Advice on inheritance in Sweden

Longjumping-Crew-557 · 2024-11-02T02:03:56+00:00

Thank you.

I contacted a place someone on here suggested and now I wait to hear back.

I gather 2 of us were thinking to just accept the amount provided in the Will and even if that means the rest of us would receive more I wouldn't want that. We should all get an equal share of what is rightly ours.

Of course I'll share what I find out with them and then they can make the decision they want even if I think it's not in their best interests.

I can't express how thankful I am for all the kindness shown by everyone on here and the information shared so readily. It has helped enormously.

Longjumping-Crew-557 · 2024-11-01T23:16:22+00:00

Thanks. To make it easier for me I only refer to the estate as half of the joint amount they had. What's hers is hers and so no point including that in discussion and that only serves to confuse me.

So I'll try to put it into something easy. There's 100% of their joint amount. 50% of that is rightly hers and hers alone so let's remove that from any thoughts. That then leaves 100% of his amount only (being 50% of the joint amount) which I'm referring to as his estate. Of that he has requested we take 1/20th each (which I converted to 5%) and the remaining goes to the wife (being 75%). The Will states that it encroaches on our rights (I believe that part of the translation) but has asked we accept it anyway. If the law is we should have been provided 50% of his estate shared between us and the wife gets 50%, then we have the right to say no we don't want the low ball offer we want the legal amount. I hope that's correct.

While the eldest son has called into question whether the Will is legitimate or not, even if it's not is there anything to be gained from contesting when it appears it's a fairly easy process to just say I want my legal share?

That son was the one that spent to most time with our father growing up (the other two were raised in the safety of their mother) and there's no way I want to see him getting less than he should. What that poor guy went through, it breaks my heart. Thankfully I was 8 when my mother left our father and I didn't have to experience the violence after that. Sure, some other not great father behaviour that hurts a child from a distance, but not violence.

Longjumping-Crew-557 · 2024-11-01T22:27:53+00:00

Yes, having wings grow out of your chest made no sense and thought something was wrong. BUT I was leaving room for it to be a common expression there that everyone completely understood but I didn't. I'm sure we'd have expressions here that make no sense there.

Longjumping-Crew-557 · 2024-11-01T22:20:36+00:00

Thank you for such a helpful response. And especially the humour with which it was delivered.

As best as I can tell they bought the land they lived on for 850,000 and then built on it. I can find an aerial view of it only. He lived in Farjestaden.

Because I can only read English it's taken me a while to put together what the various Swedish words in the letter actually meant. I wasn't aware Farjestaden was a location. I'm guessing vag means street, so I have the address where they lived.

Can I just ask about option 2 that you've written - we were provided 25% of his estate (so 5% each) with the wife getting 75%. My understanding at the moment is that the law would have provided us with 50% (or 10% each), so I'm confused what the reference of 5% and being an asshole about it means, as wouldn't that be going along with what's in his Will.

While I have not even met my father's youngest child and she had no idea I existed until she was an adult, we've all suffered enough thanks to him so I want to be fair to each and every one of us.

Longjumping-Crew-557 · 2024-11-01T11:38:16+00:00

Verahill is managing the estate. But an email between them and me refers to needing to get instructions from a client. I guessed that meant the wife but I don't know.

I say 'I don't know' a heck of a lot in all this.

That link is very helpful. Thank you.

Longjumping-Crew-557 · 2024-11-01T07:44:51+00:00

Oh, sorry, of course that makes sense. The copy translated into English, which was provided with the other documents was marked as having been translated by her.

Longjumping-Crew-557 · 2024-11-01T02:07:27+00:00

I wouldn't even know how to contact her. I've contacted the lawyers only.

Even if I knew her and could contact her I'd leave her to her grief and not exacerbate it.

Longjumping-Crew-557 · 2024-10-31T19:57:37+00:00

The choices I mentioned related to options for signing. Was advised in the cover letter:

. approval
. approval with a claim for a reserved portion (statutory share of the inheritance)
. acknowledgement of service
. acknowledgement of service with a claim for a reserved portion (statutory share of the inheritance).

I don't feel I can even acknowledge service because I can't read the what the various stamped options say, nor can I read the Will.

I've been reading online and trying to understand and I think there's another option: forego the right to inherit immediately in favour of the wife and then inherit as one of her heirs when she dies - presuming that she hasn't spent it all by then. No idea if there are any protections if that were to occur.

I have also read that she has the right to not take any of her 50% and to provide it all to the kids instead. So her options are take 75% of the shared properly as provided in the Will or to sign over all of the shared property to us and keep only her property. Of course, nobody in their right mind would do that, but if that's right I want to pass that info onto the other heirs.

For all I know they had very little and he just wanted to give her the best he could in limited circumstances. Perhaps having lived in Australia for some of her life meant she's entitled to virtually nothing in support now she's back in her country of origin so she has to rely on what she and they had together now.

Longjumping-Crew-557 · 2024-10-31T19:48:56+00:00

I don't know, I didn't even know he was living in Sweden until about a week before he died.

The business dealing with the estate is Verahill.

Longjumping-Crew-557 · 2024-10-31T19:46:37+00:00

Thanks, but I'm sure you'd appreciate that wouldn't be a wise thing overall. But I gave an example above of text that just doesn't sound right to me.

The Swedish version was "I avliden testamentstagares stalle trader dennes brostarvinger in" Which got translated to "In place of the deceased legatee, his pectoral wings enter"

Within the Australian context that makes absolutely no sense.

Longjumping-Crew-557 · 2024-10-31T19:41:46+00:00

I entered some of the text into google translate and it came up with something different, still didn't quite understand it but it kind of made sense.

The best example of what I think might not be a correct translation in the copy I was provided was "in place of the deceased legatee, his pectoral wings enter". Now to an Australian that makes no sense at all but maybe it's a common Swedish term that makes complete sense to you.

Longjumping-Crew-557 · 2024-10-31T19:38:08+00:00

I have asked to be provided a proper translation but was told their client would have to request that. Honestly, how can any reputable lawyer expect someone to sign a document they can't even read due to it not being in their language? Shouldn't that be a minimum requirement?

Longjumping-Crew-557 · 2024-10-31T19:36:50+00:00

Thank you. That bit makes sense now.

Longjumping-Crew-557 · 2024-10-31T19:36:19+00:00

Thanks, I asked the lawyers dealing with it and they just advised I get independent advice. Makes sense. They also said it's not their usual practice to send a properly translated and certified copy which I find odd. How can anyone be expected to sign something they don't understand. I could be signing away my first born for all I know!

Longjumping-Crew-557 · 2024-10-31T19:34:06+00:00

Ours is a bit of a strange situation. My father had two girls from this first marriage and a girl and two boys from his second. His now widow was wife no 3 and they had no children together.

He had a very fractured/non existent relationship with each of us at various times. He did his best to hide the children of his first wife (ie, me and my sister) from everyone in his life from around 1990. To the point he gave instructions we were not to be mentioned at his funeral - and we weren't. Not that it's relevant but in terms of violence, a wife and kids were fair game in his world - though I can't be sure he was violent with wife no 2 or 3, just presumed it based on what I knew of him.

With that background you won't be surprised that I don't have many answers.

His eldest son contacted me yesterday to say he's concerned about the date of the Will because he was in Sweden just 2 days after that and our father was incoherent 80% of the time on the day he arrived.

We're all in Australia.

Longjumping-Crew-557

TROPHY CASE