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Laglotten – rättighet eller tvångsarv? - En rättshistorisk studie om berättigandet av bröstarvingars arvsrätt

Lindqvist, Karin LU (2015) LAGF03 20151
Department of Law
Faculty of Law
Abstract (Swedish)
Oavsett vad en förälder kan ha förordnat genom testamente har bröstarvingar enligt nuvarande arvsreglering alltid rätt till hälften av kvarlåtenskapen, den så kallade laglottsrätten. Uppsatsens syfte är att undersöka vilka intressen som har motiverat laglottsinstitutets utformning i Sverige, från instiftandet fram till nuvarande reglering, samt vilka argument som framförts för och emot dess bevarande i dagens samhälle. Bröstarvingars arvsrätt, där utvecklingen av utomäktenskapliga barns rättsställning särskilt uppmärksammas, står följaktligen i centrum för uppsatsen.

En variant av dagens laglottsskydd har funnits sedan medeltiden. Vid tidpunkten präglades arvsbestämmelserna av släktgemenskap och syftade till att hålla jordegendomen... (More)
Oavsett vad en förälder kan ha förordnat genom testamente har bröstarvingar enligt nuvarande arvsreglering alltid rätt till hälften av kvarlåtenskapen, den så kallade laglottsrätten. Uppsatsens syfte är att undersöka vilka intressen som har motiverat laglottsinstitutets utformning i Sverige, från instiftandet fram till nuvarande reglering, samt vilka argument som framförts för och emot dess bevarande i dagens samhälle. Bröstarvingars arvsrätt, där utvecklingen av utomäktenskapliga barns rättsställning särskilt uppmärksammas, står följaktligen i centrum för uppsatsen.

En variant av dagens laglottsskydd har funnits sedan medeltiden. Vid tidpunkten präglades arvsbestämmelserna av släktgemenskap och syftade till att hålla jordegendomen inom familjen. Rätten till laglott i sin nuvarande form lagstadgades år 1857 och fungerade som en avvägning mellan arvingarnas, på släktskap grundade, arvsrätt och testators rätt att fritt fördela sin kvarlåtenskap. Sedan början av 1900-talet har laglottens två primära syften varit att skydda bröstarvingarnas rätt till arv, samt tillförsäkra viss likställighet bröstarvingar sinsemellan. I takt med decenniets samhällsförändring, där nya former av familjekonstellationer skapades, uppstod förslag att slopa laglotten. Uppsatsen redovisar de skäl för avskaffande som framfördes i samband med 1988 års ärvdabalksreform, samt vilka omständigheter som grundade valet att bevara laglottsinstitutet. Efter reformen har rättsutvecklingen på arvsrättens område varit mycket begränsad, men trots frånvaron av lagstiftningsverksamhet finns ett politiskt intresse för laglottens existens och utformning. Riksdagen erhåller kontinuerligt motioner med förslag att se över laglottsregleringen. Under 2000-talet har det dessutom förts en rättspolitisk debatt kring laglottens vara eller icke vara. Förespråkarna menar att regleringen skyddar arvlåtarens särkullbarn och inte bör avskaffas då den fyller sin funktion. Laglottens motståndare kritiserar däremot laglottens ursprungliga syften och anser att bestämmelserna inte är anpassade efter dagens samhälle. (Less)
Abstract
According to the present law of succession, the direct heirs of a deceased person have the right to retain half of the property in heritage, the so-called statutory share of inheritance, regardless of what a parent has assigned by will. The purpose of this essay is to examine the interests that legitimate the statutory share of inheritance in Sweden, from its establishment to present regulation, as well as the arguments made for and against its conservation in today’s society. The inheritance of the direct heirs, with the judicial position of bastards specially noted, is therefore the center of this essay.

The statutory share of inheritance has existed since the Middle Ages. At the time, the regulation was established by the family... (More)
According to the present law of succession, the direct heirs of a deceased person have the right to retain half of the property in heritage, the so-called statutory share of inheritance, regardless of what a parent has assigned by will. The purpose of this essay is to examine the interests that legitimate the statutory share of inheritance in Sweden, from its establishment to present regulation, as well as the arguments made for and against its conservation in today’s society. The inheritance of the direct heirs, with the judicial position of bastards specially noted, is therefore the center of this essay.

The statutory share of inheritance has existed since the Middle Ages. At the time, the regulation was established by the family communion and was aimed at keeping the land within the family. The present statutory share of inheritance was introduced in 1857 and acted as a trade-off between the heirs inheritance rights, which was based on relationship, and the testator’s right to freely share out the estate. Since the 20th century, the two main motives of the statutory share of inheritance have been the direct heirs right to inherit and the wish to create justice between the deceased person’s children. In line with the decade’s societal changes, where new types of family constellations were beginning to form, proposals to abolish the statutory share of inheritance emerged. This essay takes up the reasons of abolition that were made in connection to the reform of heritage in 1988, as well as the grounds to maintain the regulation. The legislative development has been quite limited since the reform, but despite the absence of law-making, there is a political interest in the existence and shape of the statutory share of inheritance. The Swedish Parliament receives continuous non-governmental bills with suggestions to revise the statutory share of inheritance. Furthermore, there has been a debate of legal policy on the existence or non-existence of the statutory share of inheritance during 21th century. The proponents opine that the regulation protects the children from a previous marriage or relationship and should not be abolished since it performs its function. The opponents criticize the original purposes of the statutory share of inheritance and find the arrangement not suited to today’s society. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
Lindqvist, Karin LU
supervisor
organization
course
LAGF03 20151
year
type
M2 - Bachelor Degree
subject
keywords
rättshistoria, legal history
language
Swedish
id
5431053
date added to LUP
2015-07-06 09:27:12
date last changed
2015-07-06 09:27:12
@misc{5431053,
  abstract     = {{According to the present law of succession, the direct heirs of a deceased person have the right to retain half of the property in heritage, the so-called statutory share of inheritance, regardless of what a parent has assigned by will. The purpose of this essay is to examine the interests that legitimate the statutory share of inheritance in Sweden, from its establishment to present regulation, as well as the arguments made for and against its conservation in today’s society. The inheritance of the direct heirs, with the judicial position of bastards specially noted, is therefore the center of this essay. 

The statutory share of inheritance has existed since the Middle Ages. At the time, the regulation was established by the family communion and was aimed at keeping the land within the family. The present statutory share of inheritance was introduced in 1857 and acted as a trade-off between the heirs inheritance rights, which was based on relationship, and the testator’s right to freely share out the estate. Since the 20th century, the two main motives of the statutory share of inheritance have been the direct heirs right to inherit and the wish to create justice between the deceased person’s children. In line with the decade’s societal changes, where new types of family constellations were beginning to form, proposals to abolish the statutory share of inheritance emerged. This essay takes up the reasons of abolition that were made in connection to the reform of heritage in 1988, as well as the grounds to maintain the regulation. The legislative development has been quite limited since the reform, but despite the absence of law-making, there is a political interest in the existence and shape of the statutory share of inheritance. The Swedish Parliament receives continuous non-governmental bills with suggestions to revise the statutory share of inheritance. Furthermore, there has been a debate of legal policy on the existence or non-existence of the statutory share of inheritance during 21th century. The proponents opine that the regulation protects the children from a previous marriage or relationship and should not be abolished since it performs its function. The opponents criticize the original purposes of the statutory share of inheritance and find the arrangement not suited to today’s society.}},
  author       = {{Lindqvist, Karin}},
  language     = {{swe}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{Laglotten – rättighet eller tvångsarv? - En rättshistorisk studie om berättigandet av bröstarvingars arvsrätt}},
  year         = {{2015}},
}