the event that you become incapable of judgement. You can also designate a person who, if you become incapable of judgement, discusses the medical procedures with the attending doctor and decides on your behalf, and you can give this person instructions. Here too, you can name a substitute.

*Applies if: What would you like to arrange? → What medical treatment I want or don't want (living will) / Both / I don't know yet*

Sources: [ZGB · Art. 370](https://www.fedlex.admin.ch/eli/cc/24/233_245_233/de#art_370)

A living will must be made in writing, dated and signed; unlike the advance care directive, you do not have to write it by hand, and a printed and signed form is enough.

*Applies if: What would you like to arrange? → What medical treatment I want or don't want (living will) / Both / I don't know yet*

Sources: [ZGB · Art. 371](https://www.fedlex.admin.ch/eli/cc/24/233_245_233/de#art_371)

If you are incapable of judgement and it is not known whether a living will exists, the attending doctor checks this using your health insurance card, except in urgent cases. If a living will exists, the doctor must follow it, unless it violates statutory provisions, or there is reasonable doubt that it is based on your free will or still corresponds to your presumed will. If the doctor departs from it, they must record the reasons in the patient's file. That the doctor considers a different treatment better is not a reason to depart from it. You can also state in the living will which treatments you do not agree to.

*Applies if: What would you like to arrange? → What medical treatment I want or don't want (living will) / Both / I don't know yet*

Sources: [ZGB · Art. 372](https://www.fedlex.admin.ch/eli/cc/24/233_245_233/de#art_372), [ZGB · Art. 370](https://www.fedlex.admin.ch/eli/cc/24/233_245_233/de#art_370)

If you have not addressed the treatment in question in any living will, the attending doctor plans the treatment together with the person entitled to represent you for medical procedures. This person is informed about the reasons, purpose, nature, risks, side effects and costs of the procedure, and about alternatives. As far as possible, you yourself are also involved in the decision-making, and the treatment plan is continually adjusted.

*Applies if: What would you like to arrange? → What medical treatment I want or don't want (living will) / Both / I don't know yet*

Sources: [ZGB · Art. 377](https://www.fedlex.admin.ch/eli/cc/24/233_245_233/de#art_377)

Anyone close to you can contact the KESB in writing if your living will is not being complied with, if your interests as a person incapable of judgement are endangered or no longer protected, or if it is claimed that the living will is not based on your free will. The KESB then checks, as with the advance care directive, whether an official measure is needed.

*Applies if: What would you like to arrange? → What medical treatment I want or don't want (living will) / Both / I don't know yet*

Sources: [ZGB · Art. 373](https://www.fedlex.admin.ch/eli/cc/24/233_245_233/de#art_373)

For consenting to medical procedures, a statutory order applies if you are incapable of judgement: first, the person named in a living will or advance care directive; then a deputy with an appropriate right of representation; then your spouse or registered partner, provided you share a household or they provide you with regular personal care; then a person who runs a household with you and provides you with regular personal care; then your descendants; then your parents; and lastly your siblings, in each case if they provide you with regular, personal care. If several people are equally entitled, a doctor acting in good faith may assume that they are acting in agreement with one another. If instructions are missing, the person entitled to represent you decides in accordance with your presumed will and your interests.

Sources: [ZGB · Art. 378](https://www.fedlex.admin.ch/eli/cc/24/233_245_233/de#art_378)

If you run a joint household with your spouse or registered partner, or if that person provides you with regular, personal assistance, they have a statutory right of representation by operation of law, if neither an advance care directive nor a corresponding deputyship exists. This right covers legal transactions usually needed to cover your maintenance needs, the ordinary management of your income and other assets, and, if necessary, opening and dealing with the post. For extraordinary asset management, they additionally need the consent of the KESB, and they too must act with due care in doing so. If there is doubt whether the requirements are met, the KESB decides. If you do not want your spouse or registered partner to represent you in this way, name another person in an advance care directive. This statutory right of representation then does not apply.

*Applies if: What is your current living situation? → Married or in a registered partnership / I don't know, or would rather not say*

Sources: [ZGB · Art. 374](https://www.fedlex.admin.ch/eli/cc/24/233_245_233/de#art_374), [ZGB · Art. 375](https://www.fedlex.admin.ch/eli/cc/24/233_245_233/de#art_375), [ZGB · Art. 376](https://www.fedlex.admin.ch/eli/cc/24/233_245_233/de#art_376)

You can revoke your advance care directive at any time, in either of the two forms that apply to making it, or by destroying the document. If you create a new document without expressly revoking the old one, the new one takes its place, unless it is clearly no more than a supplement. The same rule applies correspondingly to the living will: you can also change or revoke it at any time.

Sources: [ZGB · Art. 362](https://www.fedlex.admin.ch/eli/cc/24/233_245_233/de#art_362), [ZGB · Art. 371](https://www.fedlex.admin.ch/eli/cc/24/233_245_233/de#art_371)

## Costs

If you do not yourself settle in the advance care directive whether and how the appointee is remunerated, the KESB sets appropriate remuneration if this is justified by the extent of the tasks, or if such services are usually paid for. Remuneration and necessary expenses are charged to you. If you have the advance care directive made as a public deed, the notary's fee, which varies from canton to canton, is added to this; no notary's fee is charged for a document written by hand.

