Termination of guardianship

The guardian’s task as the person looking after the client’s matters ends on the day of the client's death. The guardian’s duties do not include tasks that are the responsibility of the client’s estate. However, the guardian must without delay provide the guardianship authority with a final statement for the time period for which an annual statement has not been provided yet. The accounting period ends on the day of the client’s death. The client’s property must be surrendered to the stakeholders of the client's estate.

The decision appointing the guardian includes instructions for the measures that need to be taken when the task is terminated. Read the instructions in the decision as they may vary depending on the task you have been appointed for.

Sometimes the task may not end until you have provided the guardianship authority with the documents indicating the termination of the task. Sometimes the guardian and the client must together notify the guardianship authority of the termination of the task. If your task has involved management of the client’s property, you have also been accountable. This means that you must without delay provide the guardianship authority with a final statement for the

time period for which an annual statement has not been provided yet. The accounting period ends with the termination of the task.

A guardian may be appointed for a set period of time or for the time being. A guardianship that has been ordered for a set period ends at the end of the set period without any other transactions. The guardian’s task has usually included management of the client’s property, which means that the guardian must provide the guardianship authority with a final statement. The client’s property that has been managed by the guardian must be surrendered to the client.

If the need for guardianship continues after the end of the set period, the client and the guardian can together submit an application to the guardianship authority for an extension of the period of validity. If a joint application is not possible, the district court may on application issue a decision on changing the period of validity of the guardianship. The application must be submitted in good time before the end of the task so that the guardianship will not be interrupted.

The guardian and the client may together apply for the termination of the guardianship if there is no longer a need for it. The need for guardianship may end because the client has recovered sufficiently to manage their matters. In that case, the client must obtain a doctor’s statement, which must be attached to the application. The need may also end when the client’s circumstances change and, for example, the client can get the required help from their spouse. If a joint application is not possible, the district court may on application issue a decision on the termination of the guardianship.

The decision on the termination of the guardianship will not be complied with until the decision has become final. If the decision has not been appealed, it will become final after the appeal period has ended. The guardianship authority's decision or request for a final statement indicates when the guardian’s task has ended and what the last day of the accounting period for the final statement is. When the guardian’s task has ended, the guardian must without delay provide the guardianship authority with a final statement for the time period for which an annual statement has not been provided yet. When the task has ended, the guardian must surrender to the client the property the guardian has been managing.

Your task as the person managing the matters of an underage client ends when the underage client reaches the age of 18. The guardian must surrender the property to the client who has become an adult. The guardian must without delay provide the guardianship authority with a final statement for the time period for which an annual statement has not been provided yet. The accounting period ends on the day the client turns 18.

If you have been appointed as a guardian only to take care of a certain task or tasks, for example, as a substitute guardian, see the instructions for the termination of your task in the appointment decision.

If you are a private person and have been appointed as a guardian based on your consent, you may request to be relieved of the guardian’s task at any time. You must then be relieved of the guardian’s task because the task is voluntary. If the client still needs a guardian, the guardianship authority is responsible for arranging a new guardian for the client. Relieving the guardian of the task and the appointment of a new guardian are often performed at the same time. It is also possible that you are relieved of your task but ordered to continue until a new guardian has been appointed.

If a private guardian dies, some of the guardian's responsibilities are transferred to the party responsible for the administration of the estate. The administration of the estate is usually the responsibility of the stakeholders of the estate. One of the stakeholders must without delay notify the death of the guardian to the guardianship authority and the stakeholders must look after the client’s property for as long as it is in the possession of the estate. The guardianship authority’s responsibility is to make sure that a new guardian is appointed for the client. The estate is responsible for providing the guardianship authority with a final statement for the time period that has not been accounted for yet. The accounting period ends on the day of the guardian’s death.

If the client has moved to live in a foreign state, the guardianship authority may decide to terminate supervision in Finland. The decision may be made on the guardianship authority’s own initiative or at the client’s or guardian’s initiative. Termination is possible if the supervision of the guardian’s actions has been arranged in the foreign state or if the purpose of supervision can no longer be achieved with supervision taking place in Finland.