New guardianship law speeds up approvals for large purchases

A new Danish guardianship law has cut approval times for large purchases from years to days, allowing Freddy Sørensen to buy an electric cab scooter in a single day instead of waiting up to two years.

Under the previous rules, guardians had to seek permission from the Family Court for expenditures over 20,000 kroner, a process that could take two and a half years. Now, guardians can independently approve annual disbursements of up to 100,000 kroner—five percent of the ward’s assets—without court approval.

Freddy Sørensen, who is under guardianship, received his 100,000-krone Freedom Pickup/Cargo scooter after his guardian notified the bank. The next day, approval came through. “It would have been awful to wait until 2028 for the vehicle,” Sørensen said. His guardian, Johan Richtendorff, called the legal change a major improvement, eliminating frustration for wards with available funds.

The reform has also reduced processing times at the Family Court. Average case handling for guardianship matters dropped from about 25 weeks to 15 weeks in the first half of 2026 compared to the same period last year. The court has redirected saved time toward prioritizing new guardianship cases, such as urgent placements for elderly individuals with dementia.

Before the law change, establishing guardianship could take over ten months; now, it averages under three months. A new fast-track attestation has further eased the load, with nearly 1,700 issued since the law took effect a year ago, reducing the need for full guardianship proceedings by nearly a quarter.

Christian Hamborg, head of office at the Family Court, said the changes benefit elderly and socially vulnerable individuals by resolving their cases within a reasonable timeframe. Lasse Hummelhof Frandsen, chair of the Association of Permanent Guardians in Denmark, noted the shift in focus from preserving assets to ensuring they benefit the ward.