15 minute read 1. The basic rule: last habitual residence decides
The law applicable to a cross-border estate is that of the country where the deceased had their last habitual residence, and it covers the whole estate, movable and immovable alike, wherever the assets happen to sit. The deceased's nationality, the location of their bank accounts and the country paying their pension change nothing on their own.
What Swiss law says
Article 90 paragraph 1 of the Federal Act on Private International Law, the PILA, subjects to Swiss law the estate of a person whose last domicile was in Switzerland. Article 86 gives the Swiss judicial or administrative authorities of that last domicile jurisdiction to settle the estate and hear succession disputes. Where the deceased was domiciled abroad, Article 90 paragraph 2 refers to the private international law rules of that country of domicile: Switzerland accepts to reason through the eyes of the country of residence.
What applies in the EU
Since 17 August 2015, France, Germany, Italy, Spain and Portugal all apply Regulation (EU) 650/2012, the Succession Regulation. Its Article 21 also points to the deceased's habitual residence at the time of death, for the estate as a whole. Two features matter enormously in a Swiss file. First, its universal application: it sometimes designates the law of a non-member state, and that law applies regardless. Second, Article 34, which accepts renvoi where the designated law is that of a third country such as Switzerland.
The practical result is reassuring: in straightforward cases the two systems agree.
| Situation of the deceased | Swiss analysis (PILA) | EU analysis (Reg. 650/2012) | Applicable law |
|---|---|---|---|
| Portuguese national domiciled in Lausanne for 20 years | Last domicile in Switzerland, Art. 90(1) | Habitual residence in Switzerland, Art. 21 | Swiss law, on the entire estate |
| Swiss national domiciled in Munich for 15 years | Renvoi to German rules, Art. 90(2) | Habitual residence in Germany, Art. 21 | German law, on the entire estate |
| Italian cross-border worker living in Como, salary and accounts in Ticino | No Swiss domicile | Habitual residence in Italy | Italian law, including Swiss accounts |
| Swiss retiree settled in the Algarve, flat in Geneva | Renvoi to Portuguese rules, Art. 90(2) | Habitual residence in Portugal, Art. 21 | Portuguese law, unless a choice of law says otherwise |
The one real exception: real estate
Article 86 paragraph 2 PILA reserves any exclusive jurisdiction claimed by the country where immovable property is located. EU member states no longer claim such exclusive jurisdiction since the Succession Regulation came into force, which greatly simplifies Swiss files with the five countries covered here. The reservation stays alive elsewhere, particularly outside the EU: a flat held in a country that insists on settling the fate of its own land creates a split estate, with two masses and two laws.
2. Choosing your law: what the 2025 Swiss reform opened up
A choice of law, or professio juris, lets a person subject their estate to the law of a country of which they are a national, by will or succession agreement. It is the only lever that overrides the habitual residence rule, and it must be express: no implicit clause, no family custom will do.
What changed on 1 January 2025
Chapter 6 of the PILA, on successions, was revised to reduce conflicts with the European regulation. The amendment entered into force on 1 January 2025. The most concrete change concerns dual nationals: a Swiss-Italian domiciled in Switzerland can now subject their estate to Italian law, which the previous text ruled out as soon as they held a Swiss passport. The reform also widened the scope for choosing the competent authorities.
The safeguard remains: a Swiss national cannot use that choice to escape Swiss rules on the freely disposable portion. A dual national's choice of foreign law therefore stays bounded by Swiss forced heirship. The freedom is real, it is not unlimited.
The asymmetry with the European regulation
On the EU side, Article 22 of Regulation 650/2012 is broader: anyone may choose the law of a country of which they are a national, with no equivalent safeguard. A Swiss national living in Spain can therefore subject their estate to Swiss law and take full advantage of the Swiss disposable portion, which is more generous than the Spanish one. Today that is one of the few genuine planning levers available to Swiss expatriates.
3. Forced heirship: Switzerland against its five neighbours
Forced heirship is the share of an estate that the law reserves to certain heirs and that the deceased cannot freely dispose of. This is where Swiss law and its neighbours diverge most, and it is very often the only reason a choice of law is worth making.
