A person subject to guardianship may authorise and act on behalf of another person in matters concerning the person, but there are some restrictions related to financial matters.
Matters that a person subject to guardianship may decide independently depend on the scope of guardianship. If the appointment of a guardian is not enough to safeguard the interests of the client, the client's competency can be restricted. Competency can be restricted in situations where a person could harm their own financial status.
If you wish to act on behalf of a person subject to guardianship, ask the service whether a person other than the guardian can act on behalf of the person placed under guardianship. Services may have restrictions on whether a mandate granted by a person placed under guardianship can be used for acting on their behalf.
Clients whose competency has not been restricted may:
act on behalf of their dependent child and company
use Suomi.fi e-Authorizations to act on behalf of other individuals, employers, or other organisations
sign or approve mandate applications if they cannot use electronic services or identify themselves in them.
However, they cannot grant mandates for matters that involve access to a bank account or the possibility of editing bank account numbers in the services. Any mandates previously granted that provide access to a bank account will be invalidated.
If the competency of a person placed under guardianship is restricted, they may:
act on behalf of their dependent child and company
use Suomi.fi e-Authorizations to act on behalf of other individuals, employers, or other organisations
sign or approve mandate applications if they cannot use electronic services or identify themselves in them.
They cannot, however, authorise other people to act on their behalf on any financial matters. Any mandates they have previously granted for any financial matters will be invalidated.
Persons declared legally incompetent may:
act on behalf of their dependent child and company
use Suomi.fi e-Authorizations to act on behalf of other individuals, employers, or other organisations
sign or approve mandate applications if they cannot use electronic services or identify themselves in them.
They cannot, however, authorise other people to act on their behalf on any financial matters. A person declared legally incompetent cannot act on behalf of their dependent child on financial matters. Any mandates they have previously granted for any financial matters will be invalidated.
A guardian can act on behalf of their client if the client has assigned them the required Suomi.fi e-Authorizations. The guardian can also request mandates from their client through Suomi.fi e-Authorizations.
In 2024–2025, Suomi.fi e-Authorizations will gradually enable assignees and private guardians to act on behalf of another person. The change will allow private guardians to manage affairs within their power on behalf of their client in services that use Suomi.fi e-Authorizations. In other words, the client will not need to separately grant mandates to the guardian.