Why make a will
In Switzerland, without a will, statutory succession applies: spouse gets 50%, children 50% (with parents: 50/50; no descendants or parents: spouse gets all).
A will allows you to:
- Favour certain heirs (within the reserved share)
- Bequeath specific assets to people or organisations
- Appoint an executor
- Acknowledge children not born of marriage
- Make donations to associations
- Protect an unmarried partner (who inherits nothing by law)
Valid forms in Switzerland
1. Holographic will
- Entirely handwritten (not typed or printed)
- Dated and signed by testator
- Kept at home, with notary or court
- Free but risk of loss or challenge
2. Authentic (notarised) will
- Drafted by notary with 2 witnesses
- Kept by notary (registry)
- Cost: CHF 300–800 by canton and complexity
- Maximum legal security
3. Oral will
- Only in case of life-threatening emergency
- Valid 14 days after the danger ends
- Practically to avoid
Reserved share
Since 2023, the reserved share has been reduced for more testator freedom:
Before 2023
- Spouse: 50%
- Children: 75%
- Parents: 50%
Since 1 January 2023
- Spouse: 50% (unchanged)
- Children/descendants: 50% (instead of 75%)
- Parents (no children): NO reserved share anymore (can be disinherited)
Disposable portion (freely allocatable):
- Spouse and descendants: 50% of estate + LPP/pillar 3 portion
- Spouse alone: 50% + pension portion
- Descendants alone: 50%
Advanced succession planning
Succession pact
- Contract between living (testator + heirs)
- Waiver of rights or allocation of assets
- Notarial validation mandatory
- Cost CHF 800–2,500
- Useful for: spouse protection, business transmission, child sharing
Lifetime gifts
- To anticipate transmission
- Counted in succession when calculating (collation and reduction)
- Gift tax in some cantons (Geneva, Vaud, Ticino)
- Notarial advice recommended
Life insurance / pillar 3
- Direct beneficiary designation
- Outside estate (except collation if reserved share affected)
- Effective tool to protect an unmarried partner
Trusts and foundations
- For large estates
- Tax and transmission optimisation
- Specialist legal advice required (CHF 5,000–30,000+)
Special cases
Unmarried couple / de facto partners
- No legal right to inherit
- Will absolutely essential
- Designate partner as beneficiary of disposable portion and life insurance
Blended family
- Children from previous unions protected by reserved share
- Will helps balance new and old family members
- Succession pact useful to align expectations
Assets abroad
- Election of applicable law possible (Swiss Private International Law)
- 1989 Hague Convention on Successions
- Risk of double taxation: check tax treaties
Person without heirs
- Without a will: estate goes to the State (canton of residence)
- Possibility to bequeath to: friends, associations, foundations, animals (via foundation)
Succession taxes (reminder)
- Spouse and direct descendants: exempt in most cantons
- Siblings, nephews/nieces: 6–25% by canton
- Partner / de facto partner: 20–50% (varies, sometimes exempt after years of cohabitation)
- Third parties, organisations: 30–50%
Where to keep your will
- With a notary: security, traceability
- District court / justice of the peace: official registration
- Bank safe deposit: if family access known
- At home: risky (loss, forgery, challenge)
Tips
- Review every 5 years or on major events (marriage, birth, divorce, property purchase)
- Check your beneficiaries for pillar 3, LPP, life insurance: they often override the will
- For complex estates (business, foreign assets, blended family): consult a notary
- Cost of a well-drafted notarised will: far below the cost of a contested estate
- Succession pact very useful for blended families and to protect a spouse