Switzerland since the reform of 1 January 2023
Swiss succession law was revised on 1 January 2023 in a markedly liberal direction. The descendants' reserved share fell from three quarters to one half of their statutory entitlement. The reserved share of the deceased's parents was abolished outright. The surviving spouse or registered partner keeps a reserved share of one half of their statutory entitlement. Since 2023, it is therefore always possible to dispose freely of at least half the estate.
| Country | Reserved share for children | Nature of the protection |
|---|---|---|
| Switzerland | Half of the statutory entitlement; at least half the estate always freely disposable | Share of the estate, enforced by an action in abatement |
| France | 1/2 with one child, 2/3 with two, 3/4 with three or more | Share of the estate; the spouse is not a forced heir where there are descendants |
| Germany | Half of the statutory entitlement | A monetary claim against the heirs, not a share of the assets themselves |
| Italy | 1/2 with one child, 2/3 with two or more | Share of the estate, recoverable in kind through an action for reduction |
| Spain | 2/3 under the Civil Code, of which 1/3 strict and 1/3 mejora; 1/4 in Catalonia | Share of the estate, with wide regional variation under the foral laws |
| Portugal | 1/2 with one child, 2/3 with two or more or with a surviving spouse | Share of the estate; the spouse is a forced heir alongside the children |
On an estate of CHF 1,200,000 left by a widower to three children, the gap is striking: CHF 600,000 freely allocable under Swiss law, against the equivalent of CHF 300,000 under French law and CHF 400,000 under Italian or Portuguese law. For a business owner in Geneva who wants to favour the child taking over the firm, or a parent protecting a second spouse, the difference is anything but theoretical.
Two structural differences worth understanding
The German Pflichtteil is not a share of the assets but a claim for money against the heirs. A German child left out of a will cannot demand a specific painting or a specific flat: they claim a sum. That makes German forced heirship far less disruptive to a business or a property than the Italian or Spanish equivalent, where the action for reduction can claw assets back in kind.
Swiss law also allows a succession agreement, a contract by which a person settles their estate with their heirs, including an advance renunciation. French law prohibits agreements on future successions, and Italian, Spanish and Portuguese law are similarly restrictive. A succession agreement validly concluded in Switzerland can nonetheless produce effects in an EU file: Article 25 of Regulation 650/2012 governs its admissibility and effects by the law that would have applied to the estate had the disposing party died on the day it was signed. Securing one means fixing two parameters: the domicile at signature, and the choice of law.
4. What is not part of the estate
A significant part of a Swiss patrimony falls entirely outside the estate. Overlooking this leads families to overestimate the inheritance, and sometimes to argue about assets that were never on the table.
The matrimonial property regime is liquidated first
Before any division, the matrimonial property regime must be liquidated: the surviving spouse first takes what is theirs on that basis, and only the balance forms the estate. That regime has its own connecting rules, distinct from succession rules, in Articles 51 to 58 PILA on the Swiss side and in Regulation (EU) 2016/1103 on the European side. A couple married abroad without a contract who then settle in Vaud may find themselves under a different regime from the one they assume. Our guide to getting married in Switzerland as a foreign couple sets out that mechanism.
The second pillar is not an estate asset
Survivors' benefits from Swiss occupational pension schemes do not fall into the estate. They go to the beneficiaries designated by law and by the fund's regulations, in a fixed order beginning with the surviving spouse and the children. An heir appointed by will has no claim unless they appear in that order, and someone who renounces the estate may still collect them. Second pillar and vested benefits assets are therefore handled with the pension fund, not with the notary.
Pillar 3a and life insurance follow the beneficiary clause
Tied pillar 3a accounts and life insurance policies also follow a beneficiary clause. The capital is paid directly to the designated person, outside the division. It can nevertheless be counted towards forced heirship shares, up to its surrender value, where the deceased clearly sought to circumvent protected heirs.
