Carer directive: wishes for a court-appointed carer (Germany)
Published byDocMuse
This document is in German
The PDF you download is in German — that is the language it has to be filed in, so it is not translated. Everything on this page is here to tell you what it says.
The German Federal Ministry of Justice publishes a free model of the Betreuungsverfügung; this document is our own wording. You set out whom the guardianship court should appoint as your legal carer, who comes second and whom you reject, and record your wishes on housing, care and daily life. The court must follow your proposal unless the person is unsuitable (§ 1816(2) of the German Civil Code, BGB), and the carer must follow your wishes (§ 1821 BGB). In German, to sign by hand; certification at the local care authority is possible.
What you fill in
The details the document asks for.
- Declarant
- Declarant's date of birth
- Declarant's home address
- Preferred carer (Betreuer)
- Preferred carer's date of birth
- Preferred carer's address
- Second-choice carer (name, date of birth, address)
- Person who must not be appointed carer
- Where to live if care is needed
- Preferred care home, if a move is needed
- Reference to a living will
- Other wishes about daily life and the carer's role
- City
- Date
Preview
This document is produced for you. Your answers are typed into it and the finished PDF is yours to keep.
Common questions
- Is there a free model of the carer directive in Germany?
- Yes, the German Federal Ministry of Justice publishes one free of charge, as does the Bavarian Ministry of Justice in its planning brochure, among others. This document is our own wording: it names the person you want as your carer, a substitute and, if you wish, someone you reject, records your wishes on housing and care, and reminds anyone who keeps it of their duty to pass it to the guardianship court.
- When does a carer directive make more sense than a lasting power of attorney in Germany?
- When you do not want to give anyone a power that works without supervision, or as a fallback in case a power of attorney is not enough. A carer is appointed and supervised by the guardianship court. If you want a particular person, the court must follow that wish unless the person is unsuitable; if you reject someone, that too must be respected (§ 1816(2) BGB). With a valid lasting power of attorney, a carer is usually not needed at all.
- How does the German guardianship court learn of a carer directive?
- Whoever holds the document must pass it to the guardianship court without delay once they learn that proceedings to appoint a carer have begun (§ 1816(2), fourth sentence, BGB). To make sure that happens, tell your family where it is kept or give them a copy. You can also register the directive in the Zentrales Vorsorgeregister of the Federal Chamber of Notaries, which guardianship courts can consult (§§ 78a, 78b BNotO).
- Must a German carer directive be certified, and how is it signed?
- The law prescribes no particular form. Print the document and sign it by hand with place and date, so that nobody doubts it is genuine. Public certification is optional: the care authority of your district or city certifies the signature for €10 (§ 7 BtOG). If your wishes change, draw up a new directive and destroy the old one.
- Must a court-appointed carer in Germany follow my wishes?
- In principle, yes. The carer must find out your wishes and follow them, including those you expressed before the appointment, unless you clearly no longer stand by them (§ 1821(2) BGB). A wish need not be followed only where fulfilling it would seriously endanger you or your property and you cannot recognise that danger, or act on it, because of illness or disability, or where it cannot reasonably be expected of the carer (§ 1821(3) BGB). The guardianship court supervises the carer.
How you can sign this document
- Print it and sign by hand. The signature lines in the document are left blank on purpose — sign on them in ink.
- Sign it yourself with a qualified electronic signature. If you already hold a QES — Evrotrust, B-Trust, StampIT, ZealiD or any qualified provider on the EU Trusted List, on a card, a USB token, in a mobile app or in the cloud — our signing guide explains step by step how to sign this exact file without invalidating it. Step-by-step help, and a way to check it worked
DocMuse sells documents, not legal advice. Acceptance always depends on the recipient's rules and your local law.
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