Are you prepared for the big day?

Having a civil wedding ceremony is a popular alternative to religious ceremonies. A civil ceremony is performed by a wedding officiant appointed by the county administrative board. The officiant is not religiously connected and the ceremony is usually held at the town hall or another public place. Only those appointed by the county administrative board are allowed to perform a civil wedding ceremony.

If you have decided to have a civil ceremony, there are some practical things you need to arrange in beforehand. These are the most important details you need to consider before your big day.

Reserve a spot for your civil wedding ceremony well in advance

Getting married in the City Hall is very popular. Therefore, it can be difficult to find a time slot on the day you want to have your wedding. In most cases, it is possible to make a reservation for your ceremony directly on the website of each city hall. So make sure to make a reservation immediately as soon as you have decided on when you want to get married. That way, you can make sure that you can get married when you want. If you want to get married outdoors instead, you need to check with the wedding officiant that they’re available that day and able to get to where your ceremony will be.

Apply for obstacle assessment

Before you get married, you need to apply for an obstacle examination at the Swedish Tax Agency. This prooves that you meet the requirements to be able to marry according to Swedish law. In the assesment you’ll have to state that you’re of legal age, that you’re not closely related to your partner and that you’re not currently married to someone else. After you have applied for the obstacle assessment, you’ll receive an assessment certificate and a marriage certificate. The certificates should be handed to your wedding officiant.

Who will you have as witnesses during your civil wedding ceremony

On the day of the wedding, you’ll need to have two witnesses present. Your witnesses can be family, relatives or friends and must be of legal age to act as a witnesses during the ceremony. If you don’t have witnesses, if you would marry without any close ones present, the marriage office in your municipality can in some cases arrange for witnesses. Whatever you choose to do, you have to have two witnesses present so it’s important you establish who will be witnessing before the ceremony.

Decide on a surname in advance

You don’t have to change your surname after having gotten married in a civil wedding ceremony. However if you want to, it can be convenient to apply for a name change before the wedding. You can change to your partner’s surname, or you can choose a completely new name formed from your previous surnames. If you decide to change your surname, you have to apply for a name change with the Swedish Tax Agency. Once they approve your name change, they will send you confirmation of the change. They will also notify of the change with other authorities and with many companies. If you don’t want to change your name, nothing will happen once you get married. You’ll just keep the names you have even after the wedding ceremony.

Consider prenuptial agreements

After your civil wedding ceremony and entering marriage, everything you own will belong to both of you. This applies to both the assets you had before getting married and the assets you acquire together during marriage. Many times it doesn’t matter and many married couples are fully in agreement that they own half each. But there are times when it’s to an advantage that certain assets and possessions are counted as individual property. This means that those particular assets and possessions aren’t regarded in what you share together. This could be, for example, if one of you inherits money, an apartment, property and such. Or if one of you owns a business.

At Kliently, you can choose to write a prenuptial agreement yourself for a small cost. You’ll get guidance in our agreement service, which makes it very easy to draw up a prenuptial agreement on your own. The only thing you need to remember is to register it with the Swedish Tax Agency for it to be valid.

If, on the other hand, you need the help of a lawyer to tailor the prenuptial agreement further, you can choose to fill in the information in our agreement service and then go through and review the document with one of our lawyers to make corrections based on your wishes. You can also simply book a consultation with our lawyers to discuss whether a prenuptial agreement makes sense in your case or whether you would benefit from another solution.

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A cohabitation agreement is more important than you think

When you and your partner decide to move in together, a cohabitation agreement may not be the first thing you think of. There are a lot of exciting stuff to plan and fix. And in the midst of it all, a cohabitation agreement might not seem as fun to deal with. Even if that’s true it is a really important agreement for many reasons. And it’s definitely something you should consider setting up.

According to Statistics Sweden, 1.6 million Swedes live as common-law partners. And yet, signing cohabitation agreements is not that common. And this despite the fact that common-law partners don’t have the same legal advantages as married couples. By setting up a cohabitation agreement you make sure to protect and secure your future and your childrens financial security.

How are you protected by a cohabitation agreement?

In 2022, the Supreme Court in Sweden decided that a woman should pay her ex-partner almost SEK 800,000 and just over SEK 100,000 in court costs for an apartment the woman had paid for. The apartment, which was a rental in the beginning, turned in to a condominium one year after the woman and the man had started to live together. The woman, who’s name was already on the lease, bought the condominium and thus owned it herself. When the couple chose to separate in 2017, the man claimed the apartement saying that the apartment was their common property since they had lived there for so long.

You can avoid situations like this more easily with a cohabitation agreement. You can set the agreement up yourself or write it with a lawyer. In the agreement, you should state how you want to keep your property divided. This applies, for example, to properties such as condominiums, houses, cottages and things that you’ve inherited and want to keep as individual property. And also if you want to inherit each other. This is specifically important if you have children. The cohabitation agreement doesn’t have to be registered. Also you can choose whether you write it before or after you move in together.

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Prenuptial agreement, an important agreement among married couples

Drawing up a prenup is perhaps the last thing on your mind when planning a wedding and getting married. The word signals divorce which is why most peole push it aside. But a prenup is actually more important than many people think. It’s an important agreement that protects both you, your partner and any children you might have.

A prenup is a written agreement between a married couple. You can write one both before and after you get married – that is, during the marriage. The most important thing is that the agreement is in writing, that both you and your partner sign it and that you register it with the Swedish Tax Agency. This is easiest done with a lawyer who can guide you and make sure that everything is done correctly.

What happens if you don’t write a prenup?

If you don’t have a prenup, your and your partner’s assets are divided in half in the event of a divorce. This also applies to things you inherit and things you create. Do you own anything that has been passed down to you and that you want to keep with you? Or do you want the business you’ve built to pass on to your children or another close relative? Then you need to specify in an agreement that some things that you own should be counted as individual property.

Do you already have a prenuptial agreement that you want to change or update? A prenuptial agreement is relatively straightforward to write for an experienced lawyer. But if you want to make sure that you hire someone with previous experience of prenuptial agreements, then look for a lawyer specialized in family law. Your lawyer can then help by pointing out any obstacles or problems that they have had experience dealing with in prior cases. And together, you can go through the changes and register the agreement with the Swedish Tax Agency again.

Draw up a prenuptial agreement today

You can easily write a prenup right here on our website in just a few minutes. The only thing you need to think about is to register it with the Swedish Tax Agency for it to be valid. You can also choose to write the prenuptial agreement together with our lawyers if you feel insecure and need to consult with a lawyer while writing your prenup. Sometimes you may need to add other legal documents, to make sure that your wish is legally covered. And the easiest way to find out what applies in your case is to simply ask one of our lawyers.

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