Duties of the guardian

Find out and agree with your client how their affairs should be managed and what services they need.  

• Agree on practical matters: 
  • Contact the bank and assign the access rights to your client’s bank accounts only to yourself. If your client is able to manage a bank account, assign them a running expenses account.  
  • Direct any income to an account in your client's name but that only you have access to.   
  • Make sure that invoices addressed to your client come directly to you. 
  • Make sure that your client's account and investment statements come directly to you. 
  • Check the benefits your client is entitled to and apply for benefits if necessary. Ask for the notifications related to benefits to be sent to you (pension notifications, tax and benefit decisions). 
• Start by finding out your client's current financial position. You can make a budget based on income and expenditure, for example. It can help you determine the appropriate amount of spending money.   
• Find out what assets your client has and how they should be managed. 
  • If your client owns apartments or properties, find out how they are being used and what their value is. 
  • If your client owns a registered vehicle, find out how it is being used. 
  • If your client owns forest land, find out how the forest should be managed and whether you should have an asset management plan containing a forest management plan approved, for example. 
  • If your client is a stakeholder in an estate, you will need the estate inventory deed.   
• Check if your client's insurance policies are up to date.  
• Find out as soon as possible whether your client has left any bills unpaid or incurred any debt. Agree on their management as needed. 
• Find out if your client is using the Suomi.fi Messages service where messages from the authorities are directed. The client may continue to use the service if they are able to use it themselves. However, you should deactivate the service by contacting Public Service Info if 
  • your client cannot understand the messages they receive 
  • messages that you need for the performance of your task are directed there 
  • your client does not have the necessary identification tools or does not know how to use them.  

The list is not exhaustive, but contains the items that typically need to be taken care of.  

Property mapping and fair value assessment:  
• owner apartments, properties  
• stakes in estates  
• deposits  
• safe deposit boxes  
• stocks and shares  
• funds  
• unit-linked insurance  
• valuables  
• vehicles.  
 
Debt mapping:  
• bank  
• enforcement  
• collection agencies  
• guaranties or sureties  
• promissory notes  
• individual voluntary arrangements.  
 
Contact the bank:  
• changes to account access rights  
• opening a running expenses account  
• account arrangements.  
 
Income statement:  
• tax decision  
• pensions  
• daily allowances  
• rental income  
• other income. 
 
Current expenditure:  
• charges for treatment and care  
• rent  
• maintenance and residence charges  
• electricity  
• telephone  
• magazines and newspapers, television.  
 
Social benefits:  
• care allowance  
• housing allowance  
• social assistance  
• other Social Insurance Institution (Kela) subsidy  
• other social benefits 
• deduction of household expenses for the tax office. 
 
Need for spending money 

Required purchases

Client's wishes

Address changes 

Prepare and provide us with a property inventory of your client’s total assets within three months of beginning your task.

Read more about preparing the property inventory.

Make sure that your client receives appropriate treatment, care and rehabilitation. If your client's situation changes and they need additional services, for example, apply for the necessary services.  

You must take care of your client's affairs and property to their best interest. The client's assets may primarily be used for their personal needs. The rest of the assets must be invested safely and profitably.  

Keep your client's assets separate from those of others. Remember that as guardian, you may not borrow your client's funds or lend them to others.  

Also remember that you are obliged to keep confidential any information you receive about your client while performing your task. 

You can be held liable for any damage you cause to your client, either deliberately or negligently, while performing your task. Your liability for damages will continue for three years after the final statement has been submitted.   

• Keep a record of your client's financial affairs from the beginning of your task. 
• Keep account statements and receipts in a format that enables you to access them when necessary. 
• Store all the documents from the duration of your guardianship yourself.  

Prepare and submit an annual statement to us every year. Read more about preparing an annual statement.

You must ask us for permission if you are acting on behalf of your client in a matter that is significant for them, such as in selling the client's apartment. Read more about actions that require a permit and how to apply for one. 

You must apply for the appointment of substitute guardian from us if you are disqualified or temporarily prevented from representing your client due to, for example, illness or long absence. Read more about applying for a substitute.

You cannot give gifts on your own initiative. Only the client can make the decision on gift-giving on their own initiative and at their own discretion. If the client wants to give a gift that can be considered normal in the circumstances and insignificant in financial value, you can see to the matter at their request. 

The client must always understand the meaning of giving a gift and be able to independently make the decision to give a gift. If the client does not understand the meaning of giving a gift, you cannot give the gift even if it could be considered normal in the circumstances.  

You are entitled to receive a reasonable fee and to be reimbursed for any expenses incurred from the task. Read more about the fee and reimbursement of expenses.

You must prepare and submit the final statement to us within two months of the end of your task. Read more about preparing a final statement.

Depending on the situation, hand over the property to the client or to their estate. 

We can offer advice and supervision, but you must make the decisions related to the role of guardian yourself. For a separate fee, you can get assistance from accounting agencies, municipal departments of social services, or law firms. 

Report the new assets to us no later than one month after your client has acquired them. 

If your client becomes a stakeholder in an estate, you must provide us with a copy of the estate inventory deed within one month of the estate inventory. At the same time, let us know if your client has received new assets.  

Consider what action should be taken in the estate. For example, it may be in the best interest of your client that partition and/or distribution of inheritance be carried out in the estate. 

Please note that you may be disqualified from managing the affairs of the estate. In such cases, you must apply for a qualified substitute.  
Please also note that a number of actions require our permission. 

If the action requires both a permit and a substitute (i.e. you are disqualified), only submit an application for a substitute guardian. After that, the substitute guardian we appoint will apply for a permit from us for the intended action. 

You are entitled to access any information related to your task that your client would have the right to access. You can redirect the mail addressed to your client to your own address, but you may only open letters that are related to financial matters. In other words, you are not allowed to open your client's personal letters. 

In most cases, the appointment of a guardian is enough to safeguard the interests of a person in need of guardianship. However, if your client actively and against their own interests attempts to damage their financial position because of their illness (for example, by donating their property or taking out debt), their capacity to act may be restricted.  

Read more about restricting capacity to act.

If your client's health permits, you must provide them with a certain amount of spending money for their own free use. If your client is able to manage a bank account, they must be assigned a running expenses account to which only they have access.  

Running expenses account is not required if the client is unable to use it. In this case, as their guardian, you must ensure that your client is provided their spending money to their place of care, for example.  

Agree with your client on the amount of spending money and how it is provided. This can be called a spending-money policy. However, if your client is no longer able to agree on the spending money themselves, agree with, for example, the place of care on how much and how often you will provide the client with spending money.  

If your client is no longer able to use spending money, explain why there is no need for it.