Care and Planning

Adults who, due to a serious illness or disability, are no longer able to manage their affairs appropriately may be placed under legal guardianship. A legal guardian represents the person in question in their legal affairs. The tasks to be performed include, for example, organizing necessary assistance and/or applying for social benefits. In doing so, the wishes of the person under guardianship must always be given priority.

By signing a power of attorney for healthcare, you authorize a person you trust to handle legal, healthcare, or other matters on your behalf. This power of attorney is particularly necessary if you are hospitalized due to an illness and are no longer responsive (e.g., because you are in a coma). Without such a power of attorney, your loved ones may not be able to obtain information about your health condition. Accidents or serious illnesses can lead to situations—even for young people—where they are no longer able to manage their own legal affairs. To ensure that a trusted person can support you in such a situation, that person needs a power of attorney issued by you. This power of attorney can also help prevent the need for guardianship in old age.

You can obtain forms for a power of attorney free of charge from the guardianship office.

Your power of attorney is fully valid even without certification. However, if you want to ensure that your power of attorney is more readily recognized in legal proceedings, the guardianship office can issue a certification note. This certification costs €10.00. The certification is necessary, for example, if your authorized representative wishes to sell a property or if an inheritance is to be renounced. If you would like to have a certification note added, please call the Guardianship Office at 09131-86 1935 to schedule an appointment. At this appointment, we will need a valid form of identification from you as well as the power of attorney signed by you.

If you are in the hospital and are no longer able to communicate with doctors (e.g., because you are in a coma), an advance directive can help maintain communication between the doctor and the patient. In a living will, you can specify that certain medical procedures should be performed or withheld. You can get advice on living wills from the Hospiz Verein Erlangen e.V. or from your primary care physician.

You can obtain forms for a living will free of charge from the guardianship office.

A legal guardian is a legal representative who must take into account the personal wishes and best interests of the person under guardianship. The guardian acts within the scope of the responsibilities defined by the guardianship court and, for example, applies for home care services or manages the person’s assets. It is not the guardian’s responsibility to raise, care for, or visit the person under guardianship on a weekly basis.

The Guardianship Office registers professional guardians and is involved in all court-ordered guardianship proceedings. At the request of the local court, it contacts the person for whom guardianship has been proposed and gets in touch with the prospective guardian. The Guardianship Office provides advice on legal guardianship and powers of attorney for healthcare. It supports family members and assists them with questions regarding guardianship or care. The Guardianship Office certifies powers of attorney for healthcare.

An adult who, due to an illness or disability, is no longer able to manage their own legal affairs may be placed under legal guardianship. Since legal guardianship is considered a last resort, all other forms of assistance should be exhausted first (e.g., social services counseling, caregiving counseling, counseling on assisted living).

Guardianship cannot be established against the will of a person with legal capacity.

If you believe that you or a third party is no longer able to manage their own (legal) affairs, you can request guardianship. To do so, you must contact the local court’s guardianship division (not the Guardianship Office). The request can be informal (e.g., handwritten on a piece of paper) or you can use the form available in the Local Court’s Form Center.

Link: justiz.bayern.de/gerichte-und-behoerden/amtsgerichte/erlangen

There are costs associated with guardianship proceedings (court proceedings, expert opinions) and the guardian.

Whether these costs are covered by the state or must be paid by the person for whom guardianship is established depends on how much assets that person has.

If guardianship is recommended, staff at the guardianship office will speak with the person concerned. If the person in need of guardianship has a friend or relative whom they trust, that person may be appointed as a volunteer guardian. Requirements for this include personal suitability to serve as a guardian, an extract from the debt registry, and a certificate of good conduct to be submitted to the authorities.

If the person in need of guardianship prefers a professional guardian, or if there are no relatives available, a professional guardian will be appointed.

There is no specific training program for professional guardians. They often come from a variety of professional backgrounds (e.g., social workers, attorneys, etc.). The basic requirements for practicing this profession are completion of relevant vocational training and registration with the competent authority. The competent authority is the guardianship authority of the city where you live or where your business is located.

Would you like to become a professional guardian, or are you already serving as a guardian and interested in cases in Erlangen? If so, we look forward to receiving your application with the standard application materials.

If you have any questions about the registration process for newcomers, you can reach us at 09131 86 2137 or 09131 86 2440. If you are already registered as a professional guardian and would like to work in the Erlangen metropolitan area in the future, please feel free to contact us at 09131 86 2137. You can also send an email to betreuungsstelle@stadt.erlangen.de

The support center employs civil servants who have achieved the third qualification level in the Administration and Finance career track, or individuals who have completed a degree in social pedagogy/social work or hold a comparable qualification. The team also includes administrative staff with vocational training. We welcome unsolicited applications from anyone with the appropriate qualifications!

If you are interested, please feel free to call us at 09131 86-2440 or send an email to betreuungsstelle@stadt.erlangen.de