Death of a close family member

The following persons are the shareholders in the estate of the deceased:

• children or grandchildren of the deceased person
• general legatees (persons named as beneficiaries in the will)
• widow(er).

The widow(er) will remain an estate shareholder until the property of the deceased is divided.

A cohabiting partner can only be an estate shareholder if the surviving partner is named as a beneficiary in the will prepared by the deceased partner.

The estate inventory must be carried out if the deceased person lived in Finland on a permanent basis at the time of their death. The age, citizenship or amount of the property of the deceased is irrelevant in this respect. An estate inventory must also be carried out after the death of a child.

An estate inventory is also recommended if the deceased person lived outside Finland on a permanent basis but had fixed assets in Finland at the time of their death. In such situations, you do not need to prepare an estate inventory deed for the Finnish Tax Administration but with the estate inventory deed, it may be easier to manage matters with such parties as the authorities and banks. Even if you did not prepare the estate inventory deed, you may have to submit an inheritance tax return to the Finnish Tax Administration. Visit the website of the Finnish Tax Administration to read more about international situations involving inheritanceOpens in a new window. and inheritance tax returnsOpens in a new window..

If you submit the estate inventory deed late or the document contains inaccurate information, the Finnish Tax Administration may order you to pay a penalty fee or impose a punitive tax increaseOpens in a new window.. If you fail to submit the estate inventory deed, the inheritance tax may be determined on the basis of an estimate.

The Finnish Tax Administration may grant you more time to organise the estate inventory if there are justified reasons for doing so. The application for the extension must be submitted before three months has passed from the death of the deceased person.

If the estate inventory has been carried out but you need more time to submit the estate inventory deed, the application for the extension must be submitted within one month of the estate inventory. You can apply for the extension in MyTax service or on a form (in Finnish).Opens in a new window.

You can organise the estate inventory yourself or use expert assistance. When organising the estate inventory, you must familiarise yourself with many different matters and obtain several documents. For this reason, expert assistance is often required in the process. Estate inventories are organised by such bodies as law firms, funeral homes and banks. Outside parties usually charge fees for their services.

Legal aid officesOpens in a new window. also help in the organisation of the estate inventory if your income is within the limits for legal aid.

Some trade unions also provide their members with assistance in estate inventory matters.

The person reporting the estate and two trustees must be present in the estate inventory. However, all estate shareholders must be invited to the estate inventory.

The trustees must be legally competent and at least 18 years old. There are no other specific qualification requirements for the trustees. The trustees determine the assets and debts of the estate.

One of the estate inventory participants acts as the person reporting the estate. The person reporting the estate reports the assets and debts of the estate to the trustees. The person that manages the assets of the estate or is particularly familiar with issues concerning the property of the estate usually acts as the person reporting the estate.

A district court may be requested to appoint an estate distributor. The estate distributor may be needed if there are disagreements between the estate shareholders. Using an estate distributor can be expensive and it is not recommended if the estate only needs help in the preparation of documents. Any of the shareholders may apply for the appointment of the estate administrator.

After the estate administrator has been appointed, shareholders can no longer make any decisions concerning the estate.

If you contract a private service provider to organise the estate inventory, check the prices of the service first. The prices may depend on such matters as the size of the estate. You may have to pay hundreds or even thousands of euros for the service. Obtaining the necessary documents also costs money. 

The costs arising from the estate inventory are primarily paid from the assets of the estate if the assets are sufficient. If the assets are insufficient to cover the costs, the party ordering the service is responsible for the costs. To prevent any future disagreements, the shareholders should agree on the division of tasks performed as part of the estate inventory in advance.

The estate inventory deed must be prepared even if the deceased person did not have any assets.

The debts of the deceased must be entered in the estate inventory deed. The heirs are no longer responsible for the debts after they have been entered in the estate inventory deed.

If the deceased person did not have any assets or debts, it must be stated in the estate inventory deed that the estate is void of funds and free of debts.

Reports on family relationships are issued by the Digital and Population Data Services Agency, the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland and the Orthodox Church of Finland.

If the person has been a member of an Evangelical Lutheran or Orthodox parish all their life, you must request the report on family relationships from the following church registers:

• Certificates from the Evangelical Lutheran Church (in Finnish)
• Certificates from the Orthodox Church (in Finnish).Opens in a new window.

