A divorce often takes a toll, so make sure you have someone you can trust to help you
Divorcing is always emotional and many only associate it with problems. However, there are simple and clear ways that can make the process of divorcing in Sweden easier. In addition to hiring a good lawyer to guide you through the entire process, the information below will help you keep track of what happens in the process.
When the separation is a fact
Have you and your partner decided to divorce? Or have you reached the end of the road in your marriage? Regardless of who applies for divorce, it has to be done at the district court where you’re registered. Sometimes, when divorcing in Sweden, you’ll have to go through a reflection period. This is a period of time that needs to pass before you can complete your divorce. The reflection period exists to avoid couples divorcing in Sweden hastily. However, there are some differences in if and how long the reflection period is.
Most often, the reflection period is for six months, but can in some cases be up to a year. If you’re both in agreement and don’t have children under the age of 16, you won’t need a reflection period. In this case, divorcing in Sweden takes effect immediately. If the divorce was filed by one party’s initiative, or if you have children under the age of 16, a reflection period of at least six months applies.
Divorcing in Sweden involves a division of property
After the divorce process itself is completed, you usually have to go through a division of property. This is the process where you divide what is known as matrimonial property. That is what you as spouses have owned together during your marriage. Everything that isn’t legally individual property. Aside from each spouse’s debts, everything will be written down and summarized in a property division agreement that you both have to sign.
When divorcing in Sweden, if you aren’t in agreement, or have different views on how your property should be divided, the district court will appoint a property division administrator who’ll help you. And if there are big differences between your view points, the property division executor will be the one to decide who gets what.
Make sure you have help and a good support system when going through a custody battle
Having to deal with a custody battle is certainly not easy for anyone in the family. So it’s important to make sure that you have a good support system, both among your loved ones and within the lawyer you hire to help you at the district court. In the very best case scenario, you and your ex-partner will come to an agreement on your own about how you to divide custody of your children. Maybe there’s a natural solution to the situation? Maybe your children are old enough to choose which parent to live with?
However, if you can’t agree among the two of you, you’ll have to get help to come to a solution that works for your children. Since March 1, 2022, all parents who want to take a custody battle to court have to participate in an informational interview with the municipality first. In the interview, you’ll get help to resolve the conflict and come to a joint decision about how to divide custody of the children between you. If you still can’t agree, you’ll receive a certificate of having participated in the intervew and your case will be handed over to the court.
What can be decided in a custody battle?
In a custody battle, you decide how you want to divide custody of your children, where the children will live and how you intend to resolve your visitation rights with the children. In Sweden, the best interests of the child are always top priority, and the court takes that into account when making their decisions. In order for the district court to take your case, one of you have to file a subpoena. If you already have a divorce case that’s being handled by the district court, you can ask to settle custody of the children directly in that case.
The district court can ask for information and investigations from the social welfare board and the family court to see what’s best for the children. A social worker will then often meet with both you and the children to gather information about your new living situation, your finances and the children’s needs and wishes.
There are a number of factors that can influence the district court’s decision. For example, the childrens ages and the relationship between the children and the parents can play a role. It’s also important how well each of you as parents can meet the needs of your children. This applies to both financial needs and other needs that the district court deems important.
What happens at the district court?
Often times, the custody process begins with district court calling the parents to a hearing. During the hearing, you tell a judge what you think is best for the children. In some cases, you may need to have several hearings if it’s particularly difficult to come to a good solution. And if you still can’t manage to agree, the district court can decide to hold a main hearing. Then the district court can call in other witnesses and use written evidence to help them make a decision. After the main hearing, the district court decides on your case and you can choose to accept the verdict or appeal it.
In some cases, the district court can decide to grant joint custody, meaning that you share responsibility for your children. The district court can also decide that one of you gets sole custody. Even if one parent gets sole custody, the other parent still has the right to visit the children. In very extreme cases, the court can decide that a parent shouldn’t be granted visitation rights. But then it’s because the child is at risk of being harmed by that parent.
Do you want to change your surname after your wedding?
Think about what your surnames are going to be after the wedding
To many, the wedding ceremony and marriage symbolizes the beginning of a new family life together. And the biggest symbol of family life is changing the surname to a common one. If you want to keep your surname after the wedding, you don’t have to think about anything because you will automatically keep the name you already have. But if you and your partner want to have common surnames, there are a couple of things that are good to keep in mind.
