Ministry of Justice, Finland

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Guardianship services are intended for persons who cannot themselves take care of their financial affairs. Such persons may obtain support from a guardian, who takes care of their affairs and looks after their interests either together with them or on their behalf.

It may be necessary to have a guardian when one’s mental capacity has been reduced e.g. by serious illness or advanced age, with the result that one cannot self look after one’s interests or take care of one’s affairs. However, a guardian is appointed only if one's affairs cannot properly be managed in any other way.

It is also possible to make preparations for one's decreased functional capacity in advance by issuing a continuing power of attorney. Further information can be found in the brochure "Continuing Power of Attorney" issued by the Ministry of Justice.

• Guardianship Services Act (442/1999)
• Act on the Arrangement of Guardianship Services (575/2008)
• The FINLEX Legal Data Bank
• The websites of the Registry Offices

This brochure is also available on the website of the Ministry of Justice at: www.om.fi

Updated on 27 August 2010
Ministry of Justice

A guardian can be appointed by a Registry Office or a District Court.

If a person considers his or her own situation so precarious that the support and help of a guardian would be necessary, he or she may have one appointed by filing a written petition with the Registry Office. The petition should indicate why a guardian is necessary and who should be appointed as the guardian. Normally, a medical certificate should be annexed to the petition, indicating that the petitioner is mentally competent to consent to the appointment of a guardian. The Registry Office will hear the petitioner in person before it makes a decision on the petition.

It is also possible to file a written petition for the appointment of a guardian with a District Court. In addition to the person in need of help, such a petition may also be filed by a parent, spouse, child or other similar close person. The petition may also be filed by the Registry Office.

The Registry Office will provide procedural advice and assistance for the obtaining of a guardian. More information is also available on the website of the Registry Office at www.maistraatti.fi.

Suitable, consenting persons with sufficient skill and experience are eligible for appointment as a guardian. In many cases, a child, spouse or other person close to the person in need of help will act as his or her guardian.

It is also often the case that the appointment is given to a Public Guardian, who performs such services as a public employee. The public authorities must ensure that every needy person has access to the services of a Public Guardian close to where they live. The Public Legal Aid Offices are responsible for arranging the public guardianship services.

The tasks of a guardian are set by the Registry Office or the District Court. Normally, the guardian is assigned to look after the property and financial affairs of the client.

In addition to financial affairs, the guardian must see to it that the client receives suitable treatment, care and rehabilitation. If necessary, the guardian must be in contact with e.g. the municipal medical and health care authorities.

The guardian must see to it that the client has enough of his or her own money for personal use.

The guardian must keep accounts of the client’s assets and liabilities and of the events of the accounting period. In the beginning of his or her appointment, the guardian must present the Registry Office with an inventory of the assets and liabilities of the client. Thereafter, the guardian must draw up regular, normally annual, account statements and submit these to the Registry Office.

The guardian needs the permission of the Registry Office for certain important transactions to be concluded on behalf of the client. A permission is required e.g. for the buying and selling of real estate and the pledging of property as collateral for debt. The guardian is not empowered to donate the assets of the client.

The guardian is entitled to compensation for expenses and a reasonable fee. Information on the compensation and fee is entered in the account statement to be given to the Registry Office.

A person’s competency to make agreements or undertake other obligations may in certain cases endanger his or her financial interests. These cases are especially likely to occur when the individual makes important decisions while failing to take the advice of the guardian.

In such cases, the District Court may, upon petition, restrict the competency of the person. For instance, the Court may order that he or she is incompetent to incur debt or to enter into transactions concerning given property.

The District Court must not restrict the competency of the person more than what is necessary for protecting him or her.

Upon petition, the District Court will terminate a guardianship, once there no longer is need for one. The petition for termination may be filed by the client himself or herself, the guardian, or the Registry Office. The petition for termination may also be filed by the parent, spouse, child or other person close to the client. The Registry Office may also terminate a guardianship. This, however, requires that the client and the guardian file a petition for termination together.

In order to ensure that no one is under guardianship without reason, the Registry Office reviews all guardianships every four years and determines whether they should continue.

The District Court may terminate the task of a guardian when he or she so petitions or when the client no longer is in need of guardianship. The Registry Office may also terminate the task of a guardian if he or she petitions for it. The guardian’s task must be terminated also if he or she proves to be unsuitable for it. The task of a guardian is terminated as a matter of course if the client dies.

After the termination of the task, the guardian must submit final accounts to the Registry Office and release the property of the client to the person who is thereafter entitled to possess it.

Registry Offices operate as guardianship authorities. They supervise the activities of the guardians. The Offices also maintain the register of guardianship affairs, which can be accessed e.g. when there is a need to find out who is the guardian of a given person.

All Registry Offices have staff available for consultation regarding the need for, and arrangement of, guardianship. The Office staff are under an obligation to maintain the confidentiality of all information they receive on the prospective client’s financial status and personal circumstances. It is also possible to notify the Registry Office that a given person is apparently in need of guardianship.

In the Åland Islands, the State Provincial Office of Åland, not the Registry Office, is the guardianship authority.