Blick answers the most important questions about wills and inheritance: Can I disinherit my children?

Legal heirs are the registered partner, spouse and children.

• Married partners always inherit. In contrast, cohabiting spouses have no legal rights to inheritance. Divorced partners are also not taken into account.
• In addition to the husband or wife, one’s own children (and their descendants) inherit. If the children are minors, the surviving parent administers their estate. Parents and siblings inherit only if there are no children or grandchildren. If one of the parents dies, this part of the inheritance passes to the siblings. Without siblings, the remaining parent inherits everything.
• If there are no parents, siblings and their descendants, cousins ​​inherit.
• If (registered) spouses, children and relatives are missing, the inheritance goes to the canton or municipality of the last place of residence.

Married or registered partners receive at least 50 percent of the inheritance. If there are children, the other half is shared between them or their descendants. When there are no children, 75 percent goes to the partner and 25 percent goes to relatives (parents or siblings).

• If the deceased is unmarried and not living in a registered partnership but has children, he or his descendants inherit 100 percent.
• If the deceased has no children, the inheritance is shared equally between the mother and father. If they are already dead, siblings inherit, otherwise their nephews or cousins. If not, your inheritance goes to your grandparents. In the absence of relatives, the entire inheritance remains with the canton or municipality of the last place of residence.

In fact, preparing a will is relatively easy. In order for the will to be valid, it must be written by hand. It must also include the exact date (day, month and year) and be signed. The law requires a “signature.” This does not necessarily have to include first and last names. The author must be identified beyond any doubt. However, in practice, it is often seen that writers use their signatures as “Your Mother” or “Uncle Kari”. In such cases, the will may be questioned. To avoid conflicts, it is recommended that you sign your will stating your name and surname.

A public will is written by a notary with the participation of two witnesses. This can be useful in cases where handwriting is no longer possible or there is a fear that the heirs may later question the testator’s ability to judge.

In addition to handwritten wills, the law also includes so-called public wills. In a general will, the notary writes the will in line with the wishes of the relevant person. Then the will is read in the presence of two witnesses. The person making the decision then verbally declares that the will complies with their wishes. A will signed by a notary and two witnesses is valid.

You must have the mental capacity to write a valid will. Whether a person is capable of judgment is always judged by the action involved. There are often high demands on judgment when preparing a will because it is a challenging task. Therefore, each case requires a detailed investigation into whether the person had mental capacity at the time the will was written. Psychiatric or medical reports for clarification are also possible. The will is valid as long as it is not questioned by anyone through a process called an invalidity lawsuit.

If there is no other legal heir and there is no will, the children are entitled to the entire inheritance. Unmarried life partners are left empty-handed. You can choose your life partner by including your own children in the mandatory part. The mandatory part has been halved since January 2023. Thus, the testator can benefit his/her life partner with the resulting 50 percent quota.

The inheritance law reform, which came into force at the beginning of 2023, also affects couples in the divorce phase and couples who have ended their registered partnerships. Previously, the claim for a compulsory share continued until a legally binding divorce or dissolution of partnership. It now ends if the divorce case registered with the court by both spouses continues or if a divorce case is filed after two years of separation. However, this requires a will in which the person’s mandatory share is reduced to zero in the event of divorce. If you do not do this, the ex-partner who has not yet divorced will continue to inherit at least half of the assets.

The Huber family has a house worth 1.5 million francs and assets worth 500,000 francs. They have a child together. If one of the spouses dies, he should receive as much of the assets as possible, but at the same time pay the obligatory part to the child. According to the new inheritance law, the child’s mandatory share is half of the legal inheritance share, which is 50 percent. Specifically, this would be 500,000 francs. This means that the child’s debt can be paid off and the house worth 1.5 million francs can be transferred to the spouse or partner.

In principle, the spouse’s child inherits only from his/her parents. Legal heirs are grandchildren. This means that only biological or adopted children inherit. If the spouse’s child is not adopted by the testator, he will not legally inherit. However, if the testator still wants this child to receive something, he can appoint an heir. The existing mandatory shares of the legal heirs should not be violated. If you only want to transfer individual assets, you can leave an inheritance to the child. With an inheritance, you can distribute assets among different people: some are named heirs, while others receive only certain items from the inheritance; This does not give heir status.

You can freely dispose of your own assets and make donations of any kind during your lifetime. But some donations, especially large gifts, can have consequences in the event of death. However, gifts given to the cohabiting partner only produce results in the following cases:

• On the one hand, these gifts go beyond the usual occasional gifts:
• if it occurred within the last five years before the death of the testator;
• this donation violated the obligatory part of the heirs protected by the obligatory part.

Not all legal heirs are protected by a compulsory share. Since the revised inheritance law came into force on January 1, 2023, only the spouse and descendants receive the mandatory share. In this case, children who are the only heirs receive a mandatory share of 50 percent of the inheritance. The cohabiting partner can freely dispose of the remaining 50 percent. If the value of the watch and the inheritance given in the will constitute more than half of the estate, no deduction can be made from the inheritance. If the inheritance already constitutes half of the inheritance, it is necessary to check whether the gifts were given in the last five years before the testator’s death.

You do not have to accept the inheritance advance that the children insist on, as this is optional. If an inheritance advance occurs, it must be recorded in writing, as this amount will have to be compensated by the child receiving the gift when the inheritance is later distributed. This applies to larger gifts, such as large amounts of