Swiss inheritance law

You’ll find all the important points about Swiss inheritance law on this page. This determines who receives your estate and it protects your closest relatives through statutory entitlements.

Swiss inheritance law, anchored in the Swiss Civil Code (CC), regulates the transfer of assets after the death of a testator. It ensures that the estate is passed properly to your heirs, be it according to your personal wishes or, in the absence of these, according to statutory provisions.

Intestate succession comes into force if you die and have not regulated your estate by a will or contract of inheritance during your lifetime. According to Swiss inheritance law, your closest relatives inherit in this case.

Intestate succession is divided into the following three parentelae:

1. Parentela: Children of the person bequeathing the estate and their descendants.
2. Parentela: Parents of the person bequeathing the estate and their descendants.
3. Parentela: Grandparents of the person bequeathing the estate and their descendants.

The parentelae define the ranking order of the legal heirs. Persons from the second parentela are only entitled to inherit if no persons from the first parentela are heirs. Persons from the third parentela are only entitled to inherit if no persons from the first and second parentela are heirs. Spouses and registered partners are not included in a parentela. They receive a separate part of your estate.

If you have different plans for your estate, you will have to set these out in a will or a contract of inheritance. This is also known as testamentary succession. This applies if there is a valid will or contract of inheritance. In Switzerland, you have extensive freedom in distributing your assets as you wish – taking into account, however, the law on statutory entitlement, which protects your direct descendants. You can thus take into consideration partners and stepchildren who do not have any claims under the statutory rights of inheritance.

The statutory entitlement protects your closest relatives from being completely excluded from the inheritance. Spouses, registered partners and direct descendants have an inviolable claim to a part of your estate. These statutory entitlements ensure that certain family members receive a minimum share of your assets, even if your will provides otherwise.

Different statutory entitlements exist depending on the situation. Use our inheritance calculator to calculate your statutory inheritance and entitlements.