- Marriage
- Examination of impediments to marriage
- Marriage ceremony
- Prenuptial agreement
- Notification of a marriage concluded abroad
- Divorce granted abroad
- Registration of the act applicable to the matrimonial property regime
- Registration of a deed of division of property
- Dissolution of cohabitation
- Removal of marital rights to property
- Extracts issued of the register on the right to officiate at weddings
- Having or adopting a child
- Names
- Moving
- Elections and Right to vote
- Suomi.fi Web Service
- Citizen Certificate and electronic identity
- Guardianship
- Continuing power of attorney
- Appointment of a guardian
- Duties of the guardian
- Guardianship for a minor
- Who can act as a guardian?
- Actions that require the permission of the guardianship authority
- Permit to buy or sell a dwelling
- Permit for purchase or sale of real estate
- Permit for the partition or separation of property and the division of inheritance
- Renunciation of inheritance, for the surrender of one’s share of an inheritance or an agreement on the joint administration of an estate
- Engaging in trade or the establishment of a company
- Property management plan
- Pledging of property and for borrowing and lending
- Leasing or investing a client’s property
- Limited account or the management of the earnings
- Appointing a substitute guardian
- Termination of guardianship
- Giving up the guardian’s task
- Guardianship authority's means of supervision
- Looking after the interests of an absent person or the future owner of the property
- Restrictions to competency and declaration of incompetence
- Extracts from the Register of Guardianship Affairs
- Certificates from the Population Information System
- Population information in the Population Information System
- Registration of a gift notification
- Services of notary public
- Certification of purchase
- Citizens’ initiative
- Death and estate inventory
- Living abroad
- Moving
- Registration of citizenship
- Divorce granted abroad
- Death abroad
- Registration of a child born abroad
- Registration of a name change performed abroad
- Notification of a marriage concluded abroad
- Registration of the act applicable to the matrimonial property regime
- Legalisation of foreign documents
- Notification of retaining Finnish citizenship
- Moving to Finland
- Public Service Info
- Address service
- Forms
Continuing power of attorney
A continuing power of attorney mandate is a more flexible option for organising the management of affairs than guardianship. By providing continuing power of attorney, a person can prepare in advance for the management of their affairs in the event that they are at a later time unable to manage them themselves. In a continuing power of attorney, the person (donor) appoints a donee to manage their affairs. Power of attorney will enter into force after the guardianship authority has verified it.
Frequently asked questions
The general precondition for drawing up a power of attorney is that the donor has reached the age of 18 and is able to understand the significance of the power of attorney. The latter precondition must be understood to mean that the donor must be legally competent at the time they prepare the power of attorney document. In other words, even a very young person, but nevertheless a person with legal capacity over 18 years of age can draw up a power of attorney and prepare for unexpected situations that change his or her functional capacity, such as a traffic accident or an illness.
It would be wise to start preparing a power of attorney at latest when the initial symptoms of impaired functional capacity have already emerged. However, in this case, it may already be necessary to request a medical certificate to ensure that the donor is able to understand the significance of the power of attorney.
The affairs that must be managed are usually very ordinary daily matters, such as the payment of bills and managing property. The donee may be required to handle very important matters as well such as the sale of real property, housing shares or vehicles. If the donor has a business, the donee may, if necessary, take measures to organise the business activity. Examples are easy to find and list.
When the continuing power of attorney is drawn up, it is a good idea to reflect on whether the donee is expected to make donations to the next of kin on behalf of the donor on their special days, for example. Under the law, the donee is entitled to give a present on behalf of the donor only if its justifications have been specified in the power of attorney. The donee does not otherwise have the right to donate the donor’s property.
The donee must also be impartial when giving presents on behalf of the donor.
The donee may become disqualified for their responsibilities to represent the donor. This may happen, for example, if the donee or the donee's close relative is the opposite party in matters such as concluding a rental agreement, the sale of an apartment, division of inheritance or a donation.
Under the law, a donee is unable to represent the donor if the donee, the donee's spouse or someone else represented by the donee is the opposing party in the matter. The donee is also unable to represent the donor when a child, grandchild, sibling, parent, or grandparent of the donee's spouse or the spouse of any of these persons is the opposing party in the matter. The donee is also disqualified in cases where the opposing party is a child of the donee’s sibling or a sibling of one of the donee’s parents.
If an impartial replacement donee has been appointed in the power of attorney (for example, a person outside the family), the person in question can then apply for the confirmation of the continuous power of attorney for their part. When the authority has confirmed the part of the power of attorney concerning the replacement donee, the person is eligible to represent the donor in the matter in which the actual donee has been disqualified.
