Death and inheritance

This page is about estate inventory, inheritance and wills and describes the main rules in the Inheritance Code (ärvdabalken).

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Estate inventory and estate notiﬁcation

When a person dies, an inventory of the deceased’s assets and liabilities (debts) must be drawn up. This is called an estate inventory.

If the deceased was married, the assets and debts of the surviving spouse should also normally be included in the inventory. If the deceased was cohabiting and a division of property between cohabitees due to the death is to be carried out, some of the surviving cohabitee’s assets and debts should also be included in the inventory.

The estate inventory serves as the basis for a division of property and the distribution of the estate and must be completed within three months of the death. The estate inventory must be submitted to the Swedish Tax Agency (Skatteverket) for registration within one month after being drawn up.

When the assets of the deceased, including a share in the property of the surviving spouse or cohabitee, are not suﬃcient to pay for anything beyond their burial expenses and other expenses occasioned by their death, an estate notiﬁcation may substitute for the estate inventory.

If a parent dies and leaves behind their spouse and children under the age of 18, as a rule the chief guardian must appoint a guardian ad litem to represent the child while the estate inventory is being drawn up.

Law firms, banks and some undertakers (funeral directors) can provide more information.

You can find more information about estate inventories on the website of the Swedish Tax Agency.

Information about estate inventories, the Swedish Tax Agency's website

Estate of a deceased person

As a rule, the surviving spouse, cohabitee, heirs and residuary beneﬁciaries of a will (universiell testamentestagare) are part owners of the estate. Residuary beneﬁciaries are persons who are to receive all or a certain portion of the estate under a will. The part owners jointly administer the property of the deceased during the winding up of the estate.

If the part owners disagree, an estate administrator (boutredningsman) can administer the estate and deal with any administrative difficulties.

The part owners of the estate do not have any personal liability for the debts of the deceased, but if a division of property or a distribution of the estate takes place before the debts of the deceased have been paid, it will be invalid.

Division of property and distribution of the estate

If the deceased was married and the spouses had marital property, that is at least one of them had marital property, the marital property must be divided before the deceased’s assets can be divided. Marital property is all property that is not separate property. A division of property must also take place if the deceased was a cohabitee and the surviving cohabitee has requested this.

Once the division of property is complete and the deceased’s debts have been paid, the estate can be distributed, that is, the inheritance can be divided up. There is no rule governing when an estate must be distributed at the latest. An estate distribution document must be drawn, and it must be signed by the part owners of the estate. No witnesses are required.

Each part owner of the estate may apply to the district court (tingsrätten) requesting that a special estate distributor (skiftesman) be appointed to distribute the estate.

The part owners of the estate are not obliged to draw up an estate distribution. Instead, they may agree to allow the estate to continue to hold the assets of the deceased. This is called co-occupation of an undistributed estate and can have some consequences for taxation.

You can find more information about estates on the website of the Swedish Tax Agency.

Information about estates, the Swedish Tax Agency's website

Photo: Bill Nilsson/Government Offices of Sweden

Who inherits?

The order of inheritance states how the inheritance from a person who has died should be divided in diﬀerent cases. There are three inheritance classes. A person who leaves an inheritance may, however, have decided on another division through a will.

If the deceased was not married

In the first instance, it is the deceased’s direct heirs (children, grandchildren and so on) who inherit from them. If any of the deceased’s children have died before the deceased (or decline their inheritance rights), their children take their place. Every branch gets equal shares. For example: A person dies and leaves behind a son and a deceased daughter’s two children (the deceased’s grandchildren). The inheritance amounts to SEK 100 000. The son will then receive SEK 50 000 and the deceased daughter’s children (the grandchildren) will receive SEK 25 000 each.

If there are no direct heirs, the parents of the deceased inherit. If they are deceased, the deceased’s siblings inherit. If any of the deceased's siblings have died before them, their children (the deceased’s nephews and nieces) inherit. Here too, the branches receive equal shares. For example: A person dies, leaving behind their mother and two full siblings. The mother receives half the inheritance while the deceased father’s half is shared between the siblings.

If there are no parents, siblings or nephews or nieces, the deceased’s grandparents will inherit. If they are dead, the deceased’s aunts and uncles inherit. However, their children (the deceased’s cousins) have no right to the inheritance even if they are the deceased’s only relatives.

If there are no relatives entitled to inherit or a valid will, the inheritance passes to the National Inheritance Fund (Allmänna arvsfonden). The returns on the Fund are used for innovative projects for the development of children, young people and people with impairments.

If the deceased was married

If the deceased was married, the main rule is that the surviving spouse inherits before the direct heirs if they are the spouses’ children in common. However, this does not apply if a divorce is in progress between the spouses. If one spouse dies during the reconsideration period that must in certain cases precede a divorce, the other spouse consequently does not have any right to inherit from the deceased.

The spouses’ children in common are entitled to inherit if they survive the surviving parent. The surviving spouse then receives the assets that the deceased leaves behind, their estate, with an unrestricted right of disposal. This means that the spouse can do whatever they want with the property during their lifetime – even use it up entirely – but cannot include it in their will.

