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Attorneys with a continuing power of attorney can now manage the financial affairs of their granter in the digital services of the Finnish Tax Administration and Traficom without a separate mandate

Published 15/5/2024

Attorneys with a continuing power of attorney can now manage the financial affairs of their granter in digital services that use Suomi.fi e-Authorizations to verify the person's right to act. In other words, they do not need separate Suomi.fi e-Authorizations. 

The reform is made possible by a new register of guardianship affairs, from which the person's right to act can be checked reliably and in real time through Suomi.fi e-Authorizations.

Attorneys with a continuing power of attorney can now act on behalf of their granter in digital services – will later be possible also for private guardians

In the first phase, the reform applies to around 20,000 attorneys with a continuing power of attorney and includes the digital services of the Finnish Tax Administration and Traficom, for example.

Attorneys with a continuing power of attorney can act on behalf of their granter when

  • they have a continuing power of attorney that grants them the right to manage the financial affairs of their granter
  • their right to act has not been restricted to, for example, a specific asset, such as a real estate or business operations
  • the continuing power of attorney does not specifically require that the granter's affairs must be managed jointly by more than one attorney
  • they have a strong identification token for digital transactions, such as online banking IDs or a mobile certificate
  • the e-service uses Suomi.fi e-Authorizations to check the right to act on behalf of another party.

Private guardians will be given the same opportunity at the turn of the year 2024–2025.

Many services still require a separate mandate

Attorneys with a continuing power of attorney cannot access e-services in a similar manner if the e-service does not yet use Suomi.fi e-Authorizations. For example, banks and insurance companies have their own practices for acting on behalf of another party.

You can check the e-service's instructions on how to act on behalf of another person in the service.

Attorneys with a continuing power of attorney can be granted additional rights with Suomi.fi e-Authorizations – mandate application does not require a digital ID

Granters can use Suomi.fi e-Authorizations to authorise a trusted person to act on their behalf, for example, in digital pharmacy services and social welfare and health care services, such as My Kanta.

The granter does not need digital skills or a digital ID. A Suomi.fi e-Authorization may also be granted through a mandate application.

Granting mandates if you are unable to use electronic services

Working group is preparing amendments to legislation on guardianship and continuing power of attorney

In November 2023, the Ministry of Justice appointed a working group to prepare a proposal for updating legislation on guardianship and continuing power of attorney.

One of the goals of the Digital and Population Data Services Agency is legislation that would make it possible to register the duties of guardians and attorneys with a continuing power of attorney more comprehensively. This would also increase the possibilities for private guardians and attorneys with a continuing power of attorney to manage their clients' and granters' affairs in digital services within the limits of their powers.

The Digital and Population Data Services Agency will continue to develop the digital services for private guardians and attorneys with a continuing power of attorney in 2024–2025.

Further information