Information for the granter’s next of kin and instructions for problem situations
A continuing power of attorney is made in case the granter is no longer possible to manage their own affairs in the future. Often the granter chooses to authorise their family members. However, you can appoint any private person as the attorney, so your next of kin may authorise someone outside their immediate circle to do so.
Consider the following, if a next of kin has prepared a continuing power of attorney:
- A person authorised by next of kin is obligated to non-disclosure of the information that they receive from the granter when performing their duties. In other words, they cannot inform the granter's close circle of all matters related to their duties if the granter has not provided separate consent to do so.
- The attorney may act and represent their granter in matters specified in the continuing power of attorney.
- The continuing power of attorney indicates the attorney's reporting obligations, such as issuing an annual account or final account. All attorneys are obliged to provide us with a property inventory once the authorisation has been validated.
My next of kin has asked me to be an attorney. What would I be committing to?
Read more about the duties of an attorney.
Will my opinion be asked as the granter’s next of kin when confirming the authorisation?
As a rule, we ask the granter's and their spouse's opinion (hearing) before we make a decision to confirm the authorisation.
We can also ask the opinion of the granter's other family members if necessary. Our aim is to find out whether they know of matter that might affect the confirmation of the authorisation. However, the confirmation of the authorisation does not require the consent of the next of kin.
I'm dissatisfied with the attorney's work. What can I do?
Different parties may have differing views on how the granter’s affairs should be managed. This is particularly likely in situations where every party is not sufficiently familiar with the attorney’s role and duties. The attorney 's duty of confidentiality may also cause distrust. In addition, the duties assigned to the attorney in the granter’s continuing power of attorney must be taken into account.
In unclear situations, talk to the attorney first.
If you cannot solve the issue by talking, you can contact us.
You can also file a complaint regarding the activities of the attorney, in which you explain and justify why you think the attorney has not acted properly.
We are often unable to solve the problems related to the attorney's activities ourselves, as we are mainly able to issue recommendations on how they should act.
In addition, we may require the attorney to provide us with an account and the necessary supporting items and documents attached to it. Based of them, we examine whether the attorney has performed their duties appropriately. When we investigate the matter, we have the right to request information from other parties, such as banks or other authorities.
Your complaint may not lead to an action, but we can, for example, advise the attorney in their duties. At worst, however, your complaint may lead to us considering the attorney inappropriate for the position and asking the District Court to appoint a guardian to the granter.
1. We recommend submitting your complaint using our form. Save the form on your device before filling it in.
Complaint regarding the attorney's activitiesFile opens in a new tabyja-document-link-opens-in-a-new-tab (in Finnish)
You can also submit a free-form complaint, but enter the same information as requested in the form.
2. Send us the complaint by email or mail.
3. We will process the complaint.
We will determine whether the matter presented in the complaint can be resolved in another way, such as by advising the attorney.
If the matter cannot be resolved otherwise, we will process the complaint and request a report from the attorney on the matter. We will attach your complaint as-is to the request for clarification sent to the attorney.
4. We will issue a decision on the matter.
Read about the possible consequences of the complaint in the question above.