Some comedy arose at the security checkpoint in Kristianstad District Court. Someone had removed their belt upon entry – and was now joking about losing their pants in front of the assembled press corps.
Otherwise, the atmosphere was noticeably tense when the two noble families arrived at the court with their lawyers – struggling past the photographers and slipping into different meeting rooms.
The case stood out in the list of the day's proceedings. In other rooms, drunk driving, illegal threats, and drug offenses were being dealt with. Significantly more attention was given to the case in courtroom one – "challenge of a will".
It concerns two castles, Trolle Ljungby and Årup, in northeastern Skåne. Forests, land, and leases with a total value of several billion kronor. From 1956 until his death in 2023, Count Hans-Gabriel Trolle-Wachtmeister, called HG by the family, managed the large entail in the areas around Åhus and Sölvesborg. The count reached 100 years of age.
Now the question is: was the count of sound mind when toward the end of his life he made major changes to his wills?
The successor to the entail property, Claës Trolle-Wachtmeister, arrived in sunglasses and a navy blue blazer. He and his son Carl-Fredrik Wachtmeister have sued the couple Hans and Kirstine von Blixen-Finecke.
Wachtmeister believes that the couple, together with the estate's hunter, through "undue influence" got the count to write new wills. They argue that the old count suffered from "severe vascular cognitive impairment" during the last years of his life – that he was frail, disoriented, and confused. They want the count's final wills to be declared invalid.
On the other side is the couple von Blixen-Finecke, friends and relatives of the count, who benefit from his final wills. They have rejected all allegations and consider themselves subjected to an unfair smear campaign.
– It is all untrue. We have been there for an old man who was extremely lonely after his wife, brother, and sister passed away. He had no close family left, Kirstine von Blixen-Finecke recently told DN.
Several settlement offers have been discussed and rejected by the parties during the spring and summer. The court proceedings nevertheless opened with the question: "Is there any basis for a settlement?"
– Nothing that affects us starting the main hearing, replied Peter Danowsky, who represents Claës and Carl-Fredrik Wachtmeister.
The court proceedings are expected to last for 30 days and conclude only in December. Around 5,000 pages of documentation and evidence have been submitted. The case is extensive – and fundamentally interesting, according to Peter Danowsky.
– It highlights aspects concerning the validity of a will. When should a will be declared invalid? There is decent case law, but this case could provide increased clarity, he says.
The day was devoted to the Wachtmeister side's opening statement. The lawyers went through the old count's state of health and sharply increased healthcare costs. They showed how he had often stated in the media that he wished to keep the estate together – and that Carl-Fredrik Wachtmeister had been designated as successor.
To provide a picture of the old count's and Carl-Fredrik Wachtmeister's close relationship, family photos were shown. There were photos of HG in a wheelchair with a bunch of rhubarb in his lap, Christmas dinner at the castle, and how the count smiles at Carl-Fredrik Wachtmeister's newborn daughter.
– There are high economic values at stake in this case. But there are also other values: cultural values, tradition, history, and emotions of course, says Peter Danowsky.
The other side, von Blixen-Finecke, has also submitted photos from family albums to demonstrate their own close relationship with the count couple at Trolle Ljungby. They maintain that the count was clear-headed and lucid when he drew up his new wills – and that they promised him to fight for his final wishes.
– We want to adhere to the count's last wish, Kirstine von Blixen-Finecke has previously explained in DN.
