livsskifter

Livsskifte is a historical form of estate partition used in Sweden (and to some extent in other Nordic regions) to divide a deceased person’s property among heirs while preserving a life estate for the surviving spouse. The term translates roughly as a “life partition” and was most common from the 17th through the 19th century.

In a livsskifte, the estate—often a farm with land and buildings—was appraised and reorganized under the supervision of local authorities. The surviving spouse typically received a life estate or usufruct, allowing her or him to continue living on and farming the property for the duration of the life tenant’s life. The heirs received defined rights or shares that would become full ownership after the life tenant’s death. The arrangement was recorded in a partition deed and approved by a local court or assembly.

The purpose of livsskifte was to settle inheritance disputes, adapt property to changing family structures, and manage agricultural resources within communities. It could result in the farm remaining as a single operational unit under the life tenant, or in a redistribution of parcels among heirs with the intention of eventual full division.

Over time, livsskifte declined as newer forms of property law and land reforms were introduced, culminating in 18th–19th century initiatives that encouraged or imposed more systematic division of rural estates (such as enskifte and laga skifte). Today, livsskifte is studied mainly as a historical mechanism shaping land ownership and family economics in early modern Sweden.