Carl-Fredrik Wachtmeister believes it is not possible to simply shrug our shoulders, precisely because such large values are involved. But he says he is ashamed when talking to journalists about the dispute over his great-uncle's inheritance.
"No one ever wants it to be like this, it's clear that we're doing ourselves a disservice," he says before the trial in Kristianstad District Court.
The elderly count's mental health is becoming a hot topic. He died at the age of 100 in 2023, leaving behind two castles in Scania, a large fortune and 12,000 hectares of land. In total, the estate is worth several billion.
At the ages of 97 and 98, the count signed the two wills that are being questioned by Carl-Fredrik Wachtmeister and his father Claës Trolle-Wachtmeister.
“Sitting deep”
They have lived for years in the belief that the property would be kept together and managed within the family.
When it's something you've lived with your whole life and been raised to do, it runs very deep, says Carl-Fredrik Wachtmeister.
According to the disputed wills, one of the castles and half of the land will go to the baronial couple Hans and Kirstine von Blixen-Finecke.
Now the court has the delicate task of assessing how sick Hans-Gabriel Trolle-Wachtmeister was when the wills were signed.
Was he demented, impressionable and exposed to undue influence? That is what Carl-Fredrik Wachtmeister and his father claim.
But the barons claim that the old count was, on the contrary, clear-minded, honest and capable of understanding the meaning of legal documents.
The couple believes that the new wills were a natural consequence of many years of a close and warm relationship with the count, while, according to the couple, he harbored a grudge against Carl-Fredrik Wachtmeister and his father.
“His last wish”
Hans von Blixen-Finecke told Kristianstadsbladet that on his deathbed the count held his hand and said in a weak voice: "Resist! Resist!"
For the couple, it's not primarily about money, according to their lawyer Johan Frih.
It is his last will they are fighting for, he tells TT.
Carl-Fredrik Wachtmeister and his father, for their part, accuse the baron couple of undue influence over an old, sick man.
I have been thrown out and lost my future because they have behaved badly, says Carl-Fredrik Wachtmeister.
Facts: The Nobility Dispute in Brief
Hans-Gabriel Trolle-Wachtmeister took over the Trolle Ljungby estate and trust in 1956. He and his wife Alice had no children.
The Count's nephew Carl-Fredrik Wachtmeister was raised to be an heir and began working on the estate at the age of 24.
The Count's previous wills aimed to keep the property together and allow it to be inherited within the family.
In 2019, a dispute arose over a hunting rights agreement, when the old count gave the estate's hunters exclusive hunting rights at a very favorable price. Carl-Fredrik Wachtmeister's protests against this led to him having to leave Trolle Ljungby.
Hans-Gabriel Trolle-Wachtmeister then changed his will so that the Barons von Blixen-Finecke would inherit one of the two castles and a large part of the land.
This complete turnaround has led to the inheritance dispute that will now be resolved in Kristianstad District Court. It will begin on September 8th.
Trolle Ljungby is one of Sweden's last trusts.
A fideicommiss is property that may not be divided, but must be taken over in its entirety by the eldest son of the family.
The fideicommis system was established in Sweden in the 18th century and means, among other things, that real estate included in the fideicommis cannot be sold or pledged without special permission from the government.
In 1963, the Riksdag decided that the trust would be terminated when the holder dies, but it is possible to apply for an extension from the government.
According to the Settlement Act, when a trust is terminated, the person who would have become the next trustee shall inherit half of the property. The remainder is distributed according to the usual rules of inheritance and wills.
Sources: Winding-up Act and the Trusteeship Commission
