Genealogical Report for Estate Inventory

What is a genealogical report?

A genealogical report consists of multiple official certificates (virkatodistus) that together form an unbroken chain covering the person's life from age 15 to their date of death. The certificates contain all population register entries: places of residence, marriages, children and other recorded events.

In practice, the report typically consists of 3–5 separate certificates, each covering a specific time period with a specific authority. When placed in sequence, they must form a continuous chain without any gaps. The number of certificates depends on how many different register keepers the person belonged to during their lifetime.

Why is it needed for estate inventory?

Under Chapter 20, Section 5 of Finland's Code of Inheritance, the estate inventory deed must include a genealogical report of the deceased. Its purpose is to conclusively establish who the deceased's heirs are. Without it, there is no certainty that there are no unknown heirs.

In practice, this means that the estate inventory deed cannot be submitted to the Tax Administration without a genealogical report, and inheritance taxation cannot be carried out. The estate inventory deed is also needed for banking, real estate transactions and many other actions involving the estate.

Where to order a genealogical report

Official certificates for the genealogical report are ordered from different authorities depending on which register the person belonged to during their life. The main register keepers are:

• Digital and Population Data Services Agency (DVV) handles records of persons registered in the civil population register. DVV's register also contains all entries made after 1 October 1999 regardless of religious community.
• Evangelical Lutheran Church regional central registers contain records from the period of church membership prior to 1 October 1999.
• Orthodox Church maintains its own membership register, from which certificates are needed for the period of Orthodox parish membership.
• National Archives holds the oldest population records, in particular church records over roughly 100 years old and records of persons from the ceded territories (e.g. Karelia).
• Foreign authorities are needed if the deceased lived abroad. A corresponding certificate from that country's authority is required for the period spent abroad.

The complexity arises because most people have belonged to more than one register during their life. For example, a person who was baptised in the Lutheran church and left the church as an adult needs certificates from both the church and DVV. Each register keeper's certificate must be ordered separately.

What does a genealogical report cost?

When you order certificates directly from the authorities, you pay only the authority fees. A single official certificate typically costs around €40–85 depending on the register keeper and scope of the certificate. In a straightforward case (3–5 certificates, deceased has living children), the total authority fees amount to approximately €120–250. For a childless and unmarried deceased the document set can run to 10–30 certificates, and the authority fees can reach approximately €400–800.

Ordering yourself requires knowing which authority is responsible for which period, and being able to verify the chain's completeness. If a service is used for ordering and verification, its service fee is added to the authority fees.

Costs related to the genealogical report can generally be paid from the estate's assets. For their treatment in inheritance taxation, consult the Tax Administration. The orderer is responsible for all payments if the estate has insufficient funds.

How long does it take?

Processing time for a single certificate is typically 2 to 6 weeks, depending on the authority and time of year. Processing times at the authorities are the same regardless of who orders the certificates. When all orders are placed at once, the overall time for the complete genealogical report is determined by the slowest authority involved, typically a matter of weeks, depending on the deceased's life history and how many certificates are needed.

Since the estate inventory must be completed within three months of death (Code of Inheritance 20:1), obtaining the genealogical report should begin without delay. If timing becomes an issue, an extension can be requested from the Tax Administration.

For whom is a genealogical report needed?

A genealogical report is not always needed only for the deceased. The estate inventory may require reports for several individuals:

• The deceased always, covering the period from age 15 to the date of death.
• The surviving spouse for the duration of the marriage, if the deceased was married. The spouse is generally a party to the estate by virtue of matrimonial property rights until the division of matrimonial property has been carried out; a prenuptial agreement may remove this status, unless the spouse is also an heir or a beneficiary under a will.
• A deceased heir, if one of the deceased's heirs died before the deceased or before the estate inventory. In that case, the deceased heir's heirs (substitute heirs) take their place.
• The deceased's parents, if the deceased had no children, because the inheritance then passes to the parents and their issue.
• A person who renounced their inheritance, if the renunciation extends to the substitute heirs.

Genealogical report vs. official certificate

The terms are often confused, but there is a clear distinction:

• Official certificate (virkatodistus) is a single document issued by a specific authority for a specific time period.
• Genealogical report (sukuselvitys) is the complete set of multiple official certificates covering the person's entire life from age 15 to death as an unbroken chain.

Estate inventory specifically requires the complete genealogical report. A single official certificate is not sufficient, unless the person happened to belong to the same register their entire life.

When is a genealogical report sufficient?

The deceased's genealogical report is sufficient when it meets three conditions:

1. Unbroken chain from age 15 to date of death. Every time period must be covered by an official certificate with no gaps.
2. All register keepers are covered. If the person belonged to multiple registers (e.g. both a parish and the civil register), a certificate is needed from each.
3. Certificates are of the correct type. A simple address certificate or membership certificate is not sufficient. The official certificate must contain information about family changes (marriages, children), not just place of residence.

However, the deceased's unbroken chain alone is not enough for estate inventory. Life certificates are also needed for living heirs, together with the certificates described above for deceased heirs, the spouse and the deceased's parents.

An incomplete document set is the most common reason for the Tax Administration to return the estate inventory deed for supplementation. Typical deficiencies include a missing certificate for one period, the wrong type of certificate, a missing life certificate for an heir, or failure to cover time spent abroad.

Ordering through Sukuselvitys.fi

Ordering a genealogical report is straightforward, but verifying the complete document set requires expertise. The service is most useful when the case involves more than the basic situation: for example, a connection to Sweden, an heir who died before the deceased, or uncertainty about whether the document set is complete.

1. Fill in the order form with the deceased's basic details.
2. The necessary certificates are determined and ordered from all relevant authorities.
3. The complete set is verified: the deceased's unbroken chain, heir details and all documents needed for estate inventory and bank processing.
4. The finished genealogical report is delivered ready for the estate inventory.

The service fee is from €79 (incl. VAT; €79–159 depending on the scope of the case). Authority fees are invoiced separately at actual cost. You can cancel the order before it is sent to the authorities.