Disclosure of information related to guardianship and continuing power of attorney

We may disclose certain information related to the guardianship of an individual or a continuing power of attorney when separately requested. The Act on the Openness of Government Activities and the Guardianship Services Act contain provisions on what information we may disclose and which information is confidential.

Much of the information processed by Guardianship Services, including information on health and certain data on financial matters, is confidential. The interested party has the right to also receive information on their own case that is not public.

What information do you have the right to access?

Under the law, you have the right to obtain information about certain matters processed by the Digital and Population Data Services Agency and the right to access a wide range of official documents. Provisions on these rights are laid down in the Act on the Openness of Government Activities and in the Guardianship Services Act.

Information on a public document processed by an authority or the content of a public register.
- The basic data recorded in the Register of Guardianship Affairs, e.g. information on the role of a guardian, are public.
- As a rule, official documents are also public unless otherwise provided in the Act. However, the Act stipulates that a document must be kept confidential in whole or in part if it contains information on a person's wealth, a person’s client relationship with social welfare or labour administration, a person's state of health, family life or other personal circumstances.
Information on documents concerning your guardianship or continuing power of attorney.
A guardian and a person with power of attorney have the right to receive the same information in matters related to their duties as the person under guardianship or the assignor of power of attorney.
If a person under guardianship or the assignor of power of attorney has died, their heirs have the right to be informed of the documents concerning guardianship. Otherwise, relatives or other persons are not entitled to receive documents that contain confidential information, such as on a person's state of health or financial matters.

The Digital and Population Data Services Agency acts as the guardianship authority, i.e. we supervise the activities of guardians and those with power of attorney. We also process matters concerning the appointment of a guardian and the confirmation of a continuing power of attorney. The information and documents accumulated during processing are saved in our case processing systems.
We enter basic information on guardianship and valid continuing power of attorney in the Register of Guardianship Affairs.