5. Who settles the estate, and with which documents?
Jurisdiction lies in principle with the authority of the deceased's last domicile: the Swiss authorities under Article 86 PILA, the courts of the country of habitual residence under Article 4 of Regulation 650/2012. The two systems converge again, but they do not issue the same paperwork, and this is where the timetable goes wrong.
| Swiss certificate of inheritance | European Certificate of Succession | |
|---|---|---|
| Issued by | The authority of the deceased's last Swiss domicile (justice of the peace or notary, depending on the canton) | The notary or court of the competent member state |
| Legal basis | Swiss Civil Code and PILA | Regulation (EU) 650/2012 |
| Reach | Recognised in Switzerland; abroad, accepted case by case | Circulates as of right within the EU, no automatic effect in Switzerland |
| Typical use | Unblocking a Swiss account, registering property in the Swiss land register | Proving heirship to a bank or notary inside the EU |
An estate with assets on both sides therefore often needs both documents in parallel. The Swiss Federal Office of Justice has published guidelines, updated in January 2025, setting out the conditions under which a foreign certificate of inheritance, European Certificate of Succession included, can serve as supporting evidence for a Swiss land register entry.
Frozen accounts, an unavoidable step
On death, the Swiss institution freezes the deceased's accounts, in some configurations including joint accounts, until the succession documents are produced. Heirs generally have to provide the death certificate, the certificate of inheritance and, for non-residents, certified identification and sometimes a tax residence certificate. Expect several weeks, sometimes several months, between the death and the first actual transfer.
6. Tax: one treaty, four blanks
Switzerland has an inheritance tax treaty with Germany, and with none of the other four countries covered here. There is no federal inheritance tax in Switzerland: the initiative that sought to create one, at 50 % above CHF 50 million, was rejected by 78.3 % of voters on 30 November 2025, with no canton in favour. The landscape stays strictly cantonal.
Twenty-four cantons levy inheritance tax; Schwyz and Obwalden levy none. Attribution follows Federal Supreme Court practice on intercantonal double taxation: movable wealth is taxed in the canton of the deceased's last domicile, real estate in the canton where it is located. The surviving spouse is exempt everywhere, without exception, and direct descendants are exempt in almost every canton, Geneva included since 2004. Vaud, Neuchâtel and Appenzell Innerrhoden are the notable exceptions, and Vaud raised its exemption to CHF 1,000,000 per branch of the family on 1 January 2025.
| Country of residence of the heir | Inheritance tax treaty with Switzerland | What the country taxes | Key figures |
|---|---|---|---|
| France | No. The 1953 treaty was terminated on 17 June 2014, with effect from 1 January 2015 | Worldwide assets received, where the heir has been resident in France for at least six of the previous ten years (Art. 750 ter CGI) | Allowance of €100,000 per child, then 5 % to 45 %. Foreign tax credit under Art. 784 A, limited to assets outside France |
| Germany | Yes, treaty of 30 November 1978, covering estates but not lifetime gifts | Real estate where it is situated; other assets at the deceased's domicile. Germany keeps extended taxing rights where the deceased had a German home in the last five years, or where the heir lives in Germany | Allowances of €500,000 for a spouse and €400,000 per child; class I rates from 7 % to 30 % |
| Italy | No | Worldwide estate if the deceased was resident in Italy; Italian-situated assets only if not | 4 % above an allowance of €1,000,000 per heir in the direct line; 6 % for siblings above €100,000; 8 % for others. Self-assessment since 1 January 2025 |
| Spain | No | Worldwide inheritance if the heir is resident in Spain; Spanish assets only if not | State scale corrected by the autonomous community rules, which Swiss residents have been able to claim since March 2018. Regional reliefs of up to 99 % in several communities |
| Portugal | No, and none needed in practice | Only assets located in Portugal. Inheritance tax was abolished in 2004 | Stamp duty of 10 % on gratuitous transfers, with spouse, descendants and ascendants exempt. A declaration is still required |
7. Five country scenarios, with figures
France: the Geneva retiree with children in Annecy
Death in Geneva after fifteen years, estate of CHF 1,800,000, two children living in France. Swiss law governs the estate. Geneva exempts direct descendants, so the cantonal bill is nil. Each child receives roughly €950,000 and, having been resident in France for more than six of the previous ten years, is taxable on everything. After the €100,000 allowance, the duty exceeds €190,000 per child, with no credit available.
Germany: the Zug executive with a son in Stuttgart
Death in Zug, estate of CHF 2,000,000, one son resident in Germany. Swiss law governs the estate; Zug exempts descendants. But Article 8 paragraph 2 of the 1978 treaty lets Germany tax a German-resident heir even where the deceased lived in Switzerland, unless both were Swiss nationals. After the €400,000 allowance, the German inheritance tax on roughly €1,700,000 falls in class I at rates that reach 19 %. The treaty allocates, it does not exempt.
