The Digital and Population Data Services Agency is developing a digital register of estate shareholders to streamline the management of matters after the death of a loved one. The new digital service will be introduced in phases in 2027. The introduction of the register will require extensive legislative amendments.

The new register of estate shareholders will replace the current reports on family relationships. Estates will not need to order reports on family relationships, as the corresponding information will be imported into the register of estate shareholders automatically. The estate shareholders will then be able to view and supplement the register data in MyTax. 

Reform develops services with a human-focused approach

The reform aims to develop services with a human-focused approach to make the new digital services meet real needs as well as possible.

“When a loved one dies, the relatives have to deal with many practical matters. Digitalisation and automation can help us significantly streamline the management of matters by the estate and its shareholders if future legislation makes it possible. We are listening carefully to the needs and expectations of people who manage estates, so that the new services will make it easier for family members to get the necessary things done,” explains Noora Kallio, Director General of the Digital and Population Data Services Agency.

The change applies to estates formed from 2027 onwards. The procedure will remain unchanged for currently existing estates.

Register of estate shareholders as the new base register

The services that will streamline the management of estate matters will be useful for families and for the authorities and companies handling estate matters, as data will be processed faster, and its manual processing will be reduced. 

The aim is for authorities and companies to retrieve the data on an estate’s shareholders from the new register either with Suomi.fi e-Authorizations or through the APIs of the shareholder register. This will allow them to provide services to estates more easily and cost-efficiently, while also eliminating the need for estates to submit their shareholder information to different organisations through other channels. 

The register of estate shareholders will contain up-to-date information on:

• the estate
• the estate shareholders at each processing stage of the estate
• the contact details of the estate
• the roles of the shareholders in relation to the estate.

Register of estate shareholders is part of a larger goal

The register of estate shareholders will be developed as part of the Ministry of Finance’s development programme from 2024 to 2027, and the programme will be implemented in cooperation between the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Justice, the Digital and Population Data Services Agency and the Tax Administration. 

In the project, the Digital and Population Data Services Agency will implement the register of estate shareholders and the related interface services. The agency is also responsible for making any necessary changes to Suomi.fi e-Authorizations and for communications related to the shareholder register through Suomi.fi Messages. 

The goal of the programme is to make dealing with matters related to the death of a loved one smoother than before through digitalisation. The estimated total costs for the Digital and Population Data Services Agency are approximately EUR 8 million.