There is no official form for drafting an advance decision and no legal regulation as to how such a written declaration should exactly look like. However, many organisations and institutions provide forms which may be of help; such forms are available on the Internet, but also in print, e.g. in hospitals, doctors’ practices or pharmacies. The text blocks developed by the Federal Ministry of Justice are frequently used.

Experts estimate there to be 250 forms of such a kind by now. The German Medical Association points out in its most recent recommendations for handling advance decisions that the forms are not standardised and contain differing conceptions on the scope of these decisions. In order to be able to determine a patient’s presumed will in situations of crisis when that situation is not accounted for in the form, it is recommended to include life attitudes, ethical or religious convictions in the advance decision. In case of willingness to donate organs postmortally, the advance decision should adhere to that. For this reason the German Medical Association provides a working paper with text blocks concerning the relation between advance decisions and the willingness to donate organs.