Previously, you could change your surname through the marriage officiant, but nowadays they’re not allowed to accept name-change applications. If you want to change your name, you have to send an application directly to the Swedish Tax Agency instead. Your partner doesn’t have to approve your application if you change to your partner’s surname.
Do you have any specific questions regarding name-changes or other legal preparations before getting married? Download the Kliently app to be able to talk to our lawyers specialized in family law.
Everything you need to know before the name change
You can choose to have one common surname. You can also choose to have a double surnames, which is when you take on a new surnamn based on your and your partner’s current names. Whether you want hyphens between the surnames is entirely up to you. If one of you already has a double surname, only one of the surnames can be included in the newly formed name. However, you can change to your partner’s double surname if you wish.
You can apply to change your surname both before the wedding and during the marriage. You can also change your surname several times during your marriage if you were to regret anything. You can even change to your partner’s last name even if your partner got that name in a previous marriage. When the Swedish Tax Agency approves the name change, you’ll receive an extract from their register from them. There you can see, among other things, when the name was changed and how it’s spelled. That way, you can ensure that everything is correct.
Some name changes cost money and can amount upto a couple of thousand Swedish crowns. But changing to your partner’s name won’t cost you anything. When you have changed your surname, the Tax Agency sends the new information to most authorities and companies. However, you have to make sure youtself to renew your ID, passport and notify everyone in your network, both friends, colleagues and others, that you have changed your name.
Check the waiting time for new passports when changing your surname
Remember that if you intend to go on a honeymoon trip, it’s important that you book the trip in the name that appears in your passport. Many people miss this, often because they’re used to making reservations in their old name. And that only leads to unnecessary costs and stress.
You cannot change the name on your passport before the Swedish Tax Agency has approved the name change. However, in connection to your wedding, you can apply to change your surname and at the same time, book a trip in your old surname, as long as you have a valid passport in that name. Processing times can be long with both the Swedish Tax Agency, who registers the name change, and the Swedish police, who issues the new passport. So it’s often easier to book a honeymoon in your old name and apply for a new passport when you’re back home. Alternatively, you can apply to change your surname after the honeymoon instead.
5 things to keep in mind when advertising in social media
Do you know what the terms are for marketing in social media?
Even though social media has now been around for many years, the rules and laws surrounding what you can and can’t do when advertising on social media are difficult to navigate around. This is because social media is an incredibly fast-growing phenomenon and it’s difficult to keep up with what’s happening, both on a national and global level. Many companies violate advertising laws. So to make things clearer, we’re listing the most important rules for companies that advertise in social media.
1. Respect copyright and trademark protection
This may seem obvious but companies often miss this in their marketing. It’s easy to think that you can freely use memes and popular songs that are widely spread on social media, but the fact is that even the most popular visual and audio content on social media are covered by copyright.
On many sites, you can sign up and pay to be able to use content for social media. The websites will state in their terms how you’re allowed to reuse the content. In most cases, this is the safest way to ensure that the content you’re using is legally okay to use. If you still want to reuse content that is trending in social media, you need to try to find out who the author of the content is and ask for permission to use it.
2. What are the rules regarding UGC?
User generated content is content that social media users who use your products and/or services have created. Most often, UGC-content is created by smaller influencers who recommend products and services on their platforms. As a company, you can pay influencers to create user-generated content for you, and by default companies usually state that the copyright to the material in these cases belongs to the company.
Many companies also send samples to social media users which leads to the recipients creating user generated content. In these cases, it’s important that you ask the influencer if it’s alright to reuse the content, especially if you intend to advertise it. Best practice is to offer the influencer a fee to be able to advertise the content. How big the fee should be depends on how big a reach you expect to get, how long you intend to let your ad run and how well established the influencer in question is.
3. All paid ads with influencers must be clearly marked
If you want to use influencers to get your message out, it is especially important to mark the content as advertisement. On Instagram, among other platforms, you can now collaborate with influencers with branded content. This way, a branded content label appears above the post. But when it comes to advertising rules, this is usually not enough. According to Swedish practice, it should never be possible to misinterpret whether content in social media is a paid ad or not. Since the branded content labeling through Instagram is so small, it’s important that the influencer also writes in the caption that the collaboration is a paid collaboration between you and them.
The same applies to you as a company if you post the material on your channel as well. Otherwise, the risk is that you’ll be accused of false marketing.
