Sweden Probate Records: Difference between revisions

Probate is the legal process of administering a person's estate after their death. The records created describe the distribution of a person's estate among heirs and creditors. These records are very helpful for genealogical research because in many areas the probate records predate the church records of birth and death. They also give us a more personal glimpse into the life of an ancestor because of the detailed description of personal property.

The probate usually contains the following information:  

*Date of probate (or court session)

All distributions were made by the appropriate court. In rural parishes this was the district court (''häradsrätt'') and in cities by the city court (''rådhusrätt''). In 1971, the ''tingsrätt'' became the district court all over Sweden, replacing the ''häradsrätt'' and ''rådhusrätt''.  Between the years 1737 and 1916 the nobility (''adel'') had the privilege of having their probate processed by the court of appeals (''hovrätten'').  

The law provided that half the estate go to the surviving spouse, with male heirs receiving twice as much as females. In cities males and females received equal portions. Although a probate was obligated by law at death, often it was made only for the wife or husband which ever died first. It has been figured that only 25% had an estate inventory made. In any event it is still important to look for a probate after someone's death.

Within three months after a death, the heirs assembled at the home of the deceased along with the court-appointed appraisers (''värderingsmän'') who were experienced in the required procedures and legalities. All real-estate, household items, as well as personal property of the deceased were recorded and assigned a monetary value so that they could be properly divided between the heirs. The inventory was to be performed within a year of death but it was not uncommon that it would drag out for a year or two. However, most were within 3 months. At the conclusion of the inventory, the appraisers turned the inventory and appraisal over to the court for probate, which took place at the next court session. The dividing of the property was handled in court and a separate document was made for the distribution of the estate. Occasionally the distribution was added to the end of the inventory, but this was not usually the case. The probate document usually contains two main parts, the preamble and the inventory.

The preamble, also referred to as ''bouppteckningens ingress'', of the probate contains the most genealogical information. Here you will normally find:

*The date of probate

At the end of the probate document the following persons normally signed: the surviving spouse, sons, sons-in-law, appraisers, guardians. Signing the inventory acknowledges it took place and the assessment was accepted. Note: Not all of the population of the 1700s and early 1800s could write. Therefore, one of the appraisers may have guided the heir’s hand while he held the pen. Often signatures were simply initials. For example, Jöns Andersson might write his name as J[öns] A[nders] S[on].

In order to find the probate you must know the name of the court district (''härad'') to which the parish belonged at the time of the ancestor’s death. To find probate records, go to the [https://www.familysearch.org/search/catalog FamilySearch Catalog] to do a place search. In the '''Place''' field type in the name of the district followed by "härad".  

Once you have found the catalog entry for the härad, look for the word "register" in the catalog record. This would be a separate index to the records. Not all districts had created separate indexes when the records were microfilmed, so check the volume containing the probates for the year the person would have died to see if there is an index to the volume, which would be either in the front or back of the volume. The index would give the page number where the person's probate begins.

Original probate records are kept in the [[Sweden Archives and Libraries|provincial archives]] in Sweden. The earlier probate records can be found in the [[Sweden Court Records|court records (''domböcker'')]]. Many ''bouppteckningar'' are missing partly because they have been lost due to poor storage or the destruction of the records.  

Probates created by the district court (''häradsrätt'') begin around the 1650s. Records from Snevringe härad begin in 1629, and records from Göta Hovrätt begin in 1648. Records to about 1860 are available at the Family History Library. Probates for citizens were the responsibility of the ''Rådhusrätt'' (city council court) or ''Magistrat'' (magistrate's court).  

Records microfilmed by the Genealogical Society of Utah and FamilySearch are available through the [https://www.familysearch.org/search/catalog FamilySearch Catalog]. The National Archives of Sweden has also made  their copies of the microfilmed records and more available online through the [https://sok.riksarkivet.se/nad Nationell ArkivDatabas (NAD)]. As with FamilySearch, records can be accessed by searching the name of the härad. [http://www.arkivdigital.se/ ArkivDigital] has also digitized probate records. After the [[Genealogical Society of Utah]] microfilmed the records archive staff paginated volumes and created indexes which have been digitized by ArkivDigital.

*Many probate indexes that are found in the Regional Archives (but never microfilmed) can be found online through [http://www.arkivdigital.net/ ArkivDigital].  

*Districts (Härad) with probate indexes are listed with FHL Film Call numbers in the book by Carl-Erik Johansson, “Cradled in Sweden”, Chapter 18.  

<u>Blekinge County.</u> (C.D.)&nbsp;[[Bouppteckningsingresser Östra härad 1737-1840, Blekinge Län|Probate Preambles of Östra härad 1737-1840 (C.D.)]]

*Bouppteckningsbevis - estate registration certificate filed with the court abstracting the information contained in the probate

*Dödsboanmälan - estate registration made instead of a full probate if the deceased's assets are only sufficient to cover funeral costs

*Fattigbevis - certificate of poverty requesting a waiver of the probate process