By law your next of kin is usually your parents or spouse. For some people without parents but have a partner they aren’t ready to marry, it can be tricky in cases of emergency.
Hence the Partner Pass, this form of ID was designed and conceptualised by Wolfgang Kerscher who at the time was living with his partner. The Pass isn’t only for couples but can be used with relatives or even friends. An individual can have several Partner-Passes. You can share a Pass with a friend, a neighbour, a relative or even your child, generally anyone you trust.
I think it would be something worth looking into for those based in the diaspora with no family here, if you have a friend you trust, they could act as your next of kin before your own family can be involved in the matter. Although for the Kenyan diaspora, the Embassy in Berlin does act as your next of kin in case you have no relatives in Germany.
The Pass that’s valid for ten years, costs €9.50 fits in any wallet and contains:
- A picture of the partners together
- Date of birth
- A signature from each partner
- ID number from each Partner
- Telephone number of each Partner
The Pass that is only valid when you present both of them, allows the partners to:
- get information from doctors on behalf of the partner,
- cancel or get into a rent or sale contract
The Partner Pass is invalid in matters concerning land, where you need certification from a Nortary also for matters on whether the patient moves to a nursing home.
Some critics do advice that the persons paying for the pass, also get a Power of Attorney in addition to ensure they get the right to make decisions on their partner’s behave in cases of emergency.
If you’re thinking of taking up the Partner-Pass e.g. instead of marriage, it would help to talk to a lawyer to clarify on the nitty gritty.
You can read more or even order your Partner-Pass at: Partner-Pass Vertrieb
