Sweden Probate Records

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Sweden

Probate Records

Introduction[edit | edit source]

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[edit | edit source]

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.

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 probate (inventory) 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. Occcasionally the distribution was added to the end of the inventory, but this was not usually the case.

All probating (distribution of the estate) was done by the district court (häradsrätt) for rural parishes or by the city court (rådhusrätt) for those living in a city. In 1971, the tingsrätt became the district court all over Sweden, replacing the previous distinction between rådhusrätt in larger cities and häradsrätt for other parts of the country. Nobility had the privilege of having their probate processed by the court of appeals (hovrätten) between the years 1737 and 1916.

Between two and 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)

Although a probate was obligated by law with death, often it was made only for the wife or husband which ever died first. Many bouppteckningar are missing partly because they have been lost due to poor storage or the destruction of the records. It has been figured that only 25% had an estate inventory made. In any event it is still worthwhile to check to see if a probate exists.

The probate is usually made up of two main parts, the preamble and the list of inventory. To that may be added a closing statement with the signatures of the heirs (those who were "of age") or just their initials.

Important Points to Remember[edit | edit source]

Male came of age at 21 years
Females never became of age unless they were widowed. See Legal Age in Sweden for more information.
Make it a practice to scan the debts/assets sections of the probate. As it is true today, so it was then, money was often loaned/borrowed by relatives
Half of the value of the estate went to the surviving spouse
Male heirs received a double portion to the inheritance female heirs received in rural parishes. In cities males and females received equal portions.

At the end of the probate document, the following persons normally signed: (a signature infers agreement with the inventory) surviving spouse, sons, sons-in-law, appraisers, guardians. 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[edit | edit source]

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[edit | edit source]

Probate of Anders Nilsson, 1862 page 1
Probate of Anders Nilsson, 1862 page 2
Probate of Anders Nilsson, 1862 page 3

Availability[edit | edit source]

Original probate records are kept in the provincial archives in Sweden. The earlier probate records can be found in the court records (domböcker). 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.

Tips[edit | edit source]

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.

Indexes[edit | edit source]

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[edit | edit source]

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[edit | edit source]

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.