Certification of the shareholders in an estate inventory deed 

Confirmation of shareholders in an estate inventory deed is not mandatory, but it may be useful, for example, when a property or an apartment belonging to an estate is to be sold. The shareholders of the estate can use the certified estate inventory deed to prove that they have the right to represent the estate together in a sale. The buyer, on the other hand, can trust that a sale concluded with the shareholders recorded in the certified estate inventory deed binds the estate even if it were later found out that a shareholder was missing from the deed. 

The estate inventory must be arranged within three months of a person's death. The event is usually organised by the deceased's child, spouse or other person who manages the property of the estate.  

An estate inventory deed is prepared in the estate inventory. However, the organiser of the estate inventory does not need to prepare an estate inventory deed themselves, but you can ask for help from banks, law firms or legal aid offices, for example. Read more about the content and submission of an estate inventory deed on the Tax Administration's website. 

The estate inventory deed must always be prepared and submitted to the Tax Administration.

We do not prepare estate inventory deeds or help with preparing them. We can only confirm the information in the completed estate inventory deed concerning the shareholders and the spouse of the deceased.

No, it cannot even be registered. The estate inventory deed must only be submitted to the Tax Administration for inheritance taxation.

The estate inventory deeds have been archived in the Tax Administration since 1 October 1994. 

The estate inventory deeds made before that have been archived in the court of law of the deceased person's municipality of domicile

The certification can be applied for by a shareholder of the estate, the surviving spouse, the person taking care of the property of the estate, the estate administrator, the estate distributor or the executor of the will. You can also grant a power of attorney to a representative for drawing up the application. 

However, the representative does not need to attach a power of attorney to the application if they are an attorney-at-law, legal aid attorney, licensed legal counsel or if the authorisation has been entered in the estate inventory deed.

Applying for certification requires the following: 

• At the time of death, the deceased had a municipality of residence in Finland. 
• The deceased died in or after 1966. 
• The estate inventory deed is ready and has been signed by the person reporting the estate and two trustees. 

Remember to attach copies of the reports on family relationships and other documents to the application.

Do not send any account statements or other documents containing information about the property of the estate.

Send all attachments to the estate inventory deed that contain information about the estate shareholders as copies of the originals. These documents include

• a report on family relationships of the deceased from the age of 15 until the time of death (the reports must cover the entire life of the deceased from the age of 15, which may make it necessary to order them from several instances)
• possibly a report on family relationships, for example, on a spouse, previously deceased heirs and persons who have renounced their inheritance
• if any of the shareholders of the estate or the spouse of the deceased lives abroad, their life certificate 
• the wills
• prenuptial agreement and certificate of its registration
• deed of distribution of matrimonial property, if the spouse who has divorced the deceased was alive at the time of death of the deceased and there is no mention of a distribution of the matrimonial property in the estate inventory deed
• estate inventory deed and wills of the deceased person’s spouse who died before the deceased
• notifications of renunciation of inheritance and will.

A report on the family relationships of both spouses is needed for the period during the marriage that  

• they have been registered in different churches (Evangelical Lutheran Church and Orthodox Church) 
• one has been a member of the parish and the other has been registered in the population register 
• the spouses have lived in different countries. 

It is possible that some of the common children can only be seen on the father's certificate and some on the mother's certificate. 

We cannot confirm the shareholders' information in the estate inventory deed if you cannot provide us with all the necessary information.

You can submit the original estate inventory deed skanned only if you submit the application online. If you send the application by post, you are not able to submit estate inventory deed skanned. Instead send in the same envelope with the application a copy of the estate inventory deed with one witness´s signature, the name in block capitals and a text stating that she/he authenticate the copy. Do not send us the original estate inventory deed.

Besides us, the State Department of Åland in the Åland Islands can certify the information.

We check the shareholders entries in the estate inventory deed and its attachments.

If they lead us to believe that the shareholders are most likely correct, we will confirm the shareholder details.

If the entries in the estate inventory deed concerning shareholders or the attachments are incomplete or incorrect, we will not confirm the shareholder details. At the same time, we will report any shortcomings or errors we have found.

No, even then, the shareholders in the estate inventory deed need not be confirmed.  

Note, however, that a permit or a substitute may be required for some activities related to the estate, such as the sale of real estate or an apartment. Read more about applying for both a permit and a substitute on our website.

We cannot take a stand on behalf of other actors, but we do not set any conditions on how the estate inventory event is organised. In order to confirm the shareholders' information, it is essential that the estate inventory deed has been signed by the person reporting the estate and two trustees.  
 
In our view, the estate inventory deed can be signed electronically using strong identification. Even if the estate inventory deed has been drawn up and signed electronically, a manually signed certified copy of it must still be sent to us in connection with the confirmation of the shareholders' information. 

Please note that the following people do not need an authorisation:  

• Stakeholder in an estate 
• Surviving spouse of the deceased  
• Administrator of an estate 
• an estate inventory administrator  
• Estate distributor 
• an executor of the last will and testament appointed by the deceased person.  

 Other people need an authorisation from someone mentioned above. It is sufficient that one of them gives an authorisation, for example, one shareholder in the estate.  

We will make a decision confirming that all the shareholders of the estate and the spouse of the deceased have been correctly entered in the estate inventory deed. The decision does not normally list the shareholders of the estate but refers to the estate inventory deed. The decision is signed electronically.  

We attach the decision as a cover sheet on the copy of the certified estate inventory deed.
 

We will not communicate the confirmed shareholders' information in the estate inventory deed anywhere.