Guardian in case of injury or illness

Guardianship may be relevant for people with head injuries, mental retardation, mental disorders such as dementia or other illnesses that affect the individual's ability to look after their interests. In this article, we will provide practical information about the guardianship scheme for people who need help looking after their financial or personal interests. The article is limited to guardianship that concerns deprivation of legal capacity.

Guardianship is basically a voluntary arrangement and requires the consent of the person who is placed under guardianship, unless they are unable to understand what consent entails.

A guardianship assignment may include financial and/or personal matters.

Guardianship of financial interests involves, for example, paying bills for rent, electricity, insurance, food, maintenance and clothing. Some dispositions in the financial area require the consent of the County Governor, such as cancelling a lease agreement, selling property, incurring debt or making an inheritance advance. If a spouse or cohabitant is appointed as guardian, the County Governor's consent is only required for a small number of transactions, such as the creation of debt and the purchase, sale and mortgaging of real estate.

Guardianship assignments relating to personal interests involve the guardian assisting with representation and safeguarding rights beyond the financial area. This may include, for example, applying for public benefits via NAV or the municipality, appealing against decisions, meeting with public bodies and ensuring that the guardian receives the rights to which they are entitled. The guardian's duties do not include practical and everyday tasks.

Who can be a guardian?

Most commonly, one of the closest relatives, such as a spouse, cohabitant, parent or child, is the guardian of the person in need of guardianship.

The alternative to a close guardian is to appoint a general guardian. These can be family members who are not in the immediate family circle, or other close relatives such as a neighbour, good friend or colleague.

Permanent guardians are professional guardians commissioned by the County Governor. These are usually people with experience as guardians and who act as guardians for several people.

What is the role of the guardian?

The guardian has a mandate that is determined by the County Governor. The mandate forms the basis for the competence of the guardian.

In principle, the guardian must listen to the views of the person for whom they are the guardian before making decisions. The guardian must act in accordance with the person's will, unless the person has been deprived of the capacity to act or is unable to understand what the decision concerns.

Relatives' co-operation with guardian and county governor

Relatives will often have good insight into facts that may be of importance to the guardian's exercise of his or her duties, and can provide useful information directly to the guardian.

Relatives can also help to inform the County Governor about how an ongoing guardianship is working. If there is a suspicion that the guardian is not doing his or her job, the County Governor must be informed of this. The County Governor will be able to supervise the guardian, and if necessary, the County Governor can deprive the guardian of the assignment.

The relationship between next of kin and guardian in health matters

The next of kin exercise rights under the Patient and User Rights Act. In principle, it is the next of kin who have contact with the healthcare system, but the guardian may be considered a next of kin if the patient in question does not have family members who are close to them.

Remuneration of guardianship assignments

In principle, the guardian is entitled to remuneration and reimbursement of expenses for the assignment. There are separate rates for general guardians and permanent guardians, and there are fixed annual rates based on whether the assignment concerns financial or personal matters, or both. The fixed rates are between NOK. 2,000 to NOK. 10,000 per year.

Closely related guardians such as spouses, cohabitants, children or parents are only entitled to remuneration in special cases. In such cases, the scope and duration of the assignment may determine whether there are special grounds for remuneration.

Guardianship expenses - an accident compensation claim

If the person in need of a guardian needs a guardian as a result of a road accident, occupational injury, patient injury, violent injury or other injury where there is a liable tortfeasor, the costs of having a guardian will be eligible for compensation. This means that the injured party's annual expenses for a guardian can be claimed from the responsible insurance company or other responsible counterparty. It is recommended that you consult a specialised lawyer if this is a relevant issue.