Inheritance feud among Sweden’s aristocracy: “Of course we’re making fools of ourselves”
Translated from Swedish and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.
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In the courts
- A Swedish court is examining disputed wills covering two castles, 12,000 hectares of land and assets worth several billion kronor left by Count Hans-Gabriel Trolle-Wachtmeister, who died in 2023 aged 100.
- The count’s grand-nephew Carl-Fredrik Wachtmeister and his father challenge the wills, arguing that he was mentally impaired and vulnerable to undue influence when he signed them at ages 97 and 98.
- Hans and Kirstine von Blixen-Finecke, who would receive one castle and half the land, say the count understood the documents and that they reflected his final wishes and their close relationship with him.
A bitter inheritance battle among Sweden’s high aristocracy has brought an uncomfortable question before Kristianstad District Court: how should a fortune worth several billion kronor be divided?
These are enormous sums, vulgar sums in a way. There is so much suffering around the world, and we are busy with this kind of nonsense.
At stake are two Scanian castles, 12,000 hectares of land and the legacy of Count Hans-Gabriel Trolle-Wachtmeister, who died in 2023 at the age of 100. His grand-nephew Carl-Fredrik Wachtmeister says he feels ashamed discussing the dispute with journalists.
“These are enormous sums, vulgar sums in a way. There is so much suffering around the world, and we are busy with this kind of nonsense,” Wachtmeister said. But he also argues that the family cannot simply shrug off the conflict because so much property is involved. “No one ever wants things to turn out like this. Of course we’re making fools of ourselves,” he said before the trial.
No one ever wants things to turn out like this. Of course we’re making fools of ourselves.
The court’s central task is to assess the count’s mental condition when he signed two contested wills at the ages of 97 and 98. Wachtmeister and his father, Claës Trolle-Wachtmeister, claim the count was demented, suggestible and subjected to improper influence. The pair had long believed that the estate would remain intact and be managed within the family. “When you have lived with something all your life and been raised for it, it runs very deep,” Wachtmeister said.
Resist! Resist!
Under the disputed wills, one castle and half the land would go to Baron Hans von Blixen-Finecke and his wife, Kirstine. Their lawyer, Johan Frih, said the couple were fighting not primarily for money but for “his final wishes.” Hans von Blixen-Finecke has said the count held his hand on his deathbed and, in a weak voice, told him: “Resist! Resist!” The couple maintain that the count was lucid and capable of understanding the legal documents, and that the wills followed years of close, warm relations. They also say he held a grudge against Wachtmeister and his father. Wachtmeister rejects that account, saying he was thrown out and lost his future because of the couple’s conduct.
His final wishes.
About this summary
Originally published by Svenska Dagbladet in Swedish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.
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