4. GDPR also applies to social media
The purpose of advertising on social media can be different. It’s not always a company wants to sell a product or service, but sometimes the purpose may be to market a future launch where users can sign up to receive information in advance. Sometimes the aim is to get more subscribers to a newsletter. And sometimes you might want to promote your loyalty program. When collecting user data, you have to comply with applicable data protection laws. In Sweden, this simply means that you need to comply with the European Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
It needs to be clear in your ad how you intend to use the data. The people you target must be able to give consent and approve that you may use their data in future communications. Although it can be seen as approval when a person enters their email address, it’s important that it’s clearly stated what the person in question actually agrees to when entering their email.
5. Be genuine and honest when advertising on social media
Last but not least, be transparent. Be clear and honest about who benefits from what you sell, why your concept is strong and what the customer actually gets when buying from you. In order to be heard through the social media noise, it can feel tempting to embellish the message, but the risk is that you’ll be reported for false marketing. And in today’s digital society, it’s incredibly easy for users to quickly find information about which companies have been reported and which ones receive critical reviews.
So make sure to use the strengths you have without embellishing them too much. If you have a good product or service, that will be enough. And in turn, that will only lead to the customers positive experiences giving your marketing an extra boost.
Alimony & maintenance support – we sort out what is what
Do you know the difference between alimony and maintenance support?
If you have children and have or are about to separate or divorce, you have probably come across the words alimony and maintenance support. Many find the terms confusing and difficult to keep track of what is what. Both alimony and maintenance support are about financial support for children, but what exactly is the difference between the two?
Alimony is paid by one parent to the other
Alimony is what one parent pays the other to cover the child’s living expenses. Alimony is paid when the child spends more time with one of you. This way, the financial responsibility for the child is balanced out. How much alimony one parent pays depends on their finances and the child’s needs. The alimony has to cover the costs of the child’s clothes, food, school fees, any leisure activities and such. At the Swedish Social Insurance Agency’s website, you can calculate how much the alimony will end up being.
Maintenance support when alimony cannot be paid
If the child mostly lives with one parent and the other parent is unable to pay alimony, the Swedish Social Insurance Agency steps in and pays maintenance support to the parent who has the children most of the time. The maintenance support has to then be paid back to the Social Insurance Agency from the parent who owes alimony.
The maintenance support is always the same, regardless of your finances. The Swedish Social Insurance Agency pays out:
SEK 1,673/month up to and including the month the child turns 7.
SEK 1,823/month from the month after the child turns 7.
SEK 2,223/month from the month after the child turns 15.
If you’re the one who has to pay back maintenance support, the amount you have to pay depends entirely on your finances. The Social Insurance Agency calculates how your finances look and then decides what you will pay per month. If your finances are strained, you can pay back a smaller amount a month without it affecting the maintenance support that’s being paid out. If, on the other hand, you have an economy that the Social Insurance Agency considers good enough, you pay the same amount back as they pay out.
When your child is old enough to work, it’s important to keep track of how much the child earns since it affects the maintenance support. Your child can have an annual income upto SEK 60,000 without it affecting the maintenance support. If your child earns more than that, the maintenance support will also be lower. And the amount you have to pay back also decreases.
Do you want to draw up an enduring power of attorney?
Have you and your partner established powers of attorney?
We usually recommend that everyone draw up an enduring power of attorney for the future, whether you are married or common-law partners. It’s a legal document where you state in writing how you want others to manage things for you if you become unable to do it yourself. This could be in case you become seriously ill or are in an accident. With an enduring power of attorney, you can ensure that your bills are paid on time, businesses and property are managed appropriately and that you get the healthcare you want. An enduring power of attorney can give you a sense of control and minimize uncertainty about the future, and you can be sure that your wishes will be respected.
If you don’t have an enduring power of attorney, it can lead to a lengthy and costly legal process. This is because a court will have to step in and appoint a guardian for you. And in that case, you can’t be certain that the guardian will handle your affairs the way you want. So it’s good to have an enduring power of attorney that gives, for example, your partner the right to make important decisions for you.
How do you draw up an enduring power of attorney?
When you draw up an enduring power of attorney, you first have to appoint someone to give power of attorney to. Usually, many people give power of attorney to their partner. But you can also give power of attorney to a close relative or a friend. The important thing is that the person you choose is someone you trust, who understands your wishes and needs and who you know will act in your best interest.
