I. The precautionary package
We offer you preventive advice; in addition to the living will, a power of attorney is usually important. We also advise you on whether a will makes sense for you. For our pension advice, we charge a flat rate of EUR 190 for the initial consultation. Contact us!
II. Living wills during Corona times
Our clients are now increasingly taking the rising Corona numbers as an opportunity to have their legal provisions checked by us or redesigned.
1. What do I need an advance directive for?
In the event of a medically hopeless situation in which there is no prospect of recovery and the person concerned cannot express his or her will, our clients would like to have regular precautions.
With the living will, the person concerned stipulates his or her will with regard to such a situation in advance. The decision can generally be made for life-sustaining measures or against life-prolonging measures.
An advance directive is essential in order to make it easier for relatives and responsible doctors to make decisions in such a difficult situation and to receive treatment that corresponds to the actual will of the person concerned.
2. Special features for Covid-19
In times of increasing corona numbers, clients also regularly want a selective consideration of individual legal questions that can arise in connection with a COVID-19 disease.
The focus is on measures such as artificial respiration and dialysis.
If the medically necessary treatment is medically necessary, the disease is likely to develop positively. Against this background, the living will should also address the question of Covid-19 disease. It is advisable, in particular, to allow artificial ventilation in the event of such a disease, even if this form of treatment is generally rejected.
3. Which individual questions should be regulated in the living will?
In this context, the following treatment questions should be discussed regularly:
Do you want to be transferred to a hospital if you are ill?
Is ventilation through a mask (non-invasive ventilation) desired?
Is consent given when moving to an intensive care unit with ventilation through a tube in the trachea (invasive ventilation)?
Is artificial blood washing (dialysis) desired?
Is it desirable to carry out resuscitation measures in the event of a COVID-19 illness?
Is treatment to relieve pain and symptoms desirable in the event that there is no cure for the disease in sight? Is such a thing accepted?
4. Is my current living will not sufficient?
It is possible to revise an advance directive that has already been made and to set it up again. In this context, the declaration can be adapted to the requirements of a disease with COVID-19.
We would be happy to help you draw up or review your living will.
5. Contact
In adaptation to the challenges of the corona pandemic, we conduct our mandates regularly through email contact and discuss the essentials in joint telephone appointments.
Should a personal meeting be necessary, we will carry it out with you in compliance with the Corona protective measures in our office.
As part of a consultation on your living will, we will also talk to you about other questions relating to legal provisions: Does a will make sense for me? Do I need a health care proxy? Can I make arrangements for my descendants while I’m still alive?
Your inheritance law team, consisting of lawyer Reiner Brockerhoff – specialist lawyer for inheritance law and executor -, lawyer Imke Weidenbach LL.M. (Master of international inheritance law) and attorney Thomas Thielmann are there for you.
Photo: Lawyers Brockerhoff and Geiser / Mr. Graf
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