Hi All

Very good podcast on WRS the other day about Estate Planning and Wills for expats in Switzerland. Worth a look.

https://soundcloud.com/world-radio-s...in-switzerland

Swiss inheritance laws will change 1 Jan 2023. This affects both Swiss citizens and expats.

https://croce-associes.ch/en/new-swiss-inheritance-law/

Appreciate the link and I'd love to listen, but the link is a dead-end for me.

From the source. Not available in English.
https://www.admin.ch/gov/de/start/do...-id-83570.html
https://www.bj.admin.ch/bj/de/home/g.../erbrecht.html

Important changes:
- compulsory portion (Pflichteil) for offsprings is reduced from 2/3 down to 1/2 of the default share.
- No longer a compulsory portion for parents (applies when there were no children)
- After two years of legal separation the not yet divorced spose/partner has no longer a compulsory portion and thus can be disinherited.

Important for non Swiss: The possibility to apply Heimatrecht, the possibility to use the inheritance rules of its own citizenship, still fully applies.

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What?

That post was from 2020.

Tried to read the link to the blog, but still wasn’t clear… can an unmarried couple with no children now leave their entire estate to the other, without a claim from parents/siblings without invoking the Heimatrecht?

Yes.

Tom

What it you're an ex-pat who has a will back in your own country? We have a mirror will in Scotland that was drawn up 16 years ago after I found out I had cancer. I certainly would not be happy giving anything to my husband's family as they haven't spoken to me since 1985.

You need to make a statement here in Switzerland stating that you wish to apply Heimatrecht and attach it to your Scottish will.
Handwritten is fine, if you make a typewritten statement you will need to have your signature witnessed.

Does that change if you become Swiss or can you still choose?

Once you become Swiss you lose the right to choose to apply heimatrecht.

Exactly agrees with the advice I received.

As of 1 Jan 2023!

Siblings never had a compulsory portion.

I'm trying to help a friend on this point:

Background:

Her husband, sadly, is terminally ill. She had always thought there was a will, but she cannot find one, and has thoroughly checked all the usual and not-so usual places. So she assumes that when the sad day comes, statutory inheritance - sadly likely current rules given the situation - will govern their assets.

There are no children.
The husband's parents are dead.
The husband has a brother. The brother has children.

The niece has told my friend that her father (the brother) is entitled to 25% of my friend's husband's assets. As is the niece, through her father (the brother) should he predecease my friend's husband.

Is this because that 25% goes back to the husband's (long dead) parents, and through them, to the brother?

ETA:

When a statutory heir is dead, is there a point where the inheritance chain stops?

If you go to deinadieu.ch they have a testament creator where it will show the mandatory amounts. If the parents are already dead then I think the brothers etc have no claim unless there was a specific clause in a will. But I'm far from an expert. I have heard of families making claims based upon their understanding of what would happen rather than any actual document.

Many people leave a will with a Notar or a bank. Make sure she checked those places as well. Or a lawyer if the family know one.

With regards to his brother yes, she is right. If the parents have died already (in legal German: vorverstorben) that part goes to the other children.
See here Vater und Mutter erben je zur Hälfte. An die Stelle des vorverstorbenen Vaters bzw. der Mutter treten je ihre Nachkommen (Geschwister, Nichten und Neffen des Erblassers), und zwar in allen Graden nach Stämmen. Fehlt es an Nachkommen auf der einen Seite, so fällt die ganze Erbschaft an die Nachkommen der anderen Seite. Dies ist die zweite Gruppe (2. Parentel).
From this link
https://www.notariate.zh.ch/deu/nota...echt/wer-erbt/

As they are married and they have no children the spouse will get 3/4.
So the niece is right

Edit: I read some more and there seems to be conflicting information.
See here https://www.erbrechtsinfo.ch/erben/pflichtteil/
Here it says, that the siblings will only get a share if the decaesed is not married. Which would not be the case here.

Second edit:
Ok now I have solved the issue
The parents have a Pflichtteil but if there is a will its possible to state, that the siblings should not get the share of the parents.
But - as in your case - if there is no will, the brother will get the share meant for the parents.
https://www.studer-law.com/files/stu...eschwister.pdf

If the husband is still corpus mentis he can write a will regardless of his terminal illness. Having his signature witnessed by a notaire, and possibly a video of him signing the documents may be useful.

Sadly it's probably too late.

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I hate this about current Swiss inheritance law. My friend will have to sell her home to pay out these relatives, people who are relations in name only, who have never visited, never cared one whit...

Although it will be too late for my friend, I'm very glad to hear that some improvement in the law is coming.

The ZKB has a calculator. https://www.zkb.ch/de/private/vorsor...rbrechner.html
You enter the surviving people and it will tell you what the yet if there is no will and what can be distributed with a will. Btw. if you leave out a heir with a statuary part they must actively claim it themselves.

The situation would not change with the new law. The issue at hand is that no will was made. The house has only be sold if the brother in law is a complete dick ass, other wise he is just a co-owner.

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What?