Permit for the partition or separation of property and the division of inheritance
When your client is a stakeholder in an estate and the property of the estate is to be divided to heirs in the division of inheritance, you, as guardian, must apply for a permit for the division of inheritance. The partial division of inheritance or simply the division of the estate’s funds will require a permit.
When a widow(er) is a stakeholder in an estate, a partition or separation of property must be carried out in connection with the division of inheritance. At this time, you can submit one permit application for the partition or separation of property and the division of inheritance. Also, the partial partition of property will require a permit.
We recommend that you apply for a permit for the partition of or separation of property as well as for the division of inheritance well in advance. However, you will need to attach a draft of the deed on the partition of property or the division of inheritance to your permit application, so the details of the action must be settled at the time you submit the permit application. The Digital and Population Data Services Agency can also approve the partition of property or the division of inheritance retrospectively, if it is in the interest of your client. However, the partition of property and the division of inheritance will not obligate your client before an authority has issued a permit for the action.
Before making any decisions concerning the tasks you are charged with, ask for your client's opinion, if it is important to do so and the hearing can be arranged with significant difficulty. However, a hearing will not be necessary, if your client is unable to understand the meaning or significance of the action.
This is what to do
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The processing of your permit application will be faster if you submit all the necessary attachments at the same time with your application. Where necessary, we will ask you for supplementary data.
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We will send any request for supplementary data electronically to the Suomi.fi Messages service or via email, by post as a letter or by phone.
Permit application
Required documents
In addition to the permit application form the following documents must be appended:
- A partition or separation of property and/or a division of inheritance agreement or its draft
- An estate deed with a shareholder record, or if no confirmation has been applied for, an estate deed without an account of family relationships. If we need further reports on family relationships, we will request these separately.
- The deceased person's potential will, including its certificates of notification or validity as well as any possible prenuptial agreement.
- A statement on the status of the estate including receipts, if changes have taken place after the estate inventory.
- A statement on the fair value of the property (an expert's statement/other reliable statement)
- Information on the ownership of the property to be divided
- If your client is a minor aged 15 or over or an adult whose functional capacity is not limited and they understand the significance of the matter, the client’s written opinion will be appended to the application.
Check list
- Ensure that the partition of property or the division of inheritance is in the best interest of your client and complies with provisions laid down in the Marriage Act and Code of Inheritance.
- Discuss the matter with your client and find out their opinion on the matter, if the client is able to understand the significance of the matter.
- Check that you have all the necessary attachments for the permit application. The attachments to the application may be copies.
- Make sure that you are not disqualified from acting as guardian during the partition of property or the division of an inheritance. If you yourself or your close relative is a stakeholder in the estate to be distributed, you will need to apply for a substitute guardian.
- When applying for a permit for the division of inheritance, please note that the cost for processing a permit application is a necessary cost resulting from the liquidation of the estate and as such it will be paid from the common funds of the estate.
Price
The processing price will be determined on the basis of the net property that is being divided or distributed. If the worth of the property to be distributed is
- at most 85,000, the processing price will be 184 euros/decision
- 85,000 – 170,000, the processing price will be 324 euros/decision
- more than 170,001, the processing price will be 444 euros/decision.
Processing period
The average processing time in permit matters by the guardianship authority is two months.
As a rule, cases are processed in their order of arrival. In individual cases, the processing time may be less or more than this depending on the size and complexity of the matter. Processing times are longer when not all necessary reports have been included as attachments to the application.
Links to laws related to the matter
Guardianship Services Act (442/1999), Unofficial translation in English (pdf)
Frequently asked questions
All activities in which the property of the estate is transferred to the ownership of stakeholders to the estate are considered to be subject to a permit. Also, just the partial division of the estate’s funds is the division of inheritance and requires a permit. The division of an estate’s profit and the payment of an estate’s bills from the estate’s account as well as the termination of the estate’s extra bank accounts will not require a permit from the guardianship authority.
We recommend that you apply for a permit for the partition of property or for the division of inheritance in advance, but you can also submit an application for an already performed action. However, the partition of property and division of inheritance will not obligate your client before a permit has been issued. As guardian, you are liable for any damages your client experiences.
In order for us to be able to process your application, we will need you to attach a draft of the contract for the partition of property or division of inheritance, so that we can check whether the action is in the best interest of your client and if it complies with the law. For this reason, the details concerning the partition of property and the division of inheritance must have been settled by the time you submit your application.
You are disqualified from representing your client in the division of inheritance when you yourself or a close relative of yours is a stakeholder to the same estate. In this case, you will need a qualified substitute guardian to act in your place.
The client’s opinion is determined in connection with the permit application, when an adult client understands the significance and meaning of the matter or the client is a minor who is 15 years old or older. The client can present their opinion in the section reserved for this on the permit application or in free form. Where necessary, we will ask the client to provide more information on the matter.
As a rule, a minor’s parents or other persons who hold custody of the minor will act as the minor’s guardians. Provisions on the need for permits and on the disqualification of a guardian will be applied to all minors regardless of whether or not the minor’s guardianship has been entered into the Register of Guardianship Affairs. A minor’s guardianship will be entered in the register, if the minor’s property exceeds 20,000 euros in value.
The processing fee will be considered a necessary fee resulting from the liquidation of the estates and as such it will be paid from the common funds of the estate.
The renunciation of an inheritance or what has been willed will require a permit. A renunciation of inheritance for no remuneration is generally only possible in the case of over-indebted estates or if the client has received their share of the inheritance in advance. A renunciation of inheritance without remuneration is comparable to giving a gift and a guardian is not permitted to gift their client's property
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.
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Addresses of the Digital and Population Data Services Agency’s service location
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