Death of a family member in Finland

An estate inventory must be submitted for a person who was a permanent resident of Finland before his or her death. In Finland, inheritance tax is paid on inheritance.

Notifying a death in Finland

If a person dies in hospital or a care home in Finland, the hospital or care home notifies the death to the Finnish population register and other authorities. It is advisable to notify a sudden death to the police. A death must also be notified separately for example to the person’s insurance company and telephone and data communication companies. Read more on the Suomi.fi website.

Burial and funeral allowance in Finland

In Finland burial permits are issued by doctors. The burial permit is given to the relative of the deceased taking care of the funeral or to the funeral directors.

Parish-maintained cemeteries are public cemeteries. Non-members of the church can be buried there for the same price as church members. There are also burial plots at non-denominational cemeteries.

If the deceased is cremated, the ashes must be buried or permanently deposited in one place within one year of cremation. Depositing ashes requires the consent of the owner of the area and the location must be notified in writing to the crematorium. Read more on the website of the Regional State Administrative Agency.

Needy families can apply for assistance with funeral costs from the municipal social welfare office. Family members of veterans wounded or taken ill in Finland’s wars can get funeral allowance from the State Treasury. Read more on the website of the State Treasury.

Inheritance, estate inventory and inheritance tax in Finland

Code of Inheritance

Unless specified otherwise in the will, the deceased’s estate is inherited in accordance with the Code of Inheritance defined in law. The primary heirs are children, i.e. direct descendants. If there are no children, the spouse inherits, and if there is no spouse, the deceased is inherited by his or her parents, siblings, grandparents or their children. The Code of Inheritance ends with grandparents’ children, i.e. uncles and aunts may inherit, but cousins may not.

A surviving spouse is entitled to continue living in the couple’s joint dwelling if he or she does not own any other dwelling suitable as a home.

If a person dies without heirs and without a will, his or her property goes to the state.

Foreigners have the same right to inherit in Finland as a Finnish citizen.

Read more about the Code of Inheritance on the Finlex website.

Estate inventory

If at the time of death the deceased lived permanently in Finland, following death an estate inventory must be drawn up to establish the assets and debts of the deceased and possible spouse. The estate inventory meeting must be held within three months of death, and the estate inventory deed must be sent to the Finnish Tax Administration. Additional time can be requested for submitting the estate inventory for a valid reason. Read more on the Finnish Tax Administration’s website.

You can order the report on family relationships that is required for the estate inventory from the Digital and Population Data Services Agency. The report on family relationships is also called a life certificate. If the deceased belonged to the Evangelical Lutheran or Orthodox church, order the life certificate from the church for the period when the deceased was a member of the church. Read more on the website of the Digital and Population Data Services Agency. 

If the deceased lived abroad during his or her lifetime, a life certificate must be ordered from each country in which he or she lived. The Finland Abroad website contains detailed information on ordering an extract from the population register in the Nordic countries.

Inheritance tax

Inheritance tax must be paid on property received as an inheritance or a bequest, if at the time of death the deceased lived in Finland. Inheritance tax is paid on the basis of the estate inventory deed or tax return.

The amount of inheritance tax is calculated based on the value of the inherited property and the family relationship. Read more about inheritance tax on the Finnish Tax Administration website.

Survivors’ pensions for family members

If you have lost a family member, you can under certain conditions get a survivor’s pension. Read more about survivors’ pensions on the page Benefits in Finland in the event of bereavement.

Notifying a death to another Nordic country

If a citizen of another Nordic country dies in Finland, it is not automatically notified to the authorities in the other Nordic country. In most cases, the embassy in Finland of the Nordic country concerned will report the death to the authorities of that country once they have been notified. 

If necessary, relatives can contact the embassy and order a death certificate from the Digital and Population Data Services Agency. Read more on the website of the Digital and Population Data Services Agency.

Read more below about how to report the death of a Nordic citizen in each country.