Revised Inheritance Law will come into force on January 1, 2023

The Federal Council decided to bring the revised inheritance law into force on January 1, 2023. At the heart of the inheritance law revision is the relaxation of the right to a statutory entitlement, which significantly increases testator’s freedom of choice. In the future, it will be possible for testators to favor de facto life partners or stepchildren to a greater extent.

At its meeting on May 19, 2021, the Federal Council decided to bring the revised inheritance law into force on January 1, 2023. The more flexible provisions take into account modern forms of cohabitation by strengthening the testator’s freedom of choice. The most important innovation of the inheritance law revision lies in the relaxation of the right to a compulsory portion, which allows the testator to increasingly favor non-legal heirs such as de facto life partners or stepchildren.

No more statutory entitlement for parents

Under current law, the statutory entitlement for parents comprises half of their inheritence. Said statutory entitlement will be abolished without replacement in the new inheritance law. The reasoning behind the change is that the idea of solidarity, on which the statutory entitlement in favor of parents is based, has lost significant importance in recent decades. With the amendment, Switzerland is following the international trend, since the statutory entitlement has been abolished already in numerous foreign legal systems (e.g. the Netherlands, France).

Lower statutory entitlement for descendants

Under the revised inheritance law, the statutory entitlement for descendants is reduced from three quarters to half of the inheritance. The descendants are thus placed on an equal footing with the decedent’s spouse with regard to their statutory entitlement. The current provision was often criticized because it restricts the testator’s freedom of choice disproportionately. Opponents of the previous regulation argued that inheritance law had largely lost its function as an institution of provision for descendants through old-age, survivors’ and disability provisions.

Emergency right of the de facto life partner

In order to protect de facto life partners from financial distress upon the death of the testator, the new inheritance law grants them an emergency right. Anyone who has lived with the testator in a de facto life partnership for at least five years at time of the death can demand support from the testator’s heirs if they would otherwise be in financial distress. The support benefit is paid in the form of a pension and must be applied for by the entitled person in writing to the competent authority within three months of the testator’s death.

No more right to statutory entitlement during divorce

According to the current legal provisions, the protection of the statutory entitlement of a spouse’s estate only ceases to exist when the divorce becomes final. In practice, this means that divorce proceedings are deliberately protracted in order to gain benefits from an inheritance despite de facto separation. This will no longer be possible after the inheritance law revision comes into force. The Federal Council stated in its message that by initiating divorce proceedings, the will of the spouses to end their cohabitation is clearly expressed. It is therefore appropriate that the claim to statutory entitlement ceases to exist during the divorce proceedings.

Clarification regarding tied pension provision

With the revised inheritance law, the legislator also eliminates existing legal uncertainties. Up until now it was uncertain whether claims from tied pension provision (pillar 3a) fall within the inheritance or not. In the future, beneficiary third parties will have a separate and direct claim against the respective pension fund, irrespective of the form of pension. Banks and insurance companies will therefore be able to pay out their benefits directly to the beneficiaries without having to consult the community of heirs beforehand or having to run the risk of a lawsuit. Although the benefits from pillar 3a are therefore not part of the estate, they will be taken into account for the calculation of compulsory portions and can be reduced.

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