Continuing power of attorney

With a continuing power of attorney, you can decide who will manage your affairs and how when you can no longer manage them yourself. This includes ensuring that your banking continues smoothly if you can’t manage it because your health has deteriorated due to an illness or accident, for example.

When you prepare a continuing power of attorney, you appoint a person who will be authorised to manage your personal affairs as determined by you, should such a need arise. The authorised person may be your spouse, child or any other suitable adult who consents to the authorisation.

Examples of what you can cover with a continuing power of attorney:

• management of your assets
• other financial affairs, such as banking or pension affairs
• health care services.

The authorised person can’t decide on any strictly personal matters, such as drawing up a will.

Validation of a continuing power of attorney

A continuing power of attorney will enter into force after the Digital and Population Data Services Agency has confirmed it. The authorised person must apply for the confirmation when the authorising person can no longer manage their personal affairs. The authorising person’s inability must be proved with a medical certificate or other comparable reliable report of the authorising person’s health.

To arrange for banking, the authorised person must present us with the continuing power of attorney confirmed by the Digital and Population Data Services Agency by sending it to us through Nordea Netbank or Mobile or through Nordea Omaposti or by visiting a Nordea branch.

To make it smoother for the authorised person to manage the affairs covered by the continuing power of attorney, the authorised person can be given access to the authorising person’s accounts and have a separate payment card. The authorised person will then be entitled to link the authorising person’s banking to their Nordea Netbank and Mobile. However, the authorised person is not entitled to use or obtain the authorising person’s Nordea access codes or payment cards, as they are strictly personal.

The authorised person must always act in the best interest of the authorising person. The authorised person is liable to discuss the things the authorising person is capable of understanding with the authorising person. The authorising person can also determine in the continuing power of attorney how the authorised person’s activities are to be supervised. 

Prepare a continuing power of attorney well in advance

Preparing a continuing power of attorney requires that you are 18 or older and that you can understand its meaning. If your health deteriorates due to an unexpected event, such as an accident, and you haven’t prepared a continuing power of attorney, the guardianship authority will appoint you a guardian from among your close relatives, for instance. If there is no suitable person who is willing to act as the guardian, you will be appointed a public guardian.

A well prepared continuing power of attorney will make the management of your personal affairs easier in case you are no longer able to do it yourself. You should consider different aspects carefully before you prepare a continuing power of attorney, and we recommend that you seek help from an expert.

We also recommend that you ensure that your loved ones prepare a continuing power of attorney in good time.

Further information on a continuing power of attorney is available on the Digital and Population Data Services Agency’s websiteOpens new window, for example.