If the person making the power of attorney owns a real property and wishes to give the donee the right to
- sell or otherwise transfer the property
- apply for mortgaging for the property
- establish a right of lien for the property
specific instructions indicating this must be included in the power of attorney.
The donor may give instructions for the remunerations and compensation of expenses paid to the donee in the power of attorney or in the instructions. The donor and the donee may also agree on them between themselves. If they have not been determined or agreed on, the donee has the right to be receive compensation for the necessary expenses resulting from carrying out the responsibilities and a reasonable remuneration, the amount of which is affected by the nature and extent of the responsibility. The instructions issued by the Ministry of Justice for the fee paid to a guardian under the Guardianship Services Act cannot be directly applied to the duty of the donee and the remuneration charged by the donee.
The guardianship authority cannot give the donee more detailed or case-specific instructions for the amount of the remuneration. The sum of the remuneration may be assessed by the authority, for example, in connection with an audit of the accounts or when the donee’s activities have been reported to the authority.
Power of attorney will enter into force only after the guardianship authority has confirmed it. Read more about the prerequisites for confirmation here.
It is very important to keep the original continuing power of attorney document. The power of attorney should be kept in a place where the donee can access it when it is time to have the power of attorney confirmed. The power of attorney can be given to the donee to keep.
The original continuing power of attorney is not submitted to the guardianship authority until when it is confirmed. A continuing power of attorney cannot be given to the authorities for storage.
A continuing power of attorney can also be kept in a safe deposit box of a bank. In that case, it is important to ensure that the donee has access to the safe deposit box.
It is also important to keep the original document because the donee needs it even after the authority has confirmed the continuous power of attorney. If requested, the donee must present the original power of attorney to the parties that they deal with on behalf of the donor.
Guardianship Services contact information
When sending an email, please use the Digital and Population Data Services Agency’s secure email to ensure that your information is sent securely. Select [email protected] as the recipient in the secure mail
Send the email as a secure email
Postal address
Property inventories, annual statements and final statements must be sent to the postal address of the service location.
All other post to the Guardianship Service must be sent to the address:
Digital and Population Data Services Agency / Guardianship, PO Box 1001, FI-02151 Espoo
Telephone number
The telephone service is open 9.00-12.00 on weekdays
Service number +358 295 536 256
Chat service
You can also contact us via chat at our web pages. Chat service is open Mon-Fri from 9.00 to 15.00. Please do not give sensitive information, such as your personal ID number on the chat.
Service locations
Addresses of the Digital and Population Data Services Agency’s service location
- Individuals
- Marriage
- Examination of impediments to marriage
- Marriage ceremony
- Prenuptial agreement
- Notification of a marriage concluded abroad
- Divorce granted abroad
- Registration of the act applicable to the matrimonial property regime
- Registration of a deed of division of property
- Dissolution of cohabitation
- Removal of marital rights to property
- Extracts issued of the register on the right to officiate at weddings
- Having or adopting a child
- Names
- Moving
- Elections and Right to vote
- Suomi.fi Web Service
- Citizen Certificate and electronic identity
- Guardianship
- Continuing power of attorney
- Appointment of a guardian
- Duties of the guardian
- Guardianship for a minor
- Who can act as a guardian?
- Actions that require the permission of the guardianship authority
- Appointing a substitute guardian
- Termination of guardianship
- Giving up the guardian’s task
- Guardianship authority's means of supervision
- Looking after the interests of an absent person or the future owner of the property
- Restrictions to competency and declaration of incompetence
- Extracts from the Register of Guardianship Affairs
- Certificates from the Population Information System
- Population information in the Population Information System
- Registration of a gift notification
- Services of notary public
- Certification of purchase
- Citizens’ initiative
- Death and estate inventory
- Living abroad
- Moving
- Registration of citizenship
- Divorce granted abroad
- Death abroad
- Registration of a child born abroad
- Registration of a name change performed abroad
- Notification of a marriage concluded abroad
- Registration of the act applicable to the matrimonial property regime
- Legalisation of foreign documents
- Notification of retaining Finnish citizenship
- Moving to Finland
- Public Service Info
- Address service
- Forms
- Marriage
- Organisations
- Certificates
- Updating customer registers
- Sampling and analysis services
- Search services of the Population Information System
- Local Register Office Register search services
- Extracts from registers
- Maintaining the Population Information System
- Suomi.fi services
- Services to promote digitalisation
- Digital security services
- Services of notary public
- Certification of purchase
- Right to officiate weddings
- E-services
- About the agency