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Demokratiskolan
The Family card from MethodKit for Society and Politics
Card 22 of 128 · MethodKit for Society & Politics
  • AreaPeople & belonging
  • Centre of gravityCentral government
  • Points of influence2 on the journey
  • Decisive electionRiksdagsvalet
People & belonging

Family

Marriage, inheritance & family politics

Who you may marry, who inherits from you and who gets custody of the children is governed by laws with roots far back in time. Family policy, from parental benefit to child allowance, is central government, but it is the municipality's family law office you meet when life takes a new turn.

Where does the power lie?1

  • Municipality · family law & social services · approx 20 %
  • Region · maternity care & child health · approx 5 %
  • State · laws, insurance & courts · approx 70 %
  • EU · families across borders · approx 5 %

Marriage, inheritance and parental insurance are decided by the Riksdag. The general election carries the most weight, but the municipality's family law office handles the everyday cases.

How it works: the breakdown

The municipalityFamily law close to you
The regionCare around the family
Central governmentThe laws & the money · centre of gravity
Who decides?
The social welfare committee and the municipality's family law unit.
The regional council (regionfullmäktige) and the healthcare committees.
The Riksdag, the Swedish Tax Agency (Skatteverket), the Social Insurance Agency (Försäkringskassan), MFoF and the courts.
What do they decide?
Cooperation talks at separation, custody investigations for the court, consent in adoption and support in parenting matters.
Maternity care, childbirth, child health and family centres, often in cooperation with the municipality.
The Marriage Code, the Parental Code and the Inheritance Code. Parental benefit, child allowance and maintenance support. Examination of impediments and population registration.
Where are decisions made?
At the family law office in your municipality (kommun). The cooperation talks are free of charge.
At the midwife clinic and the child health centre (BVC).
In the Riksdag, at the agencies and in the district court (tingsrätt) at divorce and dispute.
Who pays?
The municipal tax: family law and family counselling at a low fee.
The regional tax: care around pregnancy and young children is largely free of charge.
The central government budget and social security contributions: the parental insurance and child allowance.
Fastest way in?
Municipal election The municipal election shapes the resources of social services. Cooperation talks are booked directly with the family law office.
Regional election The regional election shapes maternity care and child health. Views through 1177 and the patients' advisory committee.
General election The general election shapes family legislation. Major changes are investigated and go out for referral (remiss).
EUEU rules decide which country's law applies to marriage, divorce and inheritance when families move across borders. Shaped in the European Parliament election.

Read the table by column to understand one level, or by row to compare the levels. The green level is the area's centre of gravity.

How it works: follow the decision

The case A separation with children
  1. State

    The Parental Code sets the frame

    The law starts from the best interests of the child: joint custody is the main rule even after a separation, and the child has the right to both parents. The Riksdag has shaped the rules through decades of reform.

    Point of influence

    The general election shapes family law. Inquiries into custody rules go out for open referral (remiss).

  2. State

    An application is filed with the district court

    Married parents apply for divorce at the district court (tingsrätt). If there are children under 16 in the home, a six-month reconsideration period normally runs before the judgment can be issued.

  3. Municipality

    The family law office invites you to talk

    The municipality's family law office offers free cooperation talks about custody, residence and contact. Many resolve everything here, and an agreement can become legally binding through a contract that the social welfare committee approves.

    Point of influence

    The talks are voluntary and free. You book directly with the municipality's family law office yourself.

  4. StateMunicipality

    The dispute is decided in court

    If the parents do not agree, the district court decides, with the family law office's custody investigation as a basis. The child's own view is to be brought forward, with regard to age and maturity.

  5. State

    The Social Insurance Agency recalculates

    Housing allowance, maintenance support and split child allowance are adjusted to the new family picture. The rules are the same across the country.

  6. Your everyday life

    Two homes, one everyday life

    Every other week, two toothbrushes and a schedule on the fridge. Most separations land without a court, with the municipality's talking room as the quietest help.

The journey looks the same in reverse: what has been built came the same way, through the same decisions. Whoever knows where the decisions are made also knows where they can be changed.

Questions to discuss

  1. What is a family today, and which family forms does the law find hardest to capture?

  2. How much should the state steer family life, for example through reserved parental days?

  3. Inheritance law gives direct heirs a protected share. What would a fair distribution be in an age of blended families?

  4. What do separated parents need most from society, and do they get it in your municipality?

  5. Who should be allowed to adopt, and who should decide it?

Glossary

Föräldrabalken
The law on custody, parenthood and children's rights in the family.
Betänketid
The six months that must normally pass before a divorce is granted when there are children under 16.
Samarbetssamtal
Free talks at the municipality's family law office about custody, residence and contact.
Vårdnadsutredning
The family law office's basis for the court in a custody dispute.
Bröstarvinge
Children and grandchildren: the heirs who always have a right to their statutory share.
Hindersprövning
The Tax Agency's check before the wedding that there is no legal impediment to the marriage.

Go further

Footnotes

1) This is an estimate of how decision-making power over the issue is split between the municipality, the region, central government and the EU, based on how responsibility is divided in legislation. A teaching guide, not an exact measurement.