Practically everyone experiences bereavement and inheritance during their lifetime.

The current Norwegian Inheritance Act was passed and entered into force on January 1, 2020. (See separate article for more information about the new Inheritance Act.)

Many challenges presents itself where the family structure is less traditional, maybe with multiple marriages, children that are not joint and where one or both of the parents, for different reasons, wish to balance out joint estate and equal sharing according to the Inheritance Act either through a will or bequests. Legislation opens for a significant access to bequests while alive, but is more limited when it comes to testamentary dispositions.

We assist our clients with sensible estate planning and appropriation, precisely to avoid conflicts and unnecessary costs, as well as mediation, litigation and dispute resolution when conflict has arisen. Regular shift of estate and executorship of estate is something we work with on a regular basis.

Typical assignments that we undertake can be:

• Creation/ amendment of testaments
• Execution of bequests/ advancement of inheritage
• Estate planning to avoid future conflicts
• Succession
• Estate planning to avoid unnecessary property or gain taxes, especially related to transfer of real estate
• Executorship of estate
• Estate settlement
• Creation and planning of proxy
• Dispute resolution, especially relating to:
• Invalidation/ reversal of bequests, normally stemming from undivided estates, and death dispositions disguised as life disposistions
• Interpretation of testaments
• Invalidation/ reversal of dispositions made bypeople lacking competence of consent
• Representation with probate
• Litigation and dispute resolution

We also regularly assist with cross-border estates, and have partners in a number of European countries.