Challenging wills in Swedish inheritance law

In Sweden, inheritance is currently regulated by the Swedish Inheritance Code, Ärvdabalk. The codification of this branch of civil law only underscores its special role in the Swedish legal system. This is hardly surprising given the significance of the testamentary declarations through which testators decide the fate of their estates upon death.

Considering the necessity of ensuring the legal protection of the testator’s last will and the inheritance rights due to other participants in the inheritance process, the process of testing a will can be subject to judicial scrutiny. Such a situation allows, under justified circumstances, the effective challenging of wills before the courts. Therefore, in this article, we briefly present the most important aspects related to challenging a will under Swedish inheritance law.

The catalog of grounds for invalidating a will in Swedish inheritance law is found in Chapter 13 of Ärvdabalk. Proving any of these grounds leads to the will being declared invalid under the prevailing law. The invalidity of a will means that it has no legal effect. According to the Swedish Inheritance Code, the basis for challenging a will can be:

• lack of capacity to make a will;
• failure to meet the proper form (violation of formal requirements);
• making the will under the influence of a mental disorder;
• restricting the testator’s freedom during the testing process through threats or deception.

Challenging a will in Swedish inheritance law is simplest based on the allegation that the testator did not comply with specific formal requirements. However, the choice of a specific ground depends solely on the circumstances surrounding the particular inheritance case. It is worth noting that the provisions of Swedish inheritance law also provide for other reasons leading to absolute will invalidity, such as forgery.

Under the current provisions of Swedish inheritance law, the process of challenging a will is based on appealing the will to the competent district court. Actively entitled to bring a complaint against the will are solely heirs, understood as relatives of the testator entitled to inherit by operation of law (i.e., ex lege). Beneficiaries are not entitled to bring the discussed complaint due to this legal distinction.

The deadline for bringing a complaint regarding challenging a will in Swedish inheritance law is 6 months from the day the testator’s will is delivered to the heir. The delivery of the will refers to providing the heir with a copy of the will. Failure to meet this deadline results in the heir losing the right to bring a complaint, as directly stated in Chapter 14, § 5 Ärvdabalk.

According to the provisions of Swedish inheritance law, the burden of proof lies with the party that claims legal consequences from it. Given that only heirs are entitled to bring a complaint, they are the ones responsible for proving their case before the court. Otherwise, challenging the will will not be successful.

Depending on the circumstances of the case and the merits of the complainant’s claims, the court may decide on the invalidity of the entire will or part of it. In the case of a court ruling of absolute invalidity of the entire will, the relevant provisions of Swedish inheritance law related to statutory inheritance will apply. The testator’s will has no effect in this case.

Acquiring an inheritance in Sweden always involves a need for a precise understanding of the legal provisions in force in this country. Language barriers and logistical problems also arise. For this reason, most heirs from outside Sweden are unable to handle their inheritance matters. To avoid potential inconveniences related to inheriting in Sweden, the best solution is to use the services of a professional law firm specializing in international inheritance law.

Lawyers from Lawyer in Europe have helped their clients acquire inheritances in Sweden many times. One of the main areas of our law firm’s specialization is foreign inheritance law, giving us extensive experience in protecting the inheritance rights of our clients. If you need comprehensive legal protection, we invite you to contact the lawyers at Lawyer in Europe.