Appointment of a guardian

The prerequisite for the appointment of a guardian is that

• the person is unable to manage their own affairs. This inability must be due to illness, deteriorated health or another similar reason. Inability will usually be determined by means of a medical opinion.
• the person has financial/other affairs the management of which has not been arranged in other ways (link to the heading in less stringent measures). The appointment of a guardian must therefore be a last resort and completely necessary.
• the person presented for guardianship agrees or their opposition to guardianship is not considered relevant, when taking their general condition (e.g. the nature of their illness) and need for guardianship (e.g. bills have been left unpaid over a long period of time) into account.

All these conditions must be met at the same time in order for a guardian to be appointed.

A matter concerning the appointment of a guardian can be initiated with the guardianship authority:

• by submitting an application when a person wants a guardian to be appointed and is able to understand what appointing a guardian means for him/her. The applicant must request a specific person be appointed as their guardian.
• by submitting a notification of a person in need of guardianship. A notification can be given by anyone notwithstanding confidentiality. The notification must be well-reasoned or justified, i.e. it should state why it is necessary for a guardian to be appointed for the person in question and what kind of problems the person has encountered in managing their own affairs.