You must request the report on family relationships from the Digital and Population Data Services Agency if the person

• has not been a member of the parishes referred to above or
• has been a member of a registered religious community (other than the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland or the Orthodox Church of Finland).

You may have to request reports on family relationships from parishes and the Digital and Population Data Services Agency. This is the case, for example, when the person in question left the church at some point of their life.

Reports on family relationships for persons who have been members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church or the Orthodox Church can also be requested from the Digital and Population Data Services Agency for the period after 1 October 1999. For the period before 1 October 1999, the reports must always be requested from a parish.

Contact the National ArchivesOpens in a new window. if you need reports on family relationships of persons who lived in the Finnish territory ceded to the Soviet Union as a result of the Second World War.

In many cases, the details of the living heirs are contained in the report on the deceased person’s family relationships. In that case, separate life certificates are not required.

If the information is not contained in the report on family relationships, a separate life certificate of the estate shareholder must be requested. This is the case when, for example, the deceased was a member of the church but the heir does not belong to the church.

Members of the church may request a life certificate from the parishes’ online service and other persons from the Digital and Population Data Services Agency.

• Requesting a life certificate from the Digital and Population Data Services Agency
• Requesting a life certificate from the Evangelical Lutheran Church (in Finnish)
• Requesting a life certificate from the Orthodox Church (the information is in Finnish)Opens in a new window.

If the deceased or any other person for whom a report on family relationships is required has lived outside Finland, the report on family relationships must be requested from outside Finland.

The life certificate of an estate shareholder living outside Finland must be requested from the country in question. If the shareholder visits Finland, they may also request the life certificate from the public notary services of the Digital and Population Data Services AgencyOpens in a new window..

Read more about requesting a report on family relationships and a life certificate from outside Finland on the website of the Finnish diplomatic mission in the country concernedOpens in a new window.. On the embassy websites, reports on family relationships are referred to as the extract from the population register. A life certificate can usually be found on the embassy websites under ‘notarial services’.

The Ministry for Foreign Affairs will only assist in obtaining the required documents if the country in question only makes the documents available to diplomatic missions.

The balance statement shows the value of the deceased person’s deposited assets, debts and investments on the day of death. Some banks provide the balance statements automatically, while others only send them on request.

You need the balance statements on

• bank accounts
• credit cards
• book-entry accounts
• equity savings accounts.

If the deceased person had outstanding study loans, enter them in the estate inventory deed as loans valued at EUR 0.

For the estate inventory, you also need the details of

• the invoices concerning the deceased person’s life time (such as telephone invoices, electricity invoices, rents, hospital invoices and unpaid taxes).
• funeral costs
• costs arising from the estate inventory.

Enter all this information as deductions in the estate inventory deed.

In the estate inventory deed, the value of the property is determined on the basis of its estimated sales value on the day of death.

Visit the website of the Finnish Tax Administration for more information on how to determine the value of property for the estate inventory deed.Opens in a new window.

Contact the customer service of the National Land Survey of FinlandOpens in a new window. to determine the real property owned by the deceased person.

Estate agents can help in determining the value of the real property and flats. You can also use transactions in which similar property has been sold to determine the value of the assets in question. If the dwelling of the deceased person is sold to a buyer that is independent of the estate and its shareholders soon after the estate inventory, the sales price is the most reliable indicator of the dwelling’s value. If the dwelling is sold before the inheritance tax is determined, you should immediately notify the Finnish Tax Administration of the sale so that the information can be used in the inheritance taxation. If the inheritance tax is determined before the sale, an heir may submit a claim for adjusting the inheritance tax value so that it would correspond to the sales price.

In determining the value of the motor vehicles owned by the deceased person, you can consult experts or visit the websites of online car dealers.

For more information about determining the value of forest property, visit the website of the Forest Centre.Opens in a new window.

For the estate inventory, you also need

• the latest pre-completed tax return or taxation decision of the deceased person and the widow(er)
• the real estate tax return if the deceased person owned real property
• the will (if available)
• details of any advancements
• details of any gifts that the deceased person had given to estate shareholders during the past three years
• insurance decision if insurance compensation payments have been made on the basis of the death.

Copies of the following documents must be submitted to the Finnish Tax Administration as attachments to the estate inventory deed:

• the will
• prenuptial agreement
• deed of estate distribution if the inheritance has already been distributed
• deed of division of property or deed of estate distribution if the spouse of the deceased person has already died and the property and the inheritance have already been distributed between the spouse and the heirs of the deceased person.