Guardianship
A guardian safeguards the interests of a person who is either a minor or who has had a guardian appointed for them to act on their behalf. A guardian may be appointed for a person who needs assistance to see to their own interests, be these financial or otherwise.
Having a guardian appointed for you means that you will gain help with performing necessary tasks so that you can function on equal terms with others in society. A guardianship must be adapted to meet your needs, and it must not extend to tasks beyond your actual needs. The guardian must respond to your wishes.
The County Governor became the local authority for guardianship matters on 1 July 2013 and is now the first port of call for any matters in this field. The County Governor now manages roughly 72,000 guardianships throughout the country, including related funds of a value of over NOK 19 billion.
Right of appeal
You may appeal a decision made regarding the establishment of a guardianship. Those who are entitled to appeal are: the individual placed under a guardianship, the guardian, the person who put forward the individual’s guardianship needs or the individual’s spouse/partner, closest heir and siblings. For any other related decisions, the normal right of appeal as per the regulations of the Public Administration Act apply. The deadline for appeals is three weeks from being informed of the decision. Appeals should be sent to the County Governor. The County Governor may reverse the decision or send the appeal on to the Norwegian Board of Forensic Medicine, which is the supervisory authority and administrative appeals body for decisions made by the County Governor.