*Applies if: What would you like to arrange? → Who looks after my assets and my affairs (advance care directive) / Both / I don't know yet*

Sources: [ZGB · Art. 366](https://www.fedlex.admin.ch/eli/cc/24/233_245_233/de#art_366)

## Advice

If someone close to you has already become incapable of judgement, they can no longer make a valid advance care directive or living will themselves; this would have required capacity to act, or capacity of judgement, at the time it was made. First check whether a document already exists, for example through the Civil Register Office or a note on the health insurance card. If a valid advance care directive exists, the KESB must establish that it takes effect. If no document exists, anyone close to the person can contact the KESB in writing; it then checks, of its own motion, whether a deputyship or another protective measure is needed. Get personal advice in this situation.

*Applies if: Who do you want to arrange this for? → Someone close to me has already become incapable of judgement*

Sources: [ZGB · Art. 360](https://www.fedlex.admin.ch/eli/cc/24/233_245_233/de#art_360), [ZGB · Art. 370](https://www.fedlex.admin.ch/eli/cc/24/233_245_233/de#art_370), [ZGB · Art. 363](https://www.fedlex.admin.ch/eli/cc/24/233_245_233/de#art_363), [ZGB · Art. 388](https://www.fedlex.admin.ch/eli/cc/24/233_245_233/de#art_388)

Get personal advice if substantial assets or real estate are involved, if you run a business or hold a stake in one, if there are conflicts within the family or with the intended person of trust, if assets or family members abroad are affected, or if someone close to you has already become incapable of judgement. A professional can also help if you are unsure exactly how to word the tasks or instructions.

## Help

Free or low-cost help: the adult protection authority (KESB) of your canton of residence provides information on the advance care directive and the living will. Pro Senectute advises older people and their families on personal provision and offers sample documents. Many cantons and municipalities run advice centres or information events, and notaries provide information on making a public deed.

## Sources

- [ZGB · Art. 13](https://www.fedlex.admin.ch/eli/cc/24/233_245_233/de#art_13)
- [ZGB · Art. 16](https://www.fedlex.admin.ch/eli/cc/24/233_245_233/de#art_16)
- [ZGB · Art. 360](https://www.fedlex.admin.ch/eli/cc/24/233_245_233/de#art_360)
- [ZGB · Art. 361](https://www.fedlex.admin.ch/eli/cc/24/233_245_233/de#art_361)
- [ZGB · Art. 362](https://www.fedlex.admin.ch/eli/cc/24/233_245_233/de#art_362)
- [ZGB · Art. 363](https://www.fedlex.admin.ch/eli/cc/24/233_245_233/de#art_363)
- [ZGB · Art. 364](https://www.fedlex.admin.ch/eli/cc/24/233_245_233/de#art_364)
- [ZGB · Art. 365](https://www.fedlex.admin.ch/eli/cc/24/233_245_233/de#art_365)
- [ZGB · Art. 366](https://www.fedlex.admin.ch/eli/cc/24/233_245_233/de#art_366)
- [ZGB · Art. 367](https://www.fedlex.admin.ch/eli/cc/24/233_245_233/de#art_367)
- [ZGB · Art. 368](https://www.fedlex.admin.ch/eli/cc/24/233_245_233/de#art_368)
- [ZGB · Art. 369](https://www.fedlex.admin.ch/eli/cc/24/233_245_233/de#art_369)
- [ZGB · Art. 370](https://www.fedlex.admin.ch/eli/cc/24/233_245_233/de#art_370)
- [ZGB · Art. 371](https://www.fedlex.admin.ch/eli/cc/24/233_245_233/de#art_371)
- [ZGB · Art. 372](https://www.fedlex.admin.ch/eli/cc/24/233_245_233/de#art_372)
- [ZGB · Art. 373](https://www.fedlex.admin.ch/eli/cc/24/233_245_233/de#art_373)
- [ZGB · Art. 374](https://www.fedlex.admin.ch/eli/cc/24/233_245_233/de#art_374)
- [ZGB · Art. 375](https://www.fedlex.admin.ch/eli/cc/24/233_245_233/de#art_375)
- [ZGB · Art. 376](https://www.fedlex.admin.ch/eli/cc/24/233_245_233/de#art_376)
- [ZGB · Art. 377](https://www.fedlex.admin.ch/eli/cc/24/233_245_233/de#art_377)
- [ZGB · Art. 378](https://www.fedlex.admin.ch/eli/cc/24/233_245_233/de#art_378)
- [ZGB · Art. 379](https://www.fedlex.admin.ch/eli/cc/24/233_245_233/de#art_379)
- [ZGB · Art. 388](https://www.fedlex.admin.ch/eli/cc/24/233_245_233/de#art_388)
- [BGer 5A_336/2024 vom 17. Januar 2025, E. 3.5.4](https://mcp.opencaselaw.ch/entscheid/bger_5A_336_2024#e-3-5-4)
- [BGer 5A_624/2024 vom 27. August 2025, E. 3.2.1](https://mcp.opencaselaw.ch/entscheid/bger_5A_624_2024#e-3-2-1)

## Official information

- [ch.ch: The living will in Switzerland](https://www.ch.ch/de/gesundheit/patientenverfugung/)
- [Canton of Bern, KESB: Advance care directive and living will](https://www.kesb.dij.be.ch/de/start/Erwachsene/vorsorgeauftrag-und-patientenverfuegung.html)
- [Pro Senectute: Your advance care directive](https://www.prosenectute.ch/de/ratgeber/persoenliche-vorsorge/vorsorgeauftrag.html)

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Statute texts checked on 28 September 2026. General legal information. It does not replace individual advice.

https://swisslaw.io/en/inheritance/power-of-attorney/ · swisslaw.io, inheritance.power-of-attorney, 2026-09-28 · CC BY 4.0