Italy: the Ticino cross-border worker living in Como
Death in Como, habitual residence in Italy, accounts in Lugano. Italian law governs the estate and Italian forced heirship applies in full. Switzerland levies no cantonal tax on movable wealth, because the deceased's last domicile was not in Switzerland. Italy taxes the worldwide estate, but at 4 % and only above €1,000,000 per heir in the direct line. On a Swiss account of €600,000 passing to one child, the Italian bill is nil.
Spain: the Basel engineer whose daughter lives in Valencia
Death in Basel, estate of CHF 900,000, one daughter resident in Spain. Swiss law governs the estate, Basel-Stadt exempts descendants. Spain taxes its resident heir on the worldwide inheritance, but since the Supreme Court rulings of 2018 a Swiss connection no longer bars access to the autonomous community rules, which in the Valencian Community, Madrid or Andalusia can cut the bill by up to 99 %. Claiming the regional regime, rather than the state scale, is the entire game.
Portugal: the Lausanne worker whose family is in Porto
Death in Lausanne, savings in francs, heirs resident in Portugal. Swiss law governs the estate; Vaud exempts each branch of the family up to CHF 1,000,000 since 1 January 2025. On the Portuguese side, stamp duty on gratuitous transfers reaches only assets located in Portugal, and in any event exempts the spouse, descendants and ascendants. A Swiss bank account inherited by a child living in Porto is therefore taxed nowhere, although the inheritance must still be declared in Portugal.
8. The six mistakes that cost the most
- Believing nationality decides the applicable law. By default it decides nothing. Only habitual residence counts, absent an express choice of law.
- Treating a Swiss exemption as an exemption everywhere. Geneva at 0 % and France at 45 % on the same inheritance are perfectly compatible.
- Writing a home-country will over a Swiss estate without a choice of law clause. The will remains formally valid, but the estate stays governed by Swiss law, with different balances from the ones intended.
- Missing the foreign filing deadline. It runs from the date of death, not from the receipt of the Swiss funds.
- Confusing succession with pension provision. The second pillar, pillar 3a and life insurance follow a beneficiary clause and sit outside the estate: allocating them in a will has no effect.
- Letting the share be converted without looking at the rate. On a six-figure sum this is often the largest cost after tax itself, and the only one the heir fully controls.
9. Receiving your share from Switzerland: the currency cost
A cross-border estate almost always ends with a transfer in francs to a euro account. It is the last step, the one nobody prepares, and it is easy to quantify.
| Amount received from Switzerland | Cost at a 1.5 % bank margin | Applicable ibani margin | Cost with ibani | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CHF 50,000 | CHF 750 | 0.30 % | CHF 150 | CHF 600 |
| CHF 150,000 | CHF 2,250 | 0.20 % | CHF 300 | CHF 1,950 |
| CHF 300,000 | CHF 4,500 | 0.15 % | CHF 450 | CHF 4,050 |
| CHF 700,000 | CHF 10,500 | 0.15 % | CHF 1,050 | CHF 9,450 |
The ibani scale is degressive: 0.40 % up to CHF 10,000, 0.35 % from CHF 10,000 to 50,000, 0.30 % from 50,000 to 100,000, 0.20 % from 100,000 to 250,000, then 0.15 % above that. No account opening, account maintenance or transfer fee is added.
Two practical habits. First, give the notary or the paying institution a Swiss IBAN in your own name: the share arrives in francs, with no forced conversion, and you choose when to convert. Second, do not convert everything at once if the timetable allows: on a large amount the movement of the EUR/CHF rate matters more than the margin itself, and our CHF/EUR exchange rate outlook helps frame that decision.
An account with a Swiss IBAN in your own name, 12 currencies, free transfers and a transparent exchange margin from 0.40 % down to 0.15 % depending on the amount. ibani is a Swiss financial intermediary based in Geneva, not a bank: the point is not to replace your existing institution, but to bridge funds held in francs and needs expressed in euros, at the real market rate.
Discover the personal offer →You can simulate the exact amount you would receive with our currency converter. Where the estate includes property, our guide to Swiss real estate company taxation for non-residents is a useful complement, and the one on withdrawing the second pillar to buy property abroad covers the neighbouring case of pension capital.
