Advance directive or power of attorney for incapacity? The difference
The difference in two sentences: the advance directive (Patientenverfügung) sets out which medical treatments you want or refuse if you can no longer decide for yourself. The power of attorney for incapacity (Vorsorgeauftrag) determines who takes care of your finances, your daily affairs and your legal matters in that case. Put simply: the advance directive speaks to the hospital, the power of attorney speaks to your bank, insurer and the authorities. The two documents do not replace each other, they complement each other. If you want complete coverage, you generally need both.
Power of attorney for incapacity and advance directive compared
Both instruments belong to Swiss adult protection law. The power of attorney for incapacity is governed by Art. 360 ff. of the Swiss Civil Code, the advance directive by Art. 370 ff. Both require that you have capacity of judgement when you draw them up. And both only take effect once you no longer do. The table shows the key differences at a glance.
| Power of attorney for incapacity | Advance directive | |
|---|---|---|
| Purpose | Determines who manages your finances, organizes your daily life and represents you legally | Determines which medical measures you want or refuse |
| Legal basis | Art. 360 ff. Swiss Civil Code | Art. 370 ff. Swiss Civil Code |
| Who decides | The person you appoint, once the adult protection authority (KESB) has validated the mandate | The care team must in principle follow your written wishes (exceptions: conflicts with legal requirements or well-founded doubts that they reflect your free or presumed will); for open questions, the representative you have named decides |
| Formal requirements | Written entirely by hand, dated and signed, or publicly notarized | In writing, dated and signed by hand; a completed template is sufficient |
| Storage | At home, with the appointed person or at a notary’s office; the storage location can be recorded in the civil status register via the civil registry office | With your family doctor, your trusted person or at the hospital; a note pointing to the storage location can be added to your health insurance card |
| Costs | Free if handwritten; public notarization usually costs a few hundred francs depending on the canton and notary, the entry in the civil status register CHF 75 | Free with templates from the FMH or the Swiss Red Cross; the Docupass from Pro Senectute costs CHF 19 |
The advance directive: your voice in the hospital
In the advance directive, also known as a living will, you record how you want to be treated medically if you can no longer express your wishes. Typical contents: resuscitation, artificial respiration, artificial nutrition, pain management and life-prolonging measures. You can also name a representative. That person decides in your spirit if a situation arises that your directive does not cover.
The formal requirements are deliberately simple: in writing, dated and signed. You may type the directive on a computer or fill in a template; only the signature has to be handwritten. Good, free templates are available from the FMH and the Swiss Red Cross. Pro Senectute offers the Docupass, a paid planning dossier, for CHF 19. The official information from the authorities is at ch.ch.
What matters is that it can be found. When a patient lacks capacity, doctors check whether an advance directive exists, among other things via the health insurance card. Proven places to keep it are:
- with your family doctor
- with your representative or a trusted person
- a copy in your wallet, or a note on your health insurance card saying where the original is kept
The power of attorney for incapacity: who runs your affairs
The power of attorney for incapacity covers everything that keeps going outside the hospital room. It comprises three areas, which you can assign individually or as a whole:
- Personal care: organizing daily life and support, deciding on your living situation, opening mail
- Asset management: paying bills, managing accounts and securities, looking after property
- Legal representation: concluding or terminating contracts, dealing with authorities and insurers
The formal requirements are stricter than for the advance directive. The power of attorney is only valid if you write it by hand from the first line to the last, date it and sign it. The alternative is public notarization at a notary’s office. A power of attorney typed on a computer and merely signed is invalid. You can find details at the Swiss Red Cross or from the adult protection authority (KESB) of your canton.
Another difference: the power of attorney does not take effect automatically. If you lose capacity, the KESB checks whether the mandate was validly drawn up and whether the appointed person is suitable. Only after this validation do they receive a certificate and may act for you. For that to work, the KESB has to learn that the document exists. You can therefore report its creation and storage location to the civil registry office, and both are then recorded in the civil status register. The entry costs CHF 75.
Why you generally need both
An example makes it concrete. You have a serious bike accident and lie in a coma. The advance directive tells the care team whether you want to be resuscitated and artificially ventilated. But it says nothing about who transfers your rent, files your tax return or runs your business account. For that you need the power of attorney for incapacity.
The same applies in reverse. The power of attorney can cover personal care, but only the advance directive records your specific treatment wishes. The two documents interlock: one for medicine, one for everything else.
What applies if you have arranged nothing?
Without an advance directive, the law determines who speaks for you in medical decisions. The order: first any appointed deputy with a right of representation, then your spouse or registered partner, followed by a partner sharing your household, descendants, parents and siblings. One condition applies to relatives: they may only represent you if they share a household with you or regularly and personally support you. The representative decides according to your presumed wishes, often without knowing what you would really have wanted.
Without a power of attorney for incapacity, the situation cuts deeper. Married partners who share a household may act for ordinary everyday matters, such as paying bills for the joint household. Everything beyond that requires the consent of the adult protection authority (KESB). Unmarried partners have no right of representation at all without a power of attorney. If necessary, the KESB sets up a deputyship, and your affairs may end up being run by an outsider.
Being found is half the effect
Both documents only help if your family knows in an emergency that they exist and where they are. That is exactly where things often fail: the advance directive sits in a bank deposit box, the power of attorney in a folder nobody knows about. That is why both belong in a planning dossier and in your emergency binder, one your loved ones know and can find.
This is where beizeiten helps: in the health and directives section, you record whether a power of attorney and an advance directive exist, where the originals are kept and who has been told. You can also store passwords for emergencies so that your trusted person can act digitally too. To be clear: beizeiten does not replace the documents and is not legal advice. The power of attorney must be handwritten or notarized, the advance directive signed on paper. But a dossier that points the way to both turns two good documents into planning that actually works. All entries stay on your device, with no account and no cloud.
Quick questions
Can I combine the power of attorney for incapacity and the advance directive in one document?
Legally they are two separate instruments with different formal requirements. A combined document would have to meet the stricter form of the power of attorney, meaning entirely handwritten or publicly notarized. In practice you are better off with two separate documents, not least because they are needed in different places in an emergency.
Whom can I appoint in my power of attorney for incapacity?
Any person of trust with legal capacity, for example your partner, an adult child or a close friend. For asset management you can also appoint a legal entity such as a fiduciary firm. It also makes sense to name a substitute in case the first person cannot or will not take on the mandate.
Do I have to renew the documents regularly?
There is no legal expiry date; both remain valid until revoked. Still, it is worth reviewing them every few years and after major life events such as marriage, divorce or a diagnosis. A recent date on the advance directive also strengthens its weight with the care team.
Can I change or revoke the documents later?
Yes, at any time, as long as you have capacity of judgement. The best way is to create a new document in the valid form and destroy all old copies. Also inform the people and offices holding copies, so that no outdated version surfaces in an emergency.