Fideikommiss (fee tail)

The Swedish word “fideikommiss” (estate in tail or fee tail) comes from the Latin term “in fidem“, meaning “in trust“. Simplified, this means that a property is received in exchange for the obligation to transfer this to the next generation in the same or better condition.

The owner, or rather the tenant in tail, has the right to utilize the generated profits, but is not entitled to dispose of the capital without the permission of the Swedish fee tail board.

A fee tail is inherited in the manner that was decided upon when the fee tail in question was established. In the case of Boo, the fee tail is always transferred intact from the father to the eldest son, and then to his eldest son, and so on.

In 1963, the institution of estates in tail was abolished in Sweden through a parliamentary decision. However, Boo has received an exemption and remains a fee tail during the lifetime of the current tenant in tail, Carl-Hugo Hamilton.