Legal guardians of children under the age of 18
Children's legal guardians are their guardians and they determine their personal circumstances. In most cases, these are the parents.
If a child has assets of ISK 1.000.000 or more, the legal guardian must submit a report to the District Commissioner:
before 1 March each year, if the legal guardian is also the parent of the child.
before 1 April each year, if the legal guardian is appointed by the District Commissioner.
The report is to state the main decisions regarding the assets of the child taken in the past year.
Legal guardians of persons deprived of capacity
If a person is deprived of his or her personal capacity, financial capacity or both by court order, the legal competence shall be transferred to the District Commissioner who appoints the legal guardian in question.
The person not possessing legal capacity may request that a particular person be appointed as legal guardian, but otherwise the legal guardian shall be chosen in consultation with the person not possessing legal capacity, in which case he shall often be a practising lawyer.
Arrangement of assets of the person deprived of capacity
The assets of the incapacitated person shall be kept securely and in the best interests at any time. A legal guardian shall keep his client's funds separate from his own funds.
The assets of the incapacitated person which are in the value of more than ISK 1.206.710 shall be preserved and enriched in consultation with the District Commissioner.
A legal guardian shall require the approval of the District Commissioner for any major or unusual arrangement of the financial resources of the incapacitated person, for example:
Payment of cost of support or studies
Buying or selling of real estate, aircraft, ships or vehicles
Lease on the non-financial real estate
Mortgaging of assets
A request from a legal guardian for the approval of the District Commissioner regarding disposal of the assets of a incapacitated person must be sent to the District Commissioner on a form prepared for this purpose.
Obligations of an appointed legal guardian
The legal guardian shall arrange his/her duties in the best interests of the incapacitated person at any time. Except in cases of minor decisions, the legal guardian shall consult the incapacitated person as far as possible on the performance of his/her duties.
If an individual has been deprived of his or her personal capacity, the legal guardian of a deprived individual has the authority to take the necessary decisions regarding his or her personal situation which he or she is incapable of taking on his or her own. The decision is binding, as if the person deprived of personal capacity had made it himself.
The legal guardian of a person who has been deprived of his or her personal capacity must submit a report on his or her client to the District Commissioner every 12 months.
If an individual has been deprived of financial capacity, the legal guardian of a person not possessing financial capacity shall have authority over the person's financial capacity, unless otherwise provided by law.
The legal guardian of the person deprived of financial capacity must submit a report to the District Commissioner before 1 April each year, stating the main decisions on the client's assets made in the past year.
Fee of a legally appointed guardian
The District Commissioner shall determine the amount of fee paid to the appointed legal guardian in accordance with the nature and scope of the work. If the appointed legal guardian is a close relative of the person deprived of legal capacity, he/she is not normally paid a fee.
Most of the time it is the incapacitated person who pays the fee, but in exceptional cases the fee is paid by the Treasury.
Service provider
District Commissioners