We will send our letter of condolences to our banking customers to the estate’s address in about one month after the death. The letter contains further information about the deceased person’s customer relationship with us. This includes information about any e-invoices, direct payments and investment services, as well as the template for the power of attorney. If necessary, you can pick up the documents at any OP cooperative bank branch.
If, for example, the deceased person’s spouse or any other person has extensive access rights to the decedent’s bank account and this person’s digital services with OP are linked to the decedent’s account, this person should contact us to change the account. OP’s digital services can no longer be used after the access rights to the death estate’s account have been cancelled.
Certificate from the population register for the deceased or a distributee of a death estate
What is the certificate from the population register, and why is it needed? How do I get the certificate?
- Certificate from the population register refers to an extract of personal information and information about family relations stored in the Population Information System. (If this information is obtained from a church membership record, the document is called ‘official certificate’.) A report on family relationships and life certificate are certificates from the population register.
- A certificate from the population register is needed for an estate inventory. Usually, a report on family relationships is sufficient if the existence of the distributees of a death estate is documented in it. A certificate from the population register acquired for an estate inventory is also sufficient for managing banking affairs.
- If you need to quickly get a certificate from the population register for managing banking affairs, you can acquire a more limited extract from the population register for banking purposes only.
- Order the certificate from the population register from the Digital and Population Data Services Agency or, alternatively, the official certificate from the decedent’s parish.
- Submit the certificate proving that you are a distributee to us conveniently online or bring it to the nearest OP cooperative bank branch.
Decedent’s bills and debts
Do I need to pay the decedent’s debts? Who pays the decedent’s debts? How do I pay the decedent’s bills after their death? Read how to get started with handling the deceased person’s bills and debts.
Bills
- Before the estate inventory, you may use the decedent’s bank account to pay for reasonable funeral expenses, other bills clearly related to the death, the decedent’s electricity bills and the housing company’s charge for common expenses. Any individual distributee may pay these expenses without a power of attorney from other distributees.
- Pay the estate’s bills by sending them to us in the online service. You can also pay bills at the bank branch during the opening hours of cashier services. Bring along your personal ID document. You can’t use payment envelopes before the estate inventory has been completed and you have been authorised access to the account.
- Check any e-invoices and direct payments of the death estate and terminate any unnecessary bills by phone or by visiting an OP cooperative bank branch. Otherwise, the payments continue to be billed normally. A list of the deceased person’s e-invoices and direct payments is enclosed in the letter of condolences. You can also pick up the documents at any OP cooperative bank branch.
Please take note of the estate’s assets and ensure that they are sufficient to cover any expenses. If you suspect that the estate’s assets are insufficient to cover the expenses for the funeral and the estate inventory, be sure to get in touch with us.
Loans
Did the decedent have a home loan or other debts? Contact us as soon as possible so that we can assess the decedent’s debts and agree a possible repayment holiday for the duration of the estate inventory.
If you are a distributee of a death estate, and you have an extract from the population register, you can apply for a repayment holiday for the decedent’s loans. If the loan has co-borrowers, you will need their consent for the application. If the death estate has several distributees, you may also need their consent.
How to apply for a repayment holiday for the loans of a death estate:
- Are you an OP customer and co-borrower of a loan or a distributee of a death estate? Send us a message in the digital services.
- If you are not an OP customer, please contact our customer service by phone.
If you do not apply for a repayment holiday, the payments on the loan will continue as usual. Loans and other debts must be paid from any assets that the death estate may have. As a general rule, the decedent’s debts are not inherited if the affairs of the death estate have been duly managed.
Contracts and subscriptions
Contracts signed by the deceased during their lifetime, such as phone and newspaper subscriptions, will not automatically end upon death. Terminate any unnecessary contracts and subscriptions and agree on possible repayment arrangements with the payees while taking account of the estate’s assets.
Consumer credit and card-based credit
In the event of death, a three-month repayment holiday will be set automatically on consumer credit, such as Special Consumer Credit and Flexible Consumer Credit. After the repayment holiday, the payments on Special Consumer Credit and Flexible Consumer Credit will continue normally unless otherwise agreed.
In the event of death, a three-month repayment holiday will be set automatically on credit cards (OP Classic, OP Gold, OP Platinum, OP Duo). After the three-month period, any card-based credit will fall due for repayment in one instalment unless otherwise agreed.
Assets
Did the decedent leave assets as an inheritance, such as an apartment, forest, land ownership, shares or funds? You do not yet need to have plans for them – you can start by contacting the bank and discussing your options.
