The responsibilities of the guardian of a minor 

Make sure that all of the minor’s property is in their name.  

This property can only be used for their own benefit and personal needs. The property owned by a minor does not remove their parents’ maintenance obligation.  

Keep a record of the management of the minor’s property. Retain all account statements and receipts in a format that allows you to access them whenever necessary.  

Read our instructions: How to manage the property of a minor (pdf) (in Finnish)

Complete the property inventory form according to the form’s instructions.

1. First, upload the blank form to your device and save it. 
2. Open the form in Adobe Reader. You can download the program free of charge from Adobe's website. After completing the form, save it to your device. 
3. If you wish to continue filling in the form later, open it again in Adobe Reader. When you save the form, you can choose to replace the previous version with the new version. If you do not want to replace the previous version, you must save the form with a new name. 

Notification concerning the property of a minor (in Finnish)

Instructions for preparing a property inventory (in Finnish)

Attach copies of the necessary documents and receipts as appendices to the inventory. Keep the original documents for yourself.  

Also remember to keep the information you provided, as we will not return the inventory or its appendices. For example, you will need information from the inventory when you are preparing your first annual statement. 

Once you have completed the above form, submit it and its attachments via the online form. Please note that this service only allows you to send documents, so prepare them in advance. 

Send documents via online form

Are you unable to handle your matter online?

Submit the form to the service location that is closest to the minor’s domicile. If you are not the sole guardian of the minor, submit the notification together with the other guardian. Please note that the property inventory will not be returned to you.  

Did you already submit an asset list, but forgot something from it?

You can complete it yourself with the online form.

 

Send the missing informations/attachements

 

During the processing of the information, we will hear the guardians of the minor, i.e. we will ask for your opinion on the matter in writing. We will determine whether there are any grounds for supervising the management of the minor’s property. If you have not submitted the property inventory yet, we will request it at this stage. We will then make our decision.

According to our decision, we will 

A) enter the guardianship of the minor in the register. In practice, this means that you must submit an annual account of the management of the minor’s financial affairs. For more information, read the decision and its appendices. 

B) not enter the guardianship of the minor in the register. Please note that your duties as the manager of the minor’s financial affairs will continue even if you are not accountable to us.  

The decision is free of charge. 

Prepare a statement on the previous year by 31 March. Fill in the annual statement form according to the form’s instructions. 

1. First, upload the blank form to your device and save it. 
2. Open the form in Adobe Reader. You can download the program free of charge from Adobe's website. After completing the form, save it to your device. 
3. If you wish to continue filling in the form later, open it again in Adobe Reader. When you save the form, you can choose to replace the previous version with the new version. If you do not want to replace the previous version, you must save the form with a new name. 

Annual statement form (in Finnish)

Instructions for filling in the annual statement (in Finnish)

Remember to attach all of the documents specified in the instructions to the annual statement.  

Once you have completed the above form, submit it and its attachments via the online form. Please note that this service only allows you to send documents, so prepare them in advance. You will need an online banking ID or a mobile certificate to access the Online Form service. 

Send documents via online form

Are you unable to handle your matter online?

Submit the annual statement and its appendices as copies to the service location that is closest to the minor’s domicile.

Did you already submit an annual statement, but forgot something from it?

You can complete it yourself with the online form.

 

Send the missing informations/attachements

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Please note that, as the parent of a minor, you are not entitled to any remunerations. Provide a calculation of any possible expense compensations in the annual statement. The expenses must be necessary and based on the performance of the guardian’s duties.

Remember to keep the audited annual statement. It may contain entries that you must take into account as a guardian when managing the minor’s affairs in the future. 

A) The guardianship ends once the child reaches adulthood.  

Submit the final statement within two months. Fill in the final statement form according to the form’s instructions. 

1. First, upload the blank form to your device and save it. 
2. Open the form in Adobe Reader. You can download the program free of charge from Adobe's website. After completing the form, save it to your device. 
3. If you wish to continue filling in the form later, open it again in Adobe Reader. When you save the form, you can choose to replace the previous version with the new version. If you do not want to replace the previous version, you must save the form with a new name. 

Final statement form (in Finnish)

Instructions for filling in the final statement (in Finnish)

Once you have completed the above form, submit it and its attachments via the online form. Please note that this service only allows you to send documents, so prepare them in advance. You will need an online banking ID or a mobile certificate to access the Online Form service.

Send documents via online form 

Are you unable to handle your matter online?

Submit the annual statement and its appendices as copies to the service location that is closest to the minor’s domicile.

Did you already submit a final statement, but forgot something from it?

You can complete it yourself with the online form.

Send the missing informations/attachements

B) Your accountability ends when we have decided, on the basis of an application, that the value of the minor’s property has permanently decreased to EUR 15,000 or less.  

If the value of the child’s property is reduced due to the actions of the guardian, the guardianship does not end.   

Please note that your duties as the manager of the minor’s financial affairs will continue even if we remove the minor’s guardianship from the register. In this case, however, you will not be accountable to us or required to submit a final statement. 

As a guardian, you are required to keep all documents accumulated during the supervision. Even after three years, you may not destroy the documents, but must instead hand them to the minor who has reached adulthood.

A minor is a person under the age of 18. Minors are not entitled to make decisions concerning their property, conclude important agreements or take other significant measures. However, a minor is entitled to take normal measures that are of a minor significance in relation to their circumstances. A minor who has reached the age of 15 can decide on how they will use the property they have earned through their work. Under the Guardianship Services Act, a minor is referred to as a ward, i.e. a person whose property is managed by their guardian. 

The guardians of a minor are usually the minor’s parents, who have custody of the minor. If two people have custody of the minor, both of them are guardians regardless of which parent the minor lives with. The parents must jointly take care of their guardianship duties. In some cases, a person who does not have custody of the minor may also be appointed as their guardian. The same responsibilities apply to every guardian of a minor. 

In the Guardianship Services Act, the Digital and Population Data Services Agency is referred to as a guardianship authority. Our task is to ensure that the minor’s property is properly managed.

 

The Register of Guardianship Affairs provides information on whether a person has a guardian, who their guardian is, and what the guardian’s duties are.

An inventory in which the guardian reports the minor’s property and debts on the commencement date of our supervision. 

The statement submitted to us by the guardian each calendar year on how the minor’s property has been managed.

When the guardianship ends, the guardian must provide us with an account of the management of the minor’s property for the period for which no annual statement has been submitted.