Estate distribution and inheritance tax

The estate’s assets with Nordea can be distributed once we have verified the parties to the estate from the estate inventory deed. This is called the establishment of the parties to the estate, and we will notify the estate administrator via SMS, Omaposti or by post once it has been completed.

If the deceased was married and the spouses didn’t have a prenuptial agreement excluding the marital right to property, the matrimonial property will be partitioned before the estate can be distributed. This is done to determine which part of the estate belongs to the widow(er) and which part to the heirs.

The parties to the estate decide on how to use and distribute the estate’s assets together. They may authorise one person to distribute the estate and manage the estate’s other banking affairs, such as closing services, with a specified power of attorney called Power of attorney for managing an estate´s banking at NordeaOpens new window. Please send this form to us digitally via Omaposti at nordea.fi/omaposti. Select “Estate matters” as the topic of the new message.

After the estate inventory is completed, you can do the following once all parties to the estate have provided specified powers of attorney:

• divide the cash funds between the parties to the estate 
• sell shares or fund units
• close accounts 
• empty a safe deposit box 

get access to the deceased’s account statements for all the years prior to their death.

After we have established the parties to the estate from the estate inventory deed and its appendices, the parties together can decide what to do with the assets in the estate’s book-entry account or fund portfolio in Nordea. They can sell shares and fund units or transfer them into their name.

When selling shares or fund units, you must provide a power of attorney from each party to the estate. You can make the sell order by calling Nordea Customer Service. You can provide the power of attorney, for example, by filling in the form Power of attorney for managing an estate's banking (pdf, 617 KB)Opens new window (pdf, 612 KB) and sending it to us digitally at nordea.fi/omaposti. Select “Estate matters” as the topic of the new message.

If shares or fund units are transferred from the estate to the parties to the estate without cashing them in, you also have to present us with a lawful estate distribution agreement. To transfer shares and fund units, please visit us in branch. You can book a meeting by calling Nordea Customer Service, tel 0200 70 000 (local rates apply), or by using our chat, which also works with the online banking codes from other Finnish banks.

All trades and transfers are subject to a fee set in our tariff. See our 

• brokerage fees

• transaction fees for funds 

• fees for the transfer of book-entry securities.

If you don’t yet have a book-entry account or would like to get investment advice, we are happy to help. Just contact Nordea Customer Service, tel 0200 70 000 (local rates apply).

The Finnish Tax Administration determines the amount of inheritance tax payable by the heirs on the basis of the estate inventory deed. As a rule, inheritance tax is calculated on the basis of the value of the estate stated in the inventory deed. If you are planning to sell some of the estate’s assets, you should consider how this may affect your tax liability in different situations. 

If the value of the assets has grown between the date of death and the date you sell them, you are liable to pay capital gains tax on the profits on the sale, i.e. the difference between the sales price and the value stated in the inheritance tax decision. If you sell the assets at a profit before the estate is distributed, capital gains tax is levied on the undistributed estate, whereas if the sale takes place after the distribution of the estate, capital gains tax is levied on the party to the estate who now owns the assets.

Any intent to sell should be taken into account during the estate inventory process because capital gains tax is often higher than inheritance tax. Real estate agencies can help you get a valuation on a home or holiday home for the estate inventory deed.

For more information about inheritance tax and capital income tax as well as submitting the estate inventory deed to the Tax Administration, please visit their website at vero.fiOpens new window.