Death in Switzerland: what to do

In the first hours

Death certification

• At home: call the family doctor or emergency service (144). A doctor must issue the death certificate
• At hospital: hospital handles the certificate
• Suspicious or violent death: police (117), mandatory investigation

Transport of the body

• Funeral home: contact your choice within hours
• Body can be transported to a funeral home or kept at home (up to 5 days under conditions)
• Cost: CHF 1,500–4,000 by canton and company

Within 2–3 days

Death notification to civil registry

• At the commune of death (often done by funeral home for you)
• Document issued: death certificate (in multiple originals, you'll need them)
• Cost: CHF 30–80

Notification to health insurer and AVS

• LAMal and complementary insurance: cancellation from date of death
• AVS fund: pension stops, procedures for widow/orphan pension
• LPP pension fund: capital or pension paid to survivors

Within the week

Funeral arrangements

• Religious or civil ceremony: to organise
• Burial: communal cemeteries free or cheap (CHF 300–2,000 by canton)
• Cremation: 80% of Swiss deaths, CHF 500–1,500
• Urn: home conservation allowed or dispersal (under conditions)
• Announcements, flowers, funeral meal: variable per family

Total funeral cost

• Simple cremation + ceremony: CHF 5,000–8,000
• Burial + traditional ceremony: CHF 8,000–15,000
• Elaborate ceremony + monument: CHF 15,000–40,000+

Within the month

Notifications to make

• Banks: deceased's account blocked until succession settled
• Pension fund (LPP): death capital or survivor pension
• Private life insurance: payout to beneficiaries
• Landlord (if tenant): lease termination (3-month notice, often arranged amicably)
• Employer: possible last pro-rata salary
• Tax office: death declaration, final tax return
• Migration office (if foreign): death notification
• Debt enforcement office: death notification

Succession and inheritance

Heirs' rights per Swiss Civil Code

• Surviving spouse: 1/2 (with descendants), 3/4 (with parents), all (no descendants or parents)
• Direct descendants (children): estate shared by number
• No descendants: parents then grandparents, aunts/uncles
• Spouse without will: protected by reserved share (minimum 50% for spouse and 50% for children)

Will

• If a will exists: must be filed with justice of the peace / district court within 30 days
• Recognition by a notary for holograph wills

Accepting or refusing succession

• Pure and simple acceptance: automatic unless renounced
• Acceptance with benefit of inventory: protection from excessive debts, request within 30 days
• Renunciation: possible within 3 months

Inheritance tax

• Spouse and direct descendants: exempt in most cantons
• Other heirs: progressive rates up to 50% by canton (Vaud, Bern strict; Schwyz, Lucerne softer; Geneva, Ticino vary by kinship)

Useful resources

• Funeral home: one contact for most procedures (recommended for sudden death)
• Notary: needed for complex succession or real estate
• Communes: family desk for info and support
• Caritas, CSP: free or low-cost help for administrative procedures
• Cantonal websites: detailed information

Tips

• Plan ahead: a will and succession planning massively help relatives
• Store important documents accessible to relatives: property deeds, insurance policies, access codes
• Regularly review beneficiaries of pillar 3, LPP, life insurance
• Funeral expenses are partly deductible from estate's taxable income
• For foreigners, succession may be governed by country-of-origin law (election possible)