Administer the estate

At the time of death, the deceased’s assets, debts and contractual obligations are transferred to an estate. An estate ceases to exist once the inheritance has been settled, that is once the assets have been divided up between the heirs.

For further information about estates (skatteverket.se, in Swedish) External link.

Is there any executor named?

Check to see whether the deceased has written a will in which a specific person is named as the executor of the will. The executor of the will is entitled to administer the estate instead of the parties to the estate.

If no executor has been named, the parties to the estate themselves are responsible for administering the estate or appointing someone to do so.

Take things at your own pace

A death affects different people in different ways. Some prefer to busy themselves with practical tasks as soon as possible. Others have difficulty coping with the practicalities. Prioritise the most important tasks and don’t hesitate to ask others to help you.

You can use our checklist on which we have compiled most of the tasks you need to perform in the event of a death in the family.

Am adjustable checklista according to date of death

Apply for probate to administer the estate of the deceased

If you are the widow, widower, child or other relative who is the executor of the estate, you will need a death certificate, showing the date and time of death, with a släktutredning, a report of surviving current and former spouses and children of the deceased.

You can apply for a death certificate with släktutredning yourself, or ask your funeral director to help you. Once you have the certificate, you can deal with matters such as cancelling contracts and direct debits or dealing with insurance companies or appointing an estate administrator.

You can also apply for a burial/cremation certificate, a registry extract you will need in order to arrange the funeral. You can obtain this from the Swedish Tax Agency (Skatteverket) yourself if you do not have a funeral director to apply for it on your behalf.

You can order a death certificate and släktutredning over the telephone by calling the Swedish Tax Agency (Skatteverket) on +46 (0)771 567 567.

Apply to the Swedish Tax Agency for a death certificate (skatteverket.se, in Swedish) External link.

Certificate to administer post addressed to the estate

• If someone other than the deceased’s spouse or registered partner needs to collect letters or parcels addressed to the estate, they will require a certificate (vårdnadsintyg) from the funeral director.
• The vårdnadsintyg must be signed and kept by the post office that deals with the deliveries to the estate’s address. If, however, the spouse or registered partner is to collect the post, they will need to present a death certificate with släktutredning at the post office.
• A vårdnadsintyg is valid for 4 months from the date of death, until the notification of the estate or estate inventory is completed.

You need to contact the bank

In the event of death, you will need access to the deceased’s bank account to:

• pay bills, funeral and probate costs;
• cancel direct debits
• obtain information about the deceased’s assets and debts for the estate inventory.

The person contacting the bank must be in possession of a death certificate with släktutredning. In some cases, where there are several parties to the estate, you will also require power of attorney. Forms for power of attorney can be downloaded from bank websites.

Contact with the bank in the event of death (konsumenternas.se, in Swedish) External link.

Pay funeral and probate costs first

The estate’s first duty is to pay funeral and probate costs. All bills that relate to a joint household must be paid. Rent, electricity and telephone bills and funeral costs can normally be paid directly from the deceased’s bank account.

Specific requirements may need to be met for a power of attorney to be valid

For example, a bank may have its own form for completing a power of attorney to represent the estate in contacts with the bank. Forms may be available to download from the bank’s website or you may need to order one by post.

Contact the banks, financial institutions and insurance companies with which the deceased did business to find out what applies.

Redirecting the estate’s post

Approximately one week after the death, the Swedish Tax Agency (Skatteverket) will send a letter asking whether the estate would like to notify a change of address. The Swedish Tax Agency will not notify anyone else of this new address.

If you want all of the deceased’s post to be sent to a new address you will need to order a redirection. You do this via Svensk Adressändring. You can see the fees for redirecting post on its website. This is an expense that can be charged to the estate. If there are insufficient funds in the estate, you will need to pay the fee for having the deceased’s post redirected yourself.

• Contact details for Svensk Adressändring (adressandring.se, in Swedish) External link.
• Notify a change of address for the estate (skatteverket.se, in Swedish) External link.

Bank services are automatically blocked

Banks are automatically informed when someone dies, at which point some of the services used by the deceased will be automatically terminated. Exactly which services are blocked may vary from bank to bank.