Julistettakoon holhottavaksi! Holhoukseen julistamisen perusteista 1700-luvulta 2000-luvulle. (Finnish)

There have always been individuals in the society who have not been able to take care of themselves or their financial matters. The situation has been especially problematic for those who have had property. In those cases there has been a risk that property might become lost because of the individual's disability. In Finland, the problem of an incompetent person has been solved by authorizing an elected official whose duty is to act on behalf of an incompetent person. The elected official is called as guardian or trustee. The reasons which cause that people are declared to be incompetent have remained quite similar during the centuries. Consequently, the justifications of the guardianship announcements have remained rather cognate throughout the history. The only things which have changed during the centuries are the terms and the individualizing styles of the justifications which have been used in the law books. An under aged person has always been incompetent on account of one's age. The criteria to declare an adult to be incompetent, have been all kinds of mental illnesses, mental retardation, heavy drinking (alcoholism), and prodigality. In general the reasons why somebody has been declared incompetent might have been almost anything if it has caused that person's property, means of subsistence and livelihood, or some other important things to have become endangered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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