A living will remains valid for 8 years unless you specify a shorter period yourself. It can be renewed, supplemented or amended at any time. If it is supplemented or amended, the 8-year period starts afresh. The living will can also be revoked at any time.

Important: If you lose your capacity to make decisions before the end of the eight-year period or the shorter period you have specified, the living will remains binding for life.

A living will is not legally binding if it does not meet one or more of the requirements for a legally binding living will. Doctors must take it into account when deciding for or against a course of treatment. However, doctors have greater discretion in such cases than they do with a legally binding living will.

The more a non-binding living will meets the requirements of a binding living will, the greater the weight doctors must give to it. The legal term for this under Austrian law is a non-binding advance directive, known locally as "beachtliche Patientenverfügung". Although it is not binding, it reflects the patient’s wishes and is taken into account in medical decisions.

It ceases to be binding in the following cases, for example:

• Its validity has expired.
• It was not drawn up correctly.
• You have revoked it.

For more detailed information, please contact the patient advocacy groups. There, you can also find out about the costs of a mandatory medical consultation.

A legally binding living will can be drawn up free of charge with the assistance of a legally qualified member of staff at a patient advocacy group. This form is legally equivalent to one drawn up for a fee at a notary’s office or a solicitor’s practice.

A legally binding living will also requires a medical consultation, which usually incurs a fee. The actual costs depend on the doctor in question.

Some hospice organisations and other institutions offer this consultation free of charge or at a reduced rate.

You can obtain free advice from patient advocacy organisations, such as patient and care advocacy groups in the individual federal states:

Some hospice organisations in Austria offer free medical advice in addition to general guidance on living wills. However, this varies from one federal state to another. You can find out whether medical advice is available free of charge by contacting the relevant regional hospice association or the umbrella organisation HOSPIZ Österreich, which is also responsible for the City of Vienna:

It is best to inform your next of kin about your living will. Let them know where it is kept. It may also be a good idea to keep a note in your wallet.

There is no obligation to have your living will registered. Nor is registration automatic. If you wish, your living will can be registered in the Austrian Notaries’ Register of Living Wills or in the Austrian Bar Association’s Register of Living Wills. In collaboration with the Red Cross, every hospital can access registered living wills.

In addition, your living will can also be stored in ELGA.
 

You can have your living will registered with the ELGA ombudsman’s office:

1. Send an email to the ELGA ombudsman’s office in your federal state.
2. Ensure that your living will is attached to the email.
3. Provide the following information: your name, your date of birth, and the date on which the living will was drawn up.
4. The ombudsman’s office will arrange for it to be registered in ELGA.

However, the person with legal expertise who drew up the living will can also carry out the ELGA registration. Please make this request known when the living will is drawn up.

Advantage: If the living will is registered in as many places as possible, it can be found more quickly in an emergency.

You can revoke a living will at any time, free of charge, either verbally or in writing, provided you are capable of making decisions. It is important that you inform the people responsible for your medical care of this revocation. Your relatives should also be aware of your wishes in the event of an emergency.

The revocation can be recorded in ELGA. Please contact the ELGA ombudsman’s office or the person who drew up your living will.

After 8 years, your living will is no longer legally binding. Exception: If you are no longer capable of making decisions, it remains legally binding.

To extend the validity of your living will, you must renew it. To do this, you must first seek medical advice again. You can then have the will amended or confirmed by a legal professional. This can be done free of charge at the patient advocacy group. If you consult a solicitor or a notary public for this purpose, costs will be incurred.