A bit morbid, but does anyone have a checklist about what to do and who to contact when someone dies in Switzerland. The grandmother of my stepson is moving into our home soon and she is 86 years old. She has no living relatives except for our son. We stand to inherit the "fortune". The day will come when she does a shuffle upwards - she is not looking too good at the moment.
In the UK I would just call the local co-op funeral home and a lawyer. I have never actually seen a funeral home or hearse over here. This may be interesting for other members - I could not find a thread on this.

hi jbrady, interesting question. I found these two checklists by googling:

http://www.notariate.zh.ch/not_erb_was.php

http://www.ag.ch/zivilstandswesen/de...elle/index.php

I think the most important thing is to call a Bestattungsunternehmen (funeral home) quickly, who will know the procedure, and the local Zivilstandsamt must be notified within two day's time.

Mr. Bartholemew also pointed this portal out, which I hadn't been aware of, and which has more information in English:

http://www.ch.ch/private/00029/00037...x.html?lang=en

Short and sweet - this just about answers all my questions. I suppose it would also be a good idea to find out in advance who her lawyer is - I must find a diplomatic way to ask this question which does not look like I am being a bit too clinical in organising her next trip.

While you're finding out who her lawyer is, I'd also ensure she has made a will. This will avoid a lot a problems...

Probably also good to know who her doctor is. I can only assume he/she will need to issue a death certificate when the time comes.

Just to add my two percent, more often than not wills are not drawn up by lawyers ( Anwälte) in Switzerland, but notaries.
Furthermore,one can also deposit a will with the community ( village hall) you live in.
And last but not least,a will, if it's handwritten , signed and dated can be stored by the testator........... at home.

The other posts make good points about possible legal or other complications should her wishes be unclear. Perhaps it'd be easier to sit down with her to talk about that before she moves, under the guise of discussing and making the arrangements for her to move in with you? Provided that's too much for her to deal with in one go, but I can only imagine this is very much on her mind as well.

As to the doctor litespeed mentions, if she dies at home and her doctor isn't available, notify the Notarzt (information 1811 can connect you with the on-duty doctor), who will come by and take care of the paperwork.

This thread may help us all at some point. Please add your links, experiences and points of interest. The admininstrative features of someone's death will usually be explained by the relevent authority at the time, but I thought there may be some members who could contribute their knowledge of how things work here, the options concerning memorial services, burials, cremations, the law, returning of remains, counselling etc.

To kick off, here's a link to Zürich's mayoral department and another to a dedicated site on what to do. For now the info is only in German, but perhaps there are other sites members could contribute a link to which may cover the rest of the country in other languages - and hopefully English!

"Let's eat, drink and be merry..."

Thanks for starting this Thread.
At such a stressful time finding Info easily will be a great help.

This Page from Swiss Portal gives some basic information in English.

The Inheritance Certificate is also important in Switzerland.

When I asked, I was told that some banks continue to recognise a 'Vollmacht / Power of Attorney' after the death of the Account holder. In other banks it is no longer valid.

Any idea what the alternative would be if power of attorney isn't recognised? Would a will be the only option?

Another link, this time to the Natural Death Centre of the UK (really!) which may prove useful info

Here was a thread I started a couple of years back - couple of links on there which my be useful:-

http://www.englishforum.ch/family-ma...rocedures.html

I suppose if I did pop my clogs I'd want to get myself repatriated to Blighty quite soon after. Any idea how easy/difficult this is to do, and the time needed?

Doh! Thanks for the heads up. Despite searching, nothing came up before creating the thread. Honest, Guv'nor.

Perhaps the threads could be merged?

Your wish is my command, sir

well...at least in this thread merge...