Sweden Probate Records

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Sweden

Probate Records

Introduction

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 inventory, and by whom performed
• Name of the deceased
• Death date of the deceased
• Residence of the deceased
• Names of the heirs, their ages, and relationship to the deceased
• Names of married daughters’ husbands
• Date of probate (or court session)
• Name and residence of guardian of underage children or heirs, with any relationship to his charges
• Assets / Credits
  • Metals: Gold (guld), silver, pewter (tenn')
  • Livestock: cattle (kreatur), horses (hästar)
  • Personal property: books (böcker'), clothing (klädespersedlar or kläder), linen (linnetyg)
• Debts (skulder), assests (tillgångar)

To learn more about the historical monetary system used in these documents see: Swedish Money, Weights, and Measures for Family History Research.

Historical Background

In Sweden, the Act of 1734 made it mandatory to conduct an inventory of the estate of the deceased. This legal proceeding is called bouppteckning. Some inventories were taken prior to 1734, especially in cities.

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).

Four court sessions were held each year. Each session took its name from the season of the year in which the court was held.

• Vintertinget – winter court (December, January, February)
• Vårtinget – spring court (March, April, May)
• Sommartinget – summer court (June, July, August)
• Hösttinget – autumn court (September, October, November)

Inheritance

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.

The law stipulated that guardians would be appointed to look after the interests of all heirs, especially minors. The guardian was supposed to be the nearest male relative on the side of the family of the deceased, but this rule was not always followed but should be taken into consideration. Under the law men became of age at 21 years, and females never became of age unless they were widowed. See Legal Age in Sweden for more information.

Never assume that a child died in infancy just because a younger child is christened with the same name. If you cannot find a death date for the older child, do not assume that the child died in infancy. It pays to study the list of debts and assets of the estate (boets skulder och tillgångar) very carefully. It was common then as now to lend or borrow from relatives, and they may be mentioned by name and relationship.

The Probate Process

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.

Preamble

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
• Court session (such as vårtinget)
• Name of the deceased
• Death date of the deceased (usually a few lines below the date of the inventory)
• Residence (farm or village) of the deceased at death
• The date of the inventory (usually at the top of the preamble)
• Names of men who performed the inventory (värderingsmän)
• The name of the surviving spouse
• Names of the heirs ages, and residence (The names of sons-in-law, if any daughters are married, names of grandchildren if their related parent to the deceased is dead)
• Names of guardians for minor heirs.

Inventory

The inventory was a detailed list of all real-estate, household items, livestock, crops, tools, and personal belongings of the deceased. Each item on the inventory was appraised and valued, and the entire inventory was totaled. The completed inventory was then submitted to the local court. The court judge in the next court session would then decide the distribution of the estate. The document describing the distribution was called the arvskifte.

The inventory was divided into sections which were itemized. Depending on a person's situation some sections that may be included could be:

• Gold (guld)
• Silver (silver)
• Pewter (tenn)
• Livestock (kreatur)
• Horses (hästar)
• Books (böcker)
• Clothing (klädespersedlar or kläder)
• Linen (linnetyg)
• Crops (gröda)
• Debts (skulder)
• Assets (tillgånger)
• Miscellaneous (diverse)

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].

Finding the Record

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 FamilySearch Catalog to do a place search. In the Place field type in the name of the district followed by "härad".

For example, Vintrosa parish in Örebro County is located in Örebro härad. To find the records for Vintrosa parish you would do a place search for Örebro härad, and then look for the subject heading "Probate records".

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 created separate indexes, so you should 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.

Sample Images

• 

  Probate of Anders Nilsson, 1862 page 1

• 

  Probate of Anders Nilsson, 1862 page 2

• 

  Probate of Anders Nilsson, 1862 page 3

Availability

Original probate records are kept in the provincial archives in Sweden. The earlier probate records can be found in the 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 FamilySearch Catalog. The National Archives of Sweden has also made their copies of the microfilmed records and more available online through the Nationell ArkivDatabas (NAD). As with FamilySearch, records can be accessed by searching the name of the härad. 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.

Indexes

Indexes are available for many districts. These are identified in the FamilySearch Catalog by register.

• Many probate indexes that are found in the Regional Archives (but never microfilmed) can be found online through 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.
• Halland County: A person and place index for wills for Halland county has been created. Bouppteckningsregister Halland, 1673-1850 : person och ortnamnsregister för bouppteckningar i Halland may be viewed online at the Family History Library. Calendar to Hök district, Halland county, Sweden : bouppteckningar microfilm images may be viewed online at FamilySearch.
• Östergötland County: Mari-Anne Olsson of Rönninge, Sweden has made indexes for the districts in Östergötland county. She also includes abbreviated preambles to the probate records of Östergötland. Her work has been microfilmed and is available at the Family History Library and its Centers. It is found in the FamilySearch Catalog under name of Härad, Probate records – Indexes.
  

Digital

Blekinge County. (C.D.) Probate Preambles of Östra härad 1737-1840 (C.D.)

Related Terms

Additional definitions can be found in Svenska Akademiens Ordbok (SAOB).

• Arvskiftet - division of inheritance among legal heirs
• Avhandlingsprotokoll - documents that would be officially registered with the court
• Bouppteckningsbevis - estate registration certificate filed with the court abstracting the information contained in the probate
• Bouppteckningsprotokollen - minutes of the district court regarding the estate registration
• 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
• Förmyndarskapsprotokoll - records relating to guardianship procedures
• Inprotokollerat - registered with the court (SAOB)
• Småprotokoller -court records containing mortgage records, marriage settlements and guardian accounts (SAOB)

Bibliography

Clemensson, Per and Andersson, Kjell. Släktforska steg för steg. Falköping, Natur och Kultur/Fakta, 2005.
Johansson, Carl-Erik. Cradled in Sweden. Everton Publishers, Inc. Logan, Ut. 1995.
Svenska Akademiens Ordbok - SAOB spalt: M1708; tryckår 1945. Online at www.saob.se.
"Svenska Källor: Del 3: Domstolshandlingar", Arkivguiden. http://www.arkivguiden.net.
Försäkringskassan, Skatteverket, and Pensions Myndigheten, Efterlevande Guiden (Survivors Guidebook), accessed 11 June 2021.

Family History Library (FHL); now called, FamilySearch Library (FSL)