Swedish Inheritance Law

Statutory inheritance in Sweden

Where there is no valid will, the estate passes to the statutory heirs in three classes (arvsklasser). The first class consists of the deceased's descendants – children and, through representation, grandchildren. If there are no descendants, the second class inherits: parents, or siblings and their descendants in their place. The third class comprises grandparents and their children (aunts and uncles). Cousins do not inherit under the statutory rules.

If no heir in these classes exists and there is no will, the estate passes to the Swedish General Inheritance Fund (Allmänna arvsfonden).

Surviving spouses and children

A surviving spouse generally inherits ahead of the couple's common children. The spouse receives the property with full right of disposal (fri förfoganderätt) but may not give it away by will. The common children instead receive a deferred inheritance right (efterarv) which is realised when the surviving spouse dies.

So far as the deceased's estate is sufficient, the surviving spouse is entitled to receive enough from it to bring the combined value of that inheritance, the property received on division of marital property and the spouse's separate property to four times the price base amount (prisbasbelopp) applicable at the date of death. This is a minimum overall protection, not an additional inheritance of four price base amounts, and a will cannot override it. The statutory spousal inheritance rules do not apply if divorce proceedings were pending when the deceased died.

Unmarried cohabitants (sambo) do not inherit from one another under the statutory rules. A cohabitant may have rights under the Cohabitees Act (sambolagen) in relation to the joint home, but inheritance generally requires a will.

Children from previous relationships (särkullbarn)

A child of the deceased who is not also the child of the surviving spouse is known as a särkullbarn. Subject to the surviving spouse's statutory minimum protection, such a child is entitled to receive their inheritance immediately rather than waiting until the surviving spouse has died. A särkullbarn may choose to defer their right in favour of the surviving spouse and instead receive an efterarv later.

This distinction is often significant for blended and international families, and it is frequently overlooked when estate planning has been carried out under a different legal system.

Reserved shares (laglott)

Descendants are protected by the reserved share, or laglott, which amounts to half of the share they would have received under the statutory rules (their arvslott). To obtain it where a will infringes that share, a descendant must request adjustment of the will within six months of being formally served with it, either by notifying the affected beneficiary of the claim or by bringing proceedings against that beneficiary. Failure to do so extinguishes the right to adjustment.

Spouses, parents and siblings have no reserved share under Swedish law.

Inheritance entitlement versus estate administration

It is important to separate two questions: who is entitled to inherit, and how the estate is administered. Inheritance law determines the heirs and their shares. Estate administration concerns the practical process – the estate inventory (bouppteckning), managing assets, paying debts and ultimately distributing the estate (arvskifte). Both are explained on our page on estate administration.

International inheritance and the EU Succession Regulation

Within the EU, Regulation (EU) No 650/2012 – the EU Succession Regulation – generally determines which country's law governs a succession and which country's authorities have jurisdiction. Sweden applies the Regulation. As a main rule, the law of the state in which the deceased had their habitual residence at the time of death applies to the whole succession.

A person may instead choose, typically in a will, that the law of their nationality will govern their succession. The Regulation also introduces the European Certificate of Succession, which can be used to prove the status of heirs and administrators in other participating Member States.

Where countries outside the EU are involved, or where Denmark or Ireland (which do not participate in the Regulation) are concerned, other rules may apply. Whether Swedish law applies in a given situation must therefore always be assessed on the facts.

Frequently asked questions