Management of a minor’s property

As a rule, the parents of a minor are responsible for the child's maintenance and personal needs, such as housing, clothing, food, education and ordinary hobby expenses. A survivor’s pension paid to a minor can be used for the maintenance of the minor. These can be deposited in either the guardian's or the minor's bank

account. A minor’s pensions must be deposited in the name of minor, if they are not needed to cover everyday expenses. A minor is never required to participate in the maintenance of their parents or siblings.

The minor’s other property cannot be used to their normal everyday expenses without special grounds. Special grounds may include, for example, the guardian's reduced maintenance capacity due to illness, unemployment or other similar reason.

The guardianship authority advises guardians in the management of a minor’s property, but also supervises their activities.

The guardianship authority may enter the guardianship of a minor in the Register of Guardianship Affairs, which results in the guardian being accountable to the guardianship authority. Further information on the registration of guardianship and accountability

The duties of the guardian cease when the minor reaches the age of 18. A person aged 18 and over has the right to their own property.

Money deposited in a minor’s bank account are funds transferred to the minor as a gift. Therefore, they are minor’s own funds and cannot be taken back to the parent at a later time, even if it was the parent in question who gifted them originally.

The same applies to other property gifted to a minor.

As a rule, a parent is responsible for their child's maintenance with the parent’s own funds. Money deposited in the minors account as savings may be used for the maintenance of the minor, if their parent's maintenance capacity is reduced. A minor is never required to participate in the maintenance of their parents or other family members.

A minor has the right to decide what they will use their earnings on.

A minor’s income includes pension income, social benefits and capital income. As a rule, a parent is responsible for their child's maintenance and personal needs. A minor’s survivors' pension after the death of a parent is intended to be used for the living costs of a minor. If the living costs of a minor are equal to the sum of their pension income, the pension income can be used entirely to cover living costs. In this case, pension income can be deposited directly to the parent’s account. If a minor's survivor's pension is not required for the maintenance of the minor, it must be deposited in the name of the minor.

As a rule, a parent is responsible for their child's maintenance and personal needs, for example the costs of hobbies. If the parent's ability to provide maintenance for the child has been reduced in such a way that it prevents the child from pursuing a hobby, the minor’s funds may be used for purchases made personally for the minor. Such purchases may include, for example, a moped driving licence, a computer, and a minor's hobby equipment and expenses.

The minor must be registered as the owner of the vehicle because the vehicle was purchased with the minor’s funds.

If the minor does not have a right to drive, the name of the holder using the vehicle who has the right to drive (e.g. the parent) must also be included in the notification.

The compensation sum is the property of the minor and a bank account must be opened in the name of the minor to which the compensation must be deposited.

The funds must be deposited in a bank account that is in the name of the estate. If necessary, an account must be opened in the name of the estate.

The guardian must discuss the matter with the minor and take the minor’s views into account.

The guardian must consider whether the sale of the property is in the best interest of the minor despite their opposition. If the sale requires a permit from the guardianship authority, the opinion of a minor aged 15 or over must be stated in the permit application.

The guardian of a minor may need a substitute in many different situations. In this case, the guardianship authority may, at the request of the guardian, appoint a substitute guardian. Where necessary, also the District Court may appoint a substitute for the guardian. If a guardian cannot represent a minor in a matter, a substitute will be required regardless of whether the legal act in question requires a permit from the Local Register Office.

The guardian of a minor will need a substitute if the guardian themself, their child or spouse or someone else they also represent as a guardian is a party to the matter. Parties include the seller and buyer, the landlord and the tenant, or the widow(er) and heirs to an estate.

However, the joint guardian of underage siblings may represent the siblings in the distribution of inheritance if their interests do not conflict with one another. The interests of underage siblings may conflict with one another, for example, when the property is to be divided in manner where the minors receive different types of property. In this case, the guardian needs a substitute.

A minor’s guardian will also need a substitute if the interests of the guardian and the minor may conflict, even if they are not counterparties in the matter.

Examples of situations in which a substitute is required:

• Both a minor child and an adult child of the guardian are stakeholders in an estate in which the intention is to distribute inheritance. In these situations, a substitute is needed even when the guardian is not a stakeholder in the estate.
• A minor is a stakeholder in the estate, which owns a car that is to be sold to the guardian or to the guardian’s adult child.
• A minor child has a residence that they do not need as their own home. The guardian wishes to rent the residence to their adult child.
• If an apartment owned jointly by the guardian and the minor is to be sold, the guardian can usually sell the property on their own and the minor’s behalf. However, a guardian needs a substitute if the guardian’s interests and those of the minor are not consistent with one another in the matter, for example, because the minor needs the apartment as their own residence while the guardian does not.
• The guardian or a person close to the guardian has unclear claims against the estate in which the minor is a stakeholder. The guardian will need a substitute for the liquidation of the estate.

The change of residence involves two different legal actions, the sale of a residence and the purchase of a residence.

The interests of the minor must be realised in both legal actions.

Although a guardian can generally represent a minor in the sale and purchase of a residence, the interests of the guardian and the minor may conflict with each other in the event of the sale/purchase related to the estate in question. The interests of the guardian and the minor may be in conflict, for example in a situation where consideration is given to whether the minor's funds will be tied to the family's shared residence in the future. Loan and pledge situations related to the purchase of a residence may also cause conflicts of interest. In such cases, a substitute guardian will need to be appointed.

If there are several children of different ages who are stakeholders in an estate, their interests may also conflict with one another.

In such cases, more than one substitute guardian may need to be appointed.

The sale and purchase of a residence will require permission from the guardianship authority. If a substitute guardian has been appointed in place of a guardian, it is the substitute’s duty to apply for a permit.

The opinion of a minor aged 15 or over will also be determined in connection with the appointment of a substitute and in permit matters.

The person with custody of a minor can be released of their duties as guardian in the same manner as the guardian of an adult. The court must exempt the guardian from their duties if they prove incapable of performing these or if there are other special reasons for such liberalisation. A guardian may be exempt from their duties as guardian either completely or in certain areas, for example they can be exempt from managing assets obtained as inheritance.

The guardianship authority may submit an application to the District Court to release a guardian from their duties and appoint a new guardian, for example, if the guardian has used a minor’s funds for their own needs or the needs of other persons, or if the guardian has neglected to give an annual statement on the management of the property of the minor child.

A parent, who is the guardian of their minor child, can only be discharged at their own request from their duties as the child’s guardian if there is a special reason for this. A special reason may be, for example, the parent's deteriorated state of health.

A minor’s guardian does not have the right to charge a fee for the performance of the guardian's duties.

However, in some exceptional situations, the performance of a guardian’s duties must result in expenses for the guardian for which they are entitled to compensation from the minor's funds. Compensation may only be collected for expenses resulting from the management of property or financial affairs, not for expenses resulting from their duties as a parent.