Private professional deputy in Geneva

The decision lies with the TPAE (Geneva Court for the Protection of Adults and Children). The court may order a representative deputyship with asset management. In that case, the person only receives their strictly personal mail and is relieved of the management of their administrative and financial affairs.

We are nevertheless well aware that this situation is often experienced by the people concerned as a genuine humiliation. Whenever the person concerned so wishes, we therefore try to involve them and keep them informed, in particular through home visits, in order to limit the psychological effects of the protective measure.

In Geneva, when the assets of a person in need of protection exceed CHF 50,000 and no relative comes forward as deputy, the TPAE appoints a private professional deputy. In most cases these are lawyers, paid between CHF 200 and CHF 450 per hour under the Regulation on the remuneration of deputies (RRC). This system is widely criticised in Geneva, as it is particularly damaging to the assets of protected persons. Indeed, it is hard to justify paying CHF 200 per hour for administrative tasks, especially as these tasks are often carried out by the law firms' secretarial staff. Such amounts are in fact only justified for legal representation in court.

Families or the person concerned are therefore advised to propose a private non-professional deputy (a friend or family member) or a private professional deputy, either a private individual or a legal professional, whose fees are capped at CHF 100 and CHF 120 per hour respectively.

Yes. The person concerned may propose a person they trust as deputy: the authority will follow this wish if the proposed person meets the requirements and accepts the mandate. The wishes of family members and other closely related persons are also taken into account as far as possible (art. 401 of the Swiss Civil Code).

We strongly recommend that you attend the TPAE hearing with the name of a deputy willing to accept the mandate, whether a relative or a private professional deputy. Indeed, if no deputy is proposed, the person concerned will be assigned, depending on their assets, either a deputy from the OPAd (Geneva's public adult protection office) or a lawyer acting as deputy. In the first case, official deputies handle on average more than 60 deputyship cases each; in the second, lawyers' fees for a deputyship are charged at between CHF 200 and CHF 450 per hour.

Yes. The person concerned or a closely related person may ask the adult protection authority to discharge the current deputy where there is good cause. The authority then appoints a new deputy (art. 423 of the Swiss Civil Code).

It is indeed possible to apply for the deputyship measure to be lifted. However, the Geneva TPAE must assess whether the conditions and circumstances that justified the measure are still present. When an application to lift the measure is made, the deputy's opinion is often the decisive factor on which the TPAE bases its decision.

Our approach to our deputyship services is based on rehabilitation and on restoring the autonomy of the person concerned. Indeed, a significant proportion of deputyships are ordered following setbacks in a person's life. In such situations, we are committed to supporting the person concerned for as long as necessary so that they can regain their bearings and their autonomy, involving them as much as possible in the management of their affairs.

The deputyship measure is sometimes criticised, particularly because of the question of moving into a nursing home (EMS). Our approach is based on the will of the person concerned, tempered by their actual situation. This decision does not lie with the deputy, who must above all rely on the opinion and recommendations of healthcare professionals. The deputy can nevertheless take action, for example by exhausting every possible solution to help the person remain at home, in line with their wishes.

In all cases, the person concerned has the right to be heard by the TPAE and can thus object to moving into a nursing home. The TPAE must then give reasons for its decision, in particular on the basis of medical expert reports.