- Marriage
- Examination of impediments to marriage
- Marriage ceremony
- Prenuptial agreement
- Notification of a marriage concluded abroad
- Divorce granted abroad
- Registration of the act applicable to the matrimonial property regime
- Registration of a deed of division of property
- Dissolution of cohabitation
- Removal of marital rights to property
- Extracts issued of the register on the right to officiate at weddings
- Having or adopting a child
- Names
- Moving
- Elections and Right to vote
- Suomi.fi Web Service
- Citizen Certificate and electronic identity
- Guardianship
- Continuing power of attorney
- Appointment of a guardian
- Duties of the guardian
- Guardianship for a minor
- Who can act as a guardian?
- Actions that require the permission of the guardianship authority
- Permit to buy or sell a dwelling
- Permit for purchase or sale of real estate
- Permit for the partition or separation of property and the division of inheritance
- Renunciation of inheritance, for the surrender of one’s share of an inheritance or an agreement on the joint administration of an estate
- Engaging in trade or the establishment of a company
- Property management plan
- Pledging of property and for borrowing and lending
- Leasing or investing a client’s property
- Limited account or the management of the earnings
- Appointing a substitute guardian
- Termination of guardianship
- Giving up the guardian’s task
- Guardianship authority's means of supervision
- Looking after the interests of an absent person or the future owner of the property
- Restrictions to competency and declaration of incompetence
- Extracts from the Register of Guardianship Affairs
- Certificates from the Population Information System
- Population information in the Population Information System
- Registration of a gift notification
- Services of notary public
- Certification of purchase
- Citizens’ initiative
- Death and estate inventory
- Living abroad
- Moving
- Registration of citizenship
- Divorce granted abroad
- Death abroad
- Registration of a child born abroad
- Registration of a name change performed abroad
- Notification of a marriage concluded abroad
- Registration of the act applicable to the matrimonial property regime
- Legalisation of foreign documents
- Notification of retaining Finnish citizenship
- Moving to Finland
- Public Service Info
- Address service
- Forms
Restrictions to competency and declaration of incompetence
In most cases, the appointment of a guardian is sufficient to safeguard the interests of a person in need of guardianship. The limitation of a person's competency will become topical chiefly when, due to an illness, the person actively seeks to act against their own interests in a manner that damages their financial standing, for example by donating their property or accumulating debt. In these situations, the appointment of a guardian may not alone be sufficient to safeguard the person’s interests. In this case, the District Court may order that:
- the person may perform certain legal acts, such as borrowing, only in with the assistance and consent of their guardian; or
- the person may only make decisions concerning their assigned property with the assistance and consent of their guardian.
The restrictions described above can effectively ensure, for example, that the client remains in ownership of property that is essential for the client's livelihood, such as a residence or a farm. If the restriction described above is not appropriate or sufficient for the protection of the person, the District Court may order that
- the person is not competent to perform certain legal acts; or
- the person does not have the legal right to make decisions concerning their property.
Generally, such a restriction will also terminate a person’s right to take out credit. Once the court has issued such a decision, only the guardian may perform the legal acts referred to in the decision and control the property specified in it on behalf of their client.
Limiting a person’s competence will become topical either at the time a guardian is appointed or separately when a guardian has been appointed for the person in question at an earlier time. The competence of a minor may be restricted after the minor has reached the age of 17. The restriction will begin after the person turns 18.
A person who has had limitations set for their competence always needs a guardian to act on their behalf in matters which the person cannot decide on independently due to the restriction. When deciding on a restriction to competence, the court will simultaneously appoint a guardian to the person, unless the person has already been appointed a guardian, whose duties include matters that the client cannot decide on independently due to the restriction.
The restriction to competence is valid until further notice or for the period specified in the court decision. The restriction or its period of validity may be amended if changing circumstances so require and must be terminated if it is no longer necessary.
Declaration of incompetency
As a final and extreme measure, a person may be declared incompetent, only in the event that limiting their competence is not sufficient to protect them. An incompetent person only has the right to perform legal acts that are of minor significance. Therefore, they can decide on such things as the use funds allocated to them by their guardian. However, an incompetent person cannot perform such acts as opening a telephone subscription or selling a car that they own. An appointed guardian will represent the person, who has been declared incompetent, in matters concerning financial affairs and property owned by the incompetent person when these are considered of more than minor importance.
However, an incompetent person can always decide on matters concerning his or her person if they understand the significance of the matter at hand. An incompetent person can, when they understand the significance of the matter, do such things as apply for a passport or submit a notification on their change of name. If an incompetent person does not understand the significance of a matter concerning them, the guardian may decide on the matter on their client’s behalf, if so decided on by the court. Even so, the guardian cannot ever decide matters on behalf of their client, in matters where the personal nature of the decision is emphasised. Thus, a guardian cannot, for example, enter into a marriage, acknowledge paternity, prepare a will, grant power of attorney or enter into a prenuptial agreement on behalf of their client.
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.
Service locations
Addresses of the Digital and Population Data Services Agency’s service location
- Individuals
- Marriage
- Examination of impediments to marriage
- Marriage ceremony
- Prenuptial agreement
- Notification of a marriage concluded abroad
- Divorce granted abroad
- Registration of the act applicable to the matrimonial property regime
- Registration of a deed of division of property
- Dissolution of cohabitation
- Removal of marital rights to property
- Extracts issued of the register on the right to officiate at weddings
- Having or adopting a child
- Names
- Moving
- Elections and Right to vote
- Suomi.fi Web Service
- Citizen Certificate and electronic identity
- Guardianship
- Continuing power of attorney
- Appointment of a guardian
- Duties of the guardian
- Guardianship for a minor
- Who can act as a guardian?
- Actions that require the permission of the guardianship authority
- Appointing a substitute guardian
- Termination of guardianship
- Giving up the guardian’s task
- Guardianship authority's means of supervision
- Looking after the interests of an absent person or the future owner of the property
- Restrictions to competency and declaration of incompetence
- Extracts from the Register of Guardianship Affairs
- Certificates from the Population Information System
- Population information in the Population Information System
- Registration of a gift notification
- Services of notary public
- Certification of purchase
- Citizens’ initiative
- Death and estate inventory
- Living abroad
- Moving
- Registration of citizenship
- Divorce granted abroad
- Death abroad
- Registration of a child born abroad
- Registration of a name change performed abroad
- Notification of a marriage concluded abroad
- Registration of the act applicable to the matrimonial property regime
- Legalisation of foreign documents
- Notification of retaining Finnish citizenship
- Moving to Finland
- Public Service Info
- Address service
- Forms
- Marriage
- Organisations
- Certificates
- Updating customer registers
- Sampling and analysis services
- Search services of the Population Information System
- Local Register Office Register search services
- Extracts from registers
- Maintaining the Population Information System
- Suomi.fi services
- Services to promote digitalisation
- Digital security services
- Services of notary public
- Certification of purchase
- Right to officiate weddings
- E-services
- About the agency