Registration of a minor’s guardianship and accountability

As a rule, an accounting period is equivalent to one calendar year. The exceptions to this rule are the first and the last statement periods or if the guardianship authority has issued a separate decision on the statement period.

The person with custody of the minor who is their guardian. If there are more than one guardian, they must all sign the annual and final statement forms.

Property is valued at fair value (resale price). No expert statements on fair value are required for either the property inventory or the annual and final statements. Any other reasoned assessment given by the guardian is acceptable.

• You can examine sales price statistics to compare the going price, of similar apartments/properties.
• The value can be justified also on the basis of renovation or improvement work completed at the location.
• For more information on forest holding, please see the Metsaan.fi service.
• Estate inventory deeds or inheritance settlement deeds if these are recent.

You cannot represent yourself as a debtor and the client as the creditor. You are thus disqualified, and you must look for someone to act as a substitute guardian. In addition, lending money from your client’s assets is subject to a licence. The loan must include interest and a guarantee. Giving a loan must in any case be in the interest of your client. A decision on the licence will be subject to a charge and the decision can be a negative one.

The guardianship authority may consider releasing the guardian from their obligation to submit an annual statement or setting the statement period as longer than one year if the nature of the minor's property is such that the minor's best interest does not require the drawing up of an annual statement. For example, if a minor’s property mainly consists of real property or apartments that

a guardian cannot hand over without the permission of the guardianship authority, an annual statement may not be necessary. If necessary, the guardianship authority may reverse its decision, for example if the assets of a minor are sold. A guardian can be released from the obligation to submit an annual statement for the time being or for a fixed period. However, the decision does not exempt the guardian from the obligation to draw up and submit a final statement. A final statement must be drawn up for the period for which no statement has previously been submitted.

The guardianship authority may consider removing the guardianship of a minor from the Register of Guardianship Affairs when the value of the minor's property has permanently fallen to below EUR 15,000. However, guardianship cannot be removed from the register if the reduction in the value of the minor’s property was caused by measures taken by the guardian that were contrary to the interests of the minor. Other special reasons may also be an obstacle for removing guardianship from the register.

Example: The guardianship of a minor has been entered in the Register of Guardianship Affairs, as the minor’s share of the estate's assets without deduction of the debts of the deceased or the estate (gross value) exceeds EUR 20,000. After the payment of the deceased’s and the estate’s debts, the estate has been divided and the minor has received assets worth EUR 10,000 in the distribution of inheritance. The minor has no other property and the decrease in the value of the property has not been caused by measures taken by the guardian that are contrary to the interests of the minor. As the value of the minor's property has been permanently reduced to less than EUR 15,000, the guardianship of the minor may be removed from the Register of Guardianship Affairs, if there are no other special reasons for keeping the guardianship in the register.

The guardianship authority may initiate a coercive measure process in which the guardian is obliged to submit a statement at the risk of a fine or at the risk that the statement will be drawn up at the expense of the guardian. In such cases, the

guardianship authority may also assess the suitability of the guardian for their duties. If the guardian proves inappropriate or unable to act as the guardian of a minor, they may be released from their duties as guardian and a new guardian may be appointed to the minor if necessary.