Nordic Probate Records

In Scandinavia, probates were instituted to protect the rights of minors. Minors were anyone under age 25 and, in earlier time periods, all unmarried females, no matter what their age.

The law determined who would receive what after the debts were paid, for example, the surviving spouse received half and the other half was divided between the surviving heirs. If a child had been married, had children, and then died, their portion of the estate would be divided between their children.

Since the law did define the parameters of distribution, there were very few wills in the traditional sense of the words, which could be written by your common Scandinavian ancestors.

Note: In all the Scandinavian countries, probates for the clergy were normally kept separately from those of the "common man." They might be listed at the parish or Herred/Härad level, but within the catalog entry it should be indicated that the probates are those of the clergy only.