It is only common direct heirs who must wait for their inheritance until both spouses are deceased. Children of the deceased spouse who are children from another relationship (särkullbarn) are entitled to receive their inheritance immediately on the death of the spouse. The child may, however, decline their right to this priority in favour of the surviving spouse. In that case, the child has a right to secondary succession on the death of the surviving spouse in the same way as the spouses’ common direct heirs.

There is a special ‘base amount rule’ (basbeloppsregel) that applies according to which the surviving spouse, after the division of marital property and the estate distribution, must always receive at least four base amounts. It is based on the spouse’s share in the division of property (the marital property) and any separate property the spouse may have. If this does not amount to four base amounts, the spouse is entitled to obtain the deﬁcit out of the remainder of the deceased’s estate.

Current price base amount, Statistics Sweden's website

The right of a child to inherit from their father when their parents have never married

Special provisions apply to children born before 1 January 1970 whose parents have never been married to each other.

Since 1968, all children are automatically noted in their father’s personal ﬁle, and from 1991 in the population register, provided that paternity is legally established.

During the years 1947–1967, such notes were only added to the personal ﬁle of a man for a child born during an engagement, or for a child whose parents had become engaged to each other after the child’s conception, and for a child for whom the man had issued a special inheritance declaration. Those children who are not noted in their father’s personal ﬁle or registered in the population register with their father must themselves take the initiative to ensure that they are registered. This is important so that the child does not lose their right to inherit their father. Contact the Swedish Tax Agency for more information.

Reserved portion

Half of a direct heir’s inheritance portion (arvslott) in accordance with the order of inheritance is referred to as their reserved portion (laglott). The reserved portion is the portion of an heir’s inheritance that cannot be taken away from them by means of a will.

A direct heir is entitled to receive their reserved portion, even if their deceased parent has decided in their will that the remainder of the estate should pass wholly or in part to some other person. In order to receive their reserved portion, the direct heir must request an adjustment of the will. This must be done within six months of having been served with a copy of the will. For example: In their will, a person who is survived by a spouse and a child in common has left the entire remainder of their estate to a good friend. The child is entitled to demand their reserved portion.

Similarly, a child who is not also a child of the surviving spouse may demand their reserved portion if the parent has left the remainder of the estate to the surviving spouse. Children in common cannot demand any kind of reserved portion on the death of their ﬁrst parent.

In order to receive their reserved portion, the direct heir must request an adjustment of the will. This is done either by the testamentary beneﬁciaries being notified of the claim to a reserved portion or by a request in a court. The adjustment must be requested within six months from when the heir was served with a copy of the will.

Half of a direct heir’s inheritance portion (arvslott) is called their reserved portion (laglott).

Wills

A will is a legal document. A person who makes a will can decide for themself who will inherit from them and what that person will inherit. There is one exception however: a direct heir always has the right to claim their reserved portion. However, the direct heir can, of course, accept the will and decline their reserved portion.

It is only necessary to make a will if you want a diﬀerent order of inheritance to that laid down by Swedish law. For example, if two spouses have children in common and they want their children to receive part of their inheritance on the death of the ﬁrst spouse, they must make a will.

If the deceased was married or a cohabitee, usually a division of property must be done. A will can only relate to property that the deceased spouse has after the division of property.

As a rule, a will must be in writing and signed in the presence of two witnesses. Both the witnesses and the will must also meet certain requirements. It is important that a will satisﬁes the formal requirements and that the intention of the will is clear. It is therefore advisable to seek the advice of a lawyer before a will is drawn up.

The heirs named must be able to read the will and then have six months in which to submit their comments on the will. If no comments are submitted within this timeframe, the heirs cannot claim that the will is invalid at a later stage. A will can be declared invalid if, for example, it has not been drawn up in the prescribed form, or if it has been drawn up under the inﬂuence of mental illness.

Inheritance in international relationships

Special rules apply regarding inheritance where there is an international connection. An international connection may exist, for example, if the deceased was living abroad when they died. There is an EU regulation (Succession Regulation) and an Act on Inheritance in International Situations.

EU Succession Regulation (EU law website)

Act on Inheritance in International Situations (2015:417) on the Riksdag website (in Swedish)

Gift or advance on inheritance?

Unless otherwise provided for or where it must be presumed to have been intended considering the circumstances, what the deceased has given to a direct heir is deducted as an advance on their inheritance. The deduction is made based on how much the property was worth at the time it was received. There is no specific limit on the amount or percentage that determines whether a specific gift should be considered an advance on a person’s inheritance. However, the costs incurred by parents for the child’s education and maintenance are not deducted. Gifts that are customary to give are not deducted either.

Declaration of death

A missing person’s spouse, cohabitee, heir or other persons with legal interests can apply to the Swedish Tax Agency for a declaration of death. A decision to issue a declaration of death means that a person is deemed to be dead even though their body has not been found and therefore it cannot be established in the normal way that the person is dead. A decision to issue a declaration of death enables succession to occur and payouts under life insurance policies.

A matter concerning a declaration of death may be raised at the earliest ﬁve years after the disappearance of the person. The exception is if it is highly probable that the person is dead. A matter concerning a declaration of death may then be raised at the earliest one year after their disappearance.