Laglott -- half a child's intestate share, protected against a will
Under Chapter 7 of the Swedish Inheritance Code (Arvdabalken, 1958:637), each child (brostarvinge) has
a laglott -- a statutory reserved share -- equal to half of what they would have received under intestate
succession (their arvslott). A parent cannot will away more than half of what a child would otherwise
inherit, and a child can demand jamkning (reduction) of a will that violates this protected share.
The distinctive Swedish spousal-inheritance system
Sweden's Chapter 3 system is genuinely distinctive among the countries this platform covers: where the
deceased was married, the entire estate generally passes first to the surviving spouse, ahead of the
couple's common children, who must wait for “efterarv” (secondary inheritance rights) until the second
parent's death. The surviving spouse is also guaranteed a statutory minimum equal to four times the
prisbasbelopp (base amount) regardless of competing claims, and a will cannot defeat this minimum.
Children from a prior relationship (sarkullbarn) are the exception -- they can claim their share
immediately rather than waiting for the surviving spouse's death. Sweden also abolished inheritance and
gift tax entirely for deaths from 1 January 2005 onward, so no Swedish inheritance tax applies regardless
of estate size.
EU Succession Regulation 650/2012 (Brussels IV) -- the choice-of-law planning tool
As an EU member state, Sweden applies EU Succession Regulation 650/2012, commonly called Brussels IV.
Under its default rule, the law of the deceased's country of habitual residence at the time of death
governs the succession of the entire estate -- so an Indian citizen habitually resident in Sweden would,
by default, have Swedish succession law (including the laglott and Chapter 3 spousal rules) apply to
their whole estate. Article 22 allows an individual to make a professio juris choice-of-law election in a
will, selecting the law of any country of which they hold nationality -- such as India -- to govern their
succession instead. This election is the key planning step an NRI in Sweden needs to take to avoid
Swedish forced heirship and spousal-priority rules applying to their estate by default once they become
habitually resident there.
Swedish succession law does not, however, reach assets located in India. For a
Sweden-based person of Indian origin (or an Indian citizen resident in Sweden) who dies owning
property in India, the applicable Indian succession law depends on personal law exactly as it would for
anyone else -- the Hindu Succession Act, 1956 for Hindus, Sikhs, Jains and Buddhists; Muslim personal law
for Muslims; and the Indian Succession Act, 1925 for Christians, Parsis, and those who die leaving a
valid will governing testamentary succession generally. Heirs based in Sweden seeking to access a
deceased relative's Indian bank accounts, securities, or movable assets typically need a Succession
Certificate from the relevant Indian court (or Letters of Administration/Probate where a will exists),
and can pursue this through a Power of Attorney authorizing a representative in India, avoiding the need
to travel to India for most stages of the process.
Common mistakes NRIs in Sweden make with succession matters:
- Not making a professio juris election in a Swedish will, leaving Sweden's laglott and spousal
rules to apply by default once habitually resident there.
- Assuming Sweden's abolition of inheritance tax also affects the laglott or Chapter 3 spousal
priority rules -- it does not; these are succession-law rules, unrelated to taxation.
- Delaying the Succession Certificate/Probate application, which can hold up access to Indian bank
accounts and securities for an extended period.
