{"id":38932,"date":"2025-09-02T16:05:14","date_gmt":"2025-09-02T16:05:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/38932\/"},"modified":"2025-09-02T16:05:14","modified_gmt":"2025-09-02T16:05:14","slug":"finns-plan-funerals-more-often-than-they-prepare-for-inheritance-tax","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/38932\/","title":{"rendered":"Finns plan funerals more often than they prepare for inheritance tax"},"content":{"rendered":"

A growing number<\/strong> of Finns are preparing for their own deaths by organising funerals and securing life insurance, but far fewer are considering the inheritance tax implications for their heirs.<\/p>\n

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According to a survey by insurance provider L\u00e4hiTapiola, most people begin addressing end-of-life matters around age 60. The most common steps include purchasing life insurance (34%), discussing finances or practicalities with family (27%), and drafting a will (19%).<\/p>\n

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The survey, which gathered responses from 1,100 adults across Finland, found that preparations intensify with age. Among those aged 65\u201374, 41% had written a will and 37% had discussed death-related matters with loved ones.<\/p>\n

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Veera Lammi<\/strong>, director at L\u00e4hiTapiola\u2019s life insurance division, said early planning can provide greater financial protection, especially during the high-risk years of family life.<\/p>\n

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\u201cFor many, this is the time when there are children to support, limited income, and heavy loans,\u201d Lammi said. \u201cThat\u2019s when the financial impact of death is greatest.\u201d<\/p>\n

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In families with children, life insurance is the most common form of preparation. Over 40% of households with minors hold a policy. More complex arrangements, such as wills and beneficiary designations, often follow later in life.<\/p>\n

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\u201cIt\u2019s natural to postpone practical decisions, but they shouldn\u2019t be delayed indefinitely,\u201d Lammi said. \u201cWills and beneficiary instructions should be reviewed regularly to ensure they reflect the current situation. And it\u2019s important to check that the life insurance payout is sufficient.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Despite growing awareness around financial planning, inheritance tax remains largely ignored. Only 13% of respondents had tried to estimate what their heirs might owe.<\/p>\n

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\u201cInheritance tax is one of the most disliked taxes in Finland, yet very few people have calculated how much they\u2019re leaving behind. It\u2019s a blind spot,\u201d Lammi said. \u201cEven among those over 75, only one in four had considered the issue. In the highest income group, the share was no higher.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Lammi noted that more people reported planning their own funeral than calculating potential tax liabilities. According to the survey, 21% of women had considered funeral arrangements, compared to just 10% of men.<\/p>\n

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\u201cMen might focus more on financial security, while women may think more about emotional aspects. Both are important,\u201d Lammi said.<\/p>\n

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For many heirs, the inheritance tax can come as a surprise. The most common solution is to sell inherited property, but that\u2019s not always feasible or advisable. In some cases, families dip into savings or take out loans. According to an earlier survey by L\u00e4hiTapiola, nearly one in ten Finns have taken this route.<\/p>\n

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Lammi recommends estimating the potential tax burden early and considering options such as early transfers or gift planning to ease the future process.<\/p>\n

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One particularly difficult scenario occurs when one parent dies and the only asset is the family home. In this case, the child may face a tax bill without having the means to pay it. The property cannot be sold without the surviving spouse\u2019s consent, leaving the situation unresolved for years.<\/p>\n

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L\u00e4hiTapiola\u2019s survey, titled Arjen katsaus, also revealed gender differences in approach. Men were six percentage points more likely to hold life insurance, while women were twice as likely to have planned their funeral.<\/p>\n

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HT<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A growing number of Finns are preparing for their own deaths by organising funerals and securing life insurance,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":38933,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[177],"tags":[79,29931,18,13564,20148,2427,29929,19,6500,17,29930,29928,234,235,26491],"class_list":{"0":"post-38932","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-personal-finance","8":"tag-business","9":"tag-death-planning","10":"tag-eire","11":"tag-estate","12":"tag-financial-literacy","13":"tag-finland","14":"tag-funeral-planning","15":"tag-ie","16":"tag-inheritance-tax","17":"tag-ireland","18":"tag-lahitapiola","19":"tag-life-insurance","20":"tag-personal-finance","21":"tag-personalfinance","22":"tag-wills"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38932","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=38932"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38932\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/38933"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=38932"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=38932"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=38932"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}