Patient directives and planning
Estate planning is not only about the moment of succession. It also concerns the phase, often overlooked, in which a person is still alive but no longer capable of judgement: after an accident, a serious illness or a cognitive decline. In Switzerland, adult protection law offers precise tools to decide in advance who will take care of us and how. Ignoring them means leaving those decisions to the authority.
What happens without planning
If a person loses the capacity of judgement and has arranged nothing, the Child and Adult Protection Authority (KESB in German) steps in. The authority appoints a deputy, who may be an external professional or a family member, and defines their powers. The spouse and children have by law certain powers of representation for ordinary acts, but for important decisions — selling a property, running a company, complex medical choices — the intervention of the authority becomes necessary.
The result: long timelines, a third party deciding, and no guarantee that the choices reflect the person’s will.
Patient directives
Patient directives (advance directives) allow a person capable of judgement to establish in advance which medical treatments they consent to or refuse, in case they were no longer able to express themselves. Key points:
- They must be drawn up in written form, dated and signed.
- They can designate a trusted person tasked with discussing the care with the doctors and deciding on behalf of the patient, in respect of their will.
- Healthcare staff are bound to respect them, unless there are indications that they no longer correspond to the patient’s current will.
- They must be reviewed periodically: a directive that is twenty years old carries less weight than a recent one.
They are the tool for maintaining control over the most personal choices even when one can no longer speak.
The advance care mandate
The advance care mandate is the parallel tool for the financial and legal sphere. With it, a person entrusts someone — a family member, a professional, a trusted person — with:
- Personal care: decisions on care and daily life.
- Administration of assets: management of the estate, accounts, properties.
- Representation in legal dealings: signing contracts, dealing with banks and authorities.
To be valid, the advance care mandate must be drawn up by one’s own hand from beginning to end (dated and signed) or in authentic form before a notary. When it becomes effective, the authority verifies its validity and confers on the mandatary a document that legitimises their powers.
Why they matter in planning
Those who have assets, a company or corporate holdings have one more reason to arrange these tools. Some typical situations:
- An entrepreneur who loses the capacity of judgement without a mandate: who signs for the company, who decides on an urgent transaction?
- A real-estate portfolio that requires active management and cannot remain blocked.
- A blended family, where without clear indications conflicts are more likely.
Coordinating the advance care mandate, the patient directives and the succession provisions avoids gaps and contradictions between the various documents.
Where to keep the documents
A perfect but untraceable document is useless. Some precautions:
- Tell the trusted persons where they are kept.
- It is possible to have the civil registry office note the existence and place of deposit of the patient directives.
- Carry a card that signals the existence of the directives.
A tool of serenity, not only of emergency
Arranging these documents is not a pessimistic exercise: it is an act of responsibility towards one’s loved ones, who would otherwise find themselves deciding amid uncertainty and pain. It is an integral part of serious estate planning, just as much as the will.
How we help you
We insert patient directives and the advance care mandate into planning coordinated with the succession provisions and the structure of your estate. Plan with us the protection of your person and your assets.