After that you need to define what authority the power of attorney will give and in which contexts. It’s important to be clear so that no one can misunderstand your wishes. Things that are important to address are, for example, issues you want the power of attorney to tend to. What authority the person gets? If you’re giving power of attorney to more than one person. Sometimes you might want to give power of attorney to different people. Then it’s important that you state the conditions for that clearly in the document stating enduring power of attorney.
In order for the enduring power of attorney to be valid, it must be in writing. You sign it together with two witnesses. The witnesses can not be the person you give power of attorney to. When the enduring power of attorney should come into effect is usually decided by the person who receives the power of attorney. That is, assuming that you’re unable to take care of your financial and personal affairs at the moment. In some cases, the court examines the question of when the enduring power of attorney comes into effect. This applies whenever it says so in the enduring power of attorney or if the person who has recieved power of attorney requests it.
If you decide to separate or divorce, you have to go through a property division. In the property division, you and your lawyer will go through your joint assets and debts and divide them between you. This is often mentioned as your joint estate, which is what you own and owe together. For example, it can be everything from real estate, cars, accounts, companies and other things that you have acquired during your marriage or as common-law partners. A division of property ensures that your assets and debts are divided fairly.
How does a property division work?
1. Make an inventory of what you have
The first thing you need to do in a property division is to list all of your assets and liabilities. This includes properties, bank accounts, shares, vehicles, companies and any debts.
2. Do you have any individual property?
When dividing property, it’s important to clarify what is individual property and what is matrimonial property. Individual property are the assets that you each own before getting married or moving in together. While matrimonial property are the assets you acquire together during your marriage. Normally, individual property is not included in the division of property.
3. Value your shared property
When you have taken inventory of what you jointly own and owe, you need to value your shared property. You can do this by hiring a valuer or by agreeing on a valuation between the two of you.
4. Decide on how to divide your property
When you have valued your joint estate, you have to decide how to divide your assets and liabilities between the two of you. In most property divisions, everything is divided equally, but sometimes there are circumstances that can affect the divide so that it’s not exactly in half. How you choose to divide is up to you and the easiest way is for you to agree on this on your own. If you can’t agree, the court can determine how to divide your property.
5. Put it in writing
Finally, you need a property division agreement. The agreement is a written document where you go through the inventory, the valuation, how you want to divide everything and exceptions if any. By drawing up an agreement, you make sure to avoid any disputes in the future.
Talk to a lawyer
Do you need help with a property division? The easiest is to get in contact with a lawyer who can help you with the legal issues concerning a property division. At Kliently, you can choose to contact our lawyers to get answers to your questions or to get help with the property division.
Sometimes it’s difficult to navigate among legal terms.
Apostille is a stamp given by a notary public on Swedish documents. The stamp is a way of certifying that Swedish documents are genuine when they are used in contexts outside of Sweden.
Property division is a process where a couple’s joint assets and debts are valued and divided between the parties in the event of a divorce or seperation.
Individual property is what you own which can’t be divided between you and your partner in the event of a divorce or seperation. This can be property that you and your partner have decided to be individual through a prenuptial agreement cohabitation agreement, or property you have inherited and has been decided to be your indivudal property through a will.
Power of attorney is when you authorize a person to decide on personal and financial matters on your behalf.
A disclaimer in an agreement is a clause that lets one party to waive any liability.
Matrimonial property is assets you and your partner have acquired together during your marriage.
A retrieval request can be made to bring home your child if they’ve been placed under Swedish state custody.
Revocation of an agreement is when an agreement is anulled.
Movable property is usually loose things such as cars, jewellery, money and things that are not fixed such as real estate and land. Condominiums, securities and shares are also counted as movable property.
A testator is the person who writes a will in which he or she gives their last wish.
Alimony is what one parent pays the other to cover the child’s living expenses in cases where the child spends more time with one of you.
Maintenance support is paid out by the Swedish Social Insurance Agency when the parent who have to pay alimony doesn’t have the financial means to do so. The maintenance support have to be paid back to the Social Insurance Agency by the parent who should have paid alimony.
Right of residence means that citizens within the EU, EEA and Switzerland have the right to move freely and work in other member states.
A residence permit is needed if you’re a non-citizen and want to live in Sweden. The residence permit can be permanent or time-limited and is valid as long as you stay and meet the requirements for living in Sweden.
