The decision to save or prolong the life of a patient with a definite prognosis of dying from cancer places the medical practitioner in an ethical and legal dilemma. By a timely and documented dialogue with the patient, which allows her to indicate her own preference, the practitioner can set down the patient's disposition. In addition, the practitioner must orient himself on the judicial situation, which determines the boundaries to the medical decision. In this way, attendance while dying, as well as passive, indirect and active help with dying, can be separated from one another. The intervention of the guardianship court is often the only possibility, even in the presence of the patient's disposition, to clarify the legal situation. A clear statute is therefore urgently required.