An accident, illness or old age can mean that a person is no longer able to manage their own affairs. With an advance care directive, a person with capacity to act determines in advance who will then decide on their behalf: in personal care, in asset management and in legal transactions.
The advance care directive must be entirely handwritten, dated and signed, or publicly notarised. It can be registered with the civil register office. If incapacity of judgement occurs, the child and adult protection authority examines whether it is valid and whether the appointed person is suitable. If there is no advance care directive, the authority may have to order a deputyship.