Are you about to draft a contract? Here are 7 paragraphs you should include
Make sure your agreements are airtight.
Drafting contracts is an important part of everyday life as a business owner and entrepreneur. Regardless of the type of contract, it’s important you secure your business, avoiding potential disputes. Although contracts tend to look different depending on the purpose, there are some paragraphs that are always good to include. We list the 7 most important ones below.
1. Clearly identify the parties
The most important thing in any contract is to correctly identify the parties involved. So make sure you state all names, addresses, telephone numbers and other relevant contact details. It should be clear without risk of being misinterpreted in any way.
2. Describe the purpose of the contract
Clarify the purpose of the agreement in a way that is clear to all parties. List and accurately describe all the services and/or products you will deliver. Also, describe the expectations the parties have of each other and what the conditions are? Be overly clear rather than allowing for different interpretations of the deliveries. This makes the contract the same for everyone and makes the collaboration easier to implement.
3. Terms of payment
Here, it’s important to both state what things cost and what will happen if the payment isn’t fulfilled on time. Specify how much is to be paid, when the payment is to be made and in what way. Also, specify how the customer will be charged in the event of a delay in payment. State the payment charges for delay and what the interest rate is on late payments.
4. Time frames and deadlines
Having clear time frames and deadlines is essential to ensure that all parties are in agreement. This includes dates for both partial and final delivery. Here, you can also specify the timeframes for any feedback and corrections. And if the customer should have a chance have changes made before delivery, you hve to state how many revisions the customer gets within the terms of the contract. By limiting the time for revisions, you can ensure that the collaboration stays effective.
5. Responsibilities and authorities
It’s important to clarify what you need to be able to deliver according to the contract. In many cases, the customer needs to supply certain information in order for the work to be carried out. And in some cases you’ll need authorization from the customer to be able to deliver. By clarifying what the responsibilities and authorities are for each party, you ensure that you’re not held liable if you don’t get what you need to deliver successfully.
6. Confidentiality and intellectual property rights
If the collaboration and the contract mean that you’ll share confidential information, it’s important to include a confidentiality clause. And the contract should also state who owns the intellectual property rights if any. Usually, the customer owns the intellectual property rights for what is created. Sometimes however, the customer may need to purchase the rights meaning you need to state how this is done, what exactly the customer is buying and how much it costs.
7. You should never draft a contract without a force majeure clause
The force majeure clause usually appears in all contracts that are drawn up. It exempts you from liability if anything happens that is beyond your and the customer’s control. This applies, for example, to natural disasters, war and similar events that make it impossible to perform according to the contract.
Depending on the type of contract you’re writing, there may be other important paragraphs to include. So make sure to review the contract carefully so that you address and clarify all relevant issues before signing. It can be helpful to hire a lawyer to help you draft the contract. That ensures that you don’t end up in an unnecessary dispute that costs both money and a lot of time.
If you’re gifting a condominium you’ll need a deed of gift.
Did you know that you need a deed of gift if you’re going to give away a condominium to your children or grandchildren?
It may not be every day that you give away a condominium, property or shares, but when it does happen, it is important that it is done in the right way. Otherwise, the risk is that the gift will be invalid according to law. As long as your gift is not movable property such as money or loose things, you must have a deed of gift. Writing a deed of gift is not the same as writing a will where you specify who will receive what after your death. In the deed, you instead give away a gift where you were previously the owner. You can give the gift to a family member, a friend, an organization or someone else you think deserves to receive said gift.
What do you need to include in a deed of gift?
When you write a deed of gift, you need to specify which property or assets you want to give away and who will receive them. You also need to specify the value of the gift and when it should be given. If you’re giving away a condominium, a property or a plot of land, there are also certain legal requirements in addition to the deed itself that must be met.
You can also choose to give the gift with or without reservation. If you give a gift with reservation, it simply means that you set conditions for the gifting. For example, it may be that the gift should not be seen as an advance on an inheritance. In those cases it is especially important to review the deed to make sure it is correct . Otherwise, it could affect your will in a way you don’t want to.
In the deed of gift, you can also state whether the gift is meant as individual property of the recipient. That ensures that the gift stays with the recipient in the event of a divorce. Or you can specify that you will be able to use the gift for a certain period of time. If it is, for example, a condominium that you want to give away but want to be able to use, you need to state this in the deed.