Institutional sources: Swiss PILA, SR 291 (Fedlex) · Federal Office of Justice, private international law · FOJ, foreign certificates of inheritance · Swiss Federal Tax Administration, inheritance and gift taxes · Regulation (EU) 650/2012 · BOFiP, termination of the 1953 France-Switzerland treaty
Frequently Asked Questions
Which law applies to the estate of a foreign national who dies in Switzerland?
Swiss law, if Switzerland was their last habitual residence. The nationality of the deceased does not determine the applicable law. Article 90 paragraph 1 of the Swiss PILA subjects to Swiss law the estate of a person whose last domicile was in Switzerland, for their entire worldwide estate. EU Regulation 650/2012, which applies in France, Germany, Italy, Spain and Portugal, reaches the same result: it also uses the deceased's last habitual residence and applies even when it designates the law of a non-EU country such as Switzerland. An Italian national who has lived in Lugano for ten years therefore leaves an estate governed by Swiss law, including for assets located in Italy. That convergence breaks only where the deceased made an express choice of law, or for real estate located in a country claiming exclusive jurisdiction over its own land.
Can you choose the law of your home country for an estate settled in Switzerland?
Yes, by an express clause in a will or succession agreement, and since 2025 even as a dual national. Article 91 of the Swiss Act on Private International Law lets a person subject their estate to the law of one of their countries of nationality. The revision of the succession chapter that entered into force on 1 January 2025 extended this to dual nationals who also hold a Swiss passport, which was previously impossible. One firm limit remains: a Swiss national cannot use that choice to escape Swiss rules on the freely disposable portion, meaning Swiss forced heirship. In the opposite direction, a Swiss national living in the EU may choose Swiss law under Article 22 of Regulation 650/2012, with no such restriction.
Does Switzerland have inheritance tax treaties with EU countries?
Very few, and among the main countries of residence of Swiss expatriates only Germany. The treaty of 30 November 1978 between Switzerland and Germany covers estates, but not lifetime gifts. France terminated its 1953 inheritance tax treaty with Switzerland on 17 June 2014, with effect for deaths from 1 January 2015. Italy, Spain and Portugal have no inheritance tax treaty with Switzerland at all. For those four countries, each state applies its own domestic law and relief from double taxation depends on unilateral credits, such as Article 784 A of the French tax code, rather than on any treaty allocation of taxing rights.
Do heirs pay tax abroad on a Swiss inheritance that is exempt in the canton?
Often yes, and this is the single most common misunderstanding. Most Swiss cantons exempt the surviving spouse and direct descendants entirely, and Geneva has done so since 2004. That cantonal exemption binds no foreign tax authority. A child resident in France for at least six of the previous ten years is taxable in France on everything received, worldwide, after an allowance of only €100,000. A child resident in Italy is taxable on the worldwide estate only if the deceased was resident in Italy; otherwise only Italian assets are caught. A child resident in Portugal owes nothing, because Portuguese stamp duty on gratuitous transfers reaches only assets located in Portugal. The answer depends entirely on the country of residence.
Is a European Certificate of Succession valid in Switzerland?
It has no automatic effect in Switzerland, which is not bound by Regulation 650/2012 and does not issue the document. Heirs of an estate settled in Switzerland obtain a Swiss certificate of inheritance, issued by the authority of the deceased's last domicile. In the other direction, the Swiss Federal Office of Justice has published guidelines, updated in January 2025, on the conditions under which a foreign certificate of inheritance, including a European Certificate of Succession, can serve as supporting evidence for an entry in the Swiss land register. In practice an estate with assets on both sides of the border usually needs both documents in parallel.
Does the Swiss second pillar form part of the estate?
No. Survivors' benefits from Swiss occupational pension schemes fall outside the estate. They go to the beneficiaries designated by law and by the pension fund regulations, in a fixed order that starts with the surviving spouse and the children. An heir appointed in a will has no claim on them unless they appear in that order, and a person who renounces the estate may still receive them. The same logic applies to pillar 3a accounts and to life insurance, which follow their own beneficiary clause, although their surrender value can be taken into account when calculating forced heirship shares. Second pillar and vested benefits assets are therefore handled with the pension fund, in a separate file from the notary's.