Division of Property 

A division of property dissolves the marital property and distributes the assets between the spouses. A division of property is normally carried out in connection with a divorce or when one of the spouses passes away. A division of property can, however, also be made during a marriage in order to regulate which spouse owns what. 

Division of property during the marriage

In order to make a division of property during the marriage, the spouses must make a written notification to the court. The property division agreement itself does not have to be registered. The spouses must jointly decide to make a division of property during the marriage and must be in agreement about how the division should be implemented. The spouses can decide to deviate from the principle of equal division. They can give more assets to one of the spouses and they can also decide to include private property in the division. If the division of property is intended to ensure that each of the spouses get to keep what they have been allocated, in case of a future divorce or death, the spouses must make the property private in a prenuptial agreement.

Division of property in connection with a divorce

In case of divorce, a division of property is required. The only exception is when the spouses only have private property and neither one of them is asking to take over the home or household goods from the other. In the division of property, only the marital property is included. Before the assets are distributed you have to make a calculation of the shares. Each spouse’s debts are deducted from the marital property that he or she formally owns. The value that remains will be distributed equally. If the value of one of the spouse’s marital property exceeds his or her allocated share, the excess value of the property must be transferred to the other spouse. The spouses decide themselves what property they want to transfer and they can also, as an alternative, decide to pay the excess in money. A written property division agreement must be drawn up and signed by both parties. The document does not have to be registered.

Division of property in case of death

When one of the spouses passes away, a division of property is often not required. Most of the time the surviving spouse will inherit the deceased spouse’s property. If, however, the deceased spouse leaves a child behind who is not the spouses’ common child, this child has the right to immediately get the inheritance after the parent, and a division of property is required. A division of property is also needed if the deceased spouse has drawn up a will for the benefit of someone other than the surviving spouse. If it would be beneficial, the surviving spouse can decide to keep his or her marital property as the allocated share of the property. After a division of property in case of death, an estate distribution must take place in order to decide how the deceased spouse’s share of the property will be distributed among the heirs.

Ordering a property division agreement

We would be happy to give you advice and help you draw up a property division agreement at a fixed price of 2000 SEK. If your matter is very complicated, it is possible that the fixed price listed above is not applicable. In that case we will give you a new proposal for a fixed price that reflects the added complexity. Send us an  e-mail and describe you matter and we will contact you as soon as possible. If you prefer to discuss your matter over phone, call us at +46(0)8 559 25 309.

This article describes divisions of property as regulated by Swedish law. It is for information purposes only, and neither contains any legal advice, nor should be construed as such. Every case depends on its specific facts, so if you are planning to prepare a cohabitation agreement, contact us or another lawyer.