I'm not sure whether anyone can offer any advice (and if this is in the wrong spot please move it mods, thanks).

After watching TV last night I wondered about the situation here. We both have current wills in place but these were written when we were in the UK. Do we need to change them or will they still be valid in Switzerland.

Also, if either becomes unable to make our own decisions due to illness, accident etc how do we stand with power of attorney here? Is it automatically the spouse or do we need a legal document. It is now recommended in the UK to have one of these in place even if you are married and with joint everything as unless the other half dies, you don't have the right to make decisions relating to important thing like finances, medical treatment etc.

And, can anyone recommended an english speaking lawyer in Zug!

Thanks in advance.

Unless you have joint bank accounts you need to grant power of attorney to your partner/spouse. This is the case for both incapacitation or death. They do not get automatic right to the contents of the account without it. You can get the relevant form from your bank for this.

Wills can be made according to your home countries laws and then registered with your local notoriate. You do not need a lawyer for this but if it makes you more comfortable you can use one.

Thanks for the quick reply. We have the one for the bank accounts but what do we need for any medical issues. I know its a bit morbid but if one of us if criticially injured and coma and life support is involved?

Thanks for the update on the wills. We should be ok then as our wills are fairly current.

This is so timely!

My husband and I come from different non-EU countries, so we don't have a common country of origin. We also don't have wills, advance directives, or any legal document about what is to happen to our child if we were to die, or how we want to handle finances and other things in case of one of our deaths.

Is it fine to write a document (or documents) in English and then have them notarized in Switzerland? Will they be legally binding then, or do we need a lawyer to draft them (in English? in German?) for them to be valid?

You do not need a lawyer a notary is fine. This is the advice we got & followed. As for being legally binding, as long as they conform with the law everything should be fine. However if you have children and specify a person(s) to take the children in the event of your deaths this does not automatically happen especially if the children are to be moved to another country. The Swiss authorites will take their time to check the peron out to make sure they are suitable i.e. check police reports to ensure no convictions for child abuse etc. It can be a goods idea to stipulate an intermediary carer here in Switzerland so the child does not have to go into care while it is all sorted out.

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Thank you so much for this advice. It'll take some thinking over, but it's very good to know.

I would like to revive this topic with a question:
Anybody knows what is the cheapest way to get wills and powers of attorney in case of incapacity? (preferably canton of ZH)
My understanding is that there are large price differences depending on whether the notary is a private or a government one.
Can someone bring some light to this topic and the different options?

Thanks!

Google "vorsorgeauftrag muster zürich". If you handwrite the whole will/power of attorney, date and sign it, you do not have to pay anything...
...otherwise you will need to go to a public notary. In the Canton Zurich there are only government notaries, accordingly the price will be the same (this being said you could also have your will notarized in another Canton).