Phase Guidance

The formal medical certification of death is the first requirement.

• If the death occurs at home: Call the emergency doctor service (legevakt) at 116 117 or the deceased's GP (fastlege) so a doctor can issue the death certificate.
• If the death occurs in a hospital or care home: The staff and doctors handle this certification automatically, but you can check with them if you want to.
• Reporting: The doctor is responsible for notifying the National Population Register (Folkeregisteret). The family does not need to handle this reporting themselves.

Contact a funeral home

The funeral home is your most important practical partner in these first hours.

• They can collect the deceased and help you begin planning the ceremony at your own pace.
• While the doctor handles the death notification, the funeral home assists with other early paperwork, such as notifying cemetery authorities.
• You do not need to wait to call them; they are used to early contact and can take much of the practical burden off your shoulders.

Notify close family and friends

Focus on the immediate circle and those who need to know right away.

• Consider notifying immediate family, close friends, employers, or schools if children are involved.
• There is no formal order or "correct" way to do this—proceed at a pace that feels natural for you.

It is important to know that several formal processes begin without you having to take action.

• Official Notifications: Once the doctor notifies the National Population Register (Folkeregisteret), they automatically forward this information to banks, NAV, and the Norwegian Public Service Pension Fund.
• The District Court: The court (tingretten) will send a letter to all registered heirs within a few weeks. You do not need to request this or contact the court yourself in these first hours.
• Peace of Mind: You do not need to spend time contacting these public institutions or banks yet; those tasks wait until later stages.

The funeral home coordinates most of the practicalities: the ceremony timeline, necessary transport, and formal paperwork. As a family, you choose the framework for the farewell — the type of ceremony, whether there should be a cremation or burial, and the choice of venue, flowers, and music. Remember that there is no right or wrong way to mark this occasion. If you wish to have a death notice in the newspaper or online, the funeral home can usually help with both wording and publication.

Notify insurance companies

If the deceased had life insurance or group life insurance through an employer, let the relevant insurance company know about the death as soon as you are able. These policies often require a formal claim to be submitted, and alerting the insurer early gives the process time to move. Check the deceased's insurance documents or correspondence to identify relevant policies. You will have an opportunity to follow up on any payouts and survivor benefits later.

Gather important documents

Collecting the right documents now, while there is still time to do so calmly, will make the estate process considerably smoother. You will need the deceased's passport or ID, a marriage certificate or registered partnership certificate if applicable, any will (also check NAST — the Norwegian wills register), a cohabitation agreement if relevant, mortgage and property documents, and an overview of insurance policies. If the deceased ran a business you should also locate any shareholder agreements or business registration documents.

Begin cancelling subscriptions

A practical step you can take now is to begin cancelling regular subscriptions that no longer need to run — newspapers, magazines, and streaming services are a good place to start. Utility agreements (electricity, internet, mobile) and digital accounts can wait until the estate administration stage, when you will work through them more systematically. A useful approach is to go through recent bank statements to see what recurring charges were being made.

When the National Population Register (Folkeregisteret) notifies the banks of the death, the deceased's accounts will be frozen. This typically happens within one to two weeks. The freeze remains in place until the district court has issued a probate certificate (skifteattest) and this has been presented to the bank — a process that normally takes between one and three months from the date of death. As an exception, banks can often pay funeral expenses and ongoing estate bills directly from a frozen account if you contact them. It is worth ensuring that the surviving partner has access to their own funds and is not solely dependent on joint accounts that may now become inaccessible.

Within two to four weeks of the death you can expect to receive a letter from the district court (tingretten). This letter explains the legal options for settling the estate and the deadlines you need to be aware of. It is the starting point for the settlement decision stage. If more than four weeks have passed without anything arriving, contact your nearest district court directly.

When the letter from the district court (tingretten) arrives — usually within two to four weeks of the death — it marks the beginning of the settlement decision period. Your task now is to get enough of an overview of the estate's finances to make a well-considered choice, and to submit that choice before the 60-day deadline.

The order in which you do things here matters. Follow the steps below.

The district court sends letters automatically to all registered heirs based on information in the population register (Folkeregisteret). The letter explains the three settlement options and reminds you of the deadline. Read it carefully and keep it safe — it is your starting point for everything that follows. If the letter has not arrived within four weeks of the death, contact your nearest district court directly.

2. Get an overview of assets and debts

You do not need a complete and final inventory at this stage — that comes later, once the probate certificate has been issued. For now, you need enough information to answer one key question: does the estate own more than it owes? Useful steps include checking gjeldsregisteret.no for consumer debt, contacting the banks for balance summaries, and checking the land registry for any mortgages or liens on property. Be particularly alert to debts that might not be immediately obvious, such as guarantee obligations or outstanding tax claims.

A useful tool at this stage is the formuesfullmakt (financial information authority). This is a document the district court can issue to an heir shortly after the death — well before the probate certificate arrives. With it, you can obtain the deceased's most recent tax return and request balance and debt information from banks and other financial institutions. Contact the district court where the deceased was registered to request one.

3. Publish a creditor notice (proklama) if there is any doubt

If you are uncertain whether the deceased had more debts than assets, ask the district court to publish a proklama before you consider taking on a private settlement (privat skifte). A proklama is published in Norsk Lysingsblad and gives creditors six weeks to register their claims against the estate. The order here is critical: you should wait until the full six-week period has expired before signing a private settlement declaration. The moment you sign, you take on personal liability for all of the estate's debts — including those you were unaware of. Letting the six weeks pass gives you full information and a safe basis for your decision.

4. Choose the settlement type — the most important decision

Private settlement (privat skifte) is the most common choice. The heirs manage the settlement themselves, and at least one heir takes on personal liability for all estate debts. It is faster and less expensive than the alternatives, but requires confidence that the estate is solvent. Note one important exception: if the estate's total assets are worth less than 3G (three times the national insurance basic amount), the heirs' liability is capped at the value of those assets — they cannot be held liable for debts exceeding what the estate is actually worth. If the assets are worth 3G or more, full personal liability for all debts applies.

Public settlement (offentlig skifte) means the district court takes over management of the settlement. The estate bears the costs of this process, which can be significant. This is the right choice if heirs disagree, the debt situation is unclear, or no one is willing to take on personal liability.

Undivided estate (uskifte) is an option for a surviving spouse or a cohabiting partner with shared children. The surviving partner takes over the joint estate without an immediate settlement — the children's inheritance is deferred. For cohabiting partners, uskifte only applies if they have, have had, or are expecting shared children. In that case, it covers the shared home, car, jointly used holiday property, and ordinary household contents. Children from a previous relationship must give their written consent.

5. Submit the declaration before the deadline

Once you have reached a decision, submit the formal declaration to the district court. The deadline is 60 days from the date of death. If nothing is submitted by then, the court may impose a public settlement, which carries significant fees. Forms and guidance are available at domstol.no.

While working through the settlement decision, check whether the surviving partner may be entitled to an adjustment allowance (omstillingsstønad) from NAV, or to a survivor's pension (etterlattepensjon). Children under 20 may be entitled to a child's pension (barnepensjon). For occupational pensions, contact the relevant pension provider directly — while Statens pensjonskasse is notified automatically via Folkeregisteret, private occupational pension providers are not. It is also worth following up with any insurance companies you notified earlier to confirm that life insurance or group life insurance claims are being processed. A useful starting point for pensions is norskpensjon.no, which provides an overview of the deceased's pension agreements.

If the deceased owned property

It is worth clarifying the status of any property — checking whether there are mortgages, joint ownership arrangements, or whether the Agricultural Properties Act (konsesjonsloven) may apply. Decisions about whether to sell or retain property come later, but having this information now helps with the settlement decision.

If the deceased had a business

If the deceased ran a sole tradership (ENK) or owned shares in a company (AS), these assets are part of the estate. For a sole tradership, you will need to plan the wind-down or transfer of the business. For company shares, check the shareholders' agreement for any pre-emption rights or consent requirements from other owners. It is worth beginning to look into this now, as the process can take time. If you are unsure, contact an accountant or a lawyer with experience in commercial law.

Depending on the answers you gave at the start of the process, your personalised checklist may include additional tasks at this stage. This could include calculating the surviving spouse's share in joint property (boslodd), obtaining written consent from children from a previous relationship before choosing uskifte, or contacting the county governor (Statsforvalteren) regarding guardianship for minor heirs. Your checklist will show the tasks that are relevant to your situation.

The district court issues the probate certificate once your settlement declaration has been processed — typically one to three months after the date of death. There is nothing you need to do to trigger this; it arrives in the ordinary course after the settlement type has been confirmed. If several months have passed without the certificate arriving, contact the district court directly to follow up.

Now is the time for a thorough and detailed inventory of the entire estate — far more comprehensive than the preliminary overview you made during the settlement decision stage. You must map out the value of all real property (including any formal valuations), bank deposits, securities and shares, vehicles, and household items of significant value. All debts must be documented with the same care: mortgages, consumer loans, credit cards, unpaid bills, and any outstanding tax liabilities. The net estate — total assets minus total debts — is the amount that will ultimately be distributed as inheritance.

Present the probate certificate to the banks

With the probate certificate in place, heirs gain formal authority over the deceased's bank accounts. Today, the probate certificate is often issued digitally via Altinn, and most banks have dedicated digital portals for estates where documentation can be uploaded directly for faster processing.

If there are multiple heirs, a power of attorney (skiftefullmakt) must be in place granting one person the right to manage funds on behalf of the collective. The bank will then ensure the balance is transferred to a dedicated estate account, while the deceased's personal accounts are closed. It is important to contact each financial institution directly, as the deceased may have had accounts, loans, or securities with several different banks.

Transfer property and real estate

To transfer ownership of real property from the estate to an heir, you must complete a declaration of title (hjemmelserklæring ved arv), the form for which is available at kartverket.no. This document states who is taking over the property and must be submitted to Kartverket for registration so that ownership is officially recorded. You should also determine whether the property is to be kept within the family or sold, and confirm whether the Agricultural Properties Act (konsesjonsloven) applies — which is common for farms and some holiday properties.

Wind up any business interests

If the deceased ran a sole tradership (ENK) this is part of the estate and must be formally wound up or transferred — contact the Brønnøysund Register Centre to initiate this. If the deceased owned shares in a company (AS), these are inheritance assets and must be handled according to the shareholders' agreement, including checking for any pre-emption rights or consent requirements from other shareholders. If you are unsure of the process, seek advice from an accountant or a lawyer with experience in commercial law.

Close digital accounts and remaining subscriptions

Now is a good time to systematically work through the deceased's digital presence and remaining subscriptions. Go through bank statements to identify any recurring charges (electricity, internet, mobile, streaming services) that have not yet been cancelled and contact those providers. For digital accounts — email, Apple ID or Google account, social media profiles — decide whether each should be closed or converted to a memorial format. Public portals such as Skatteetaten and Altinn do not require any active deregistration.

The closure tasks do not require the estate administration stage (oppgjør og avvikling) to be fully completed before you start preparing. For example, you can gather the tax information needed for the deceased's final return while other work is still underway. The tasks are completed in sequence, however — inheritance is not distributed and the estate account is not closed until the tax settlement has been finalised.

The inheritance settlement starts with the deceased's net estate — the value of all assets after all debts have been paid. The distribution follows these main principles:

Spouse's share (Boslodd): With joint property (felleseie), the surviving spouse first receives their half of the estate. Only the remaining half counts as inheritance from the deceased.

Children's forced heirship (Pliktdelsarv): Children have strong legal protection and are entitled to two-thirds of the inheritance. This right is capped at a statutory limit (15G per child).

Will: A will can only dispose of the portion of the estate that is not locked to forced heirship. It is therefore important to verify that the will does not conflict with the children's statutory claims.

Tip: If you are unsure whether a will is legally valid, or how the calculation of boslodd affects the inheritance, contact a lawyer for a review.

File the deceased's final tax return

The estate is responsible for filing the deceased's final tax return, which covers the calendar year in which the death occurred. The Norwegian Tax Administration (Skatteetaten) issues this return at the usual time in the spring following the year of death. It is the heirs' responsibility to check and file it by the standard deadline, typically in April or May. Keep a buffer in the estate account to cover any additional tax that may be owed before distributing the full inheritance — it is easier to retain funds now than to recover them later.

Note that the estate is a separate tax subject until the final settlement is complete. If the estate is not fully wound up by 31 December of the year of death, a second tax return must also be filed for the following year.

Sign the estate settlement document

All adult heirs must sign a settlement agreement that formally confirms the agreed distribution of the estate. If there are minor heirs, the county governor (Statsforvalteren) or an appointed guardian signs on the child's behalf, ensuring their interests are protected. If disagreement between heirs arises at this final stage, it is recommended to seek legal advice or consider whether the case should be transferred to a public settlement.

Pay out the inheritance and close the estate account

Once the distribution is agreed and signed, the inheritance can be paid out to each heir's bank account. The estate account can be closed once all payments have been made and all obligations are covered. Wait until the tax settlement has been received and confirmed before making the final payment — even if you have chosen to pay out portions of the inheritance as advances earlier in the process.

The estate is considered closed when all inheritance has been paid out, all outstanding bills are settled, the tax assessment is final, and the estate bank account has been closed. In a private settlement there is no single official document confirming the closure — it happens naturally as the last tasks are completed. When you reach this point, a long and often demanding process has come to an end for the whole family.