Inheritances to the government

1. People who have lost a person close to them or a client, with no information who that person’s heirs are, and there is no knowledge of any will having been drawn up. For example:

• a guardian
• a social worker
• the police
• a neighbour or distant relative of someone who has died.

2. People close to someone whose estate has been inherited by the government. Examples of such people:

•  an unmarried partner
• a companion
• a distant relative, friend or neighbour, with whom the deceased had a very close relationship, e.g. a care relationship.

3. Municipalities with residents whose estate has been inherited by the government. Municipalities where the real estate of the person who has died without heirs is located.

Notifying the State Treasury of a person who has died without heirs

If a person close to you or a client of yours has died, and you do not know who that person’s heirs are, and there is no knowledge of any will having been drawn up:

You must acquire genealogical records for that person. These genealogical records can be obtained by collecting extracts from parish registers or, in the case of people who are not members of the church, extracts from the population register. The compilation of this account may also be allocated to a party providing special services for providing extracts.

If none of the following heirs are found in the genealogical records, notify the State Treasury of the death.

• Direct heirs
• Spouse
• Parents
• Siblings and their descendants
• Grandparents
• Aunts and uncles
• Secondary heirs (the father, mother, sister and brother of a previously deceased spouse and the children of the brother or sister)

You can submit this notification by using a form (on the FORMS, LEGISLATION tab) and sending the form to the registry office of the State Treasury. No appendices are attached to the notification.

It is important not to send any original documents of the estate to the State Treasury. We digitise all documents sent to us and destroy all paper documents in the process.

Send the documents to kirjaamo@valtiokonttori.fior
State Treasury, Inheritance matters, P.O. Box 350, 00054 State Treasury.

After receiving the notification, the State Treasury authorises an administrator to manage the estate and prepare the inventory of the estate, in which case any estate documents in the possession of the notifier may be passed directly over to the administrator. We request that the administrator contact the person who has submitted the notification to the State Treasury immediately.

 

Applying for property inherited by the government

Not all property inherited by the government will remain in the possession of the government. This property may be applied for by:

1. Someone who was very close with the deceased
Examples of such people:

• an unmarried partner
• a companion
• a distant relative, friend or neighbour, with whom the deceased had a very close relationship, e.g. a care relationship.

A person fulfilling these criteria may apply for the property based on their close relationship with the deceased. A conventional relationship between distant relatives or friends is not sufficient grounds for assigning the property. The application is submitted on a form which can be found on the ‘Forms, legislation’ tab. The application or any of its attachments will not be returned.

Send the documents to kirjaamo@valtiokonttori.fi or
State Treasury, Matters related to inheritance, P.O. Box 350, 00054 State Treasury.

The application is submitted on a form that you can download on the FORMS, LEGISLATION > tab

2. A municipality with a resident whose estate has been inherited by the government and the municipality where the real estate owned by the deceased is located.

The State Treasury will inform the municipalities of the opportunity to apply for property that has been inherited by the government. The State Treasury will send the notification and application instructions to the registry office of the municipality by e-mail after the estate inventory has been delivered.

The State Treasury has held a bidding contest for the management of the estates inherited by the government. The State Treasury primarily uses select attorneys as administrators.

State Treasury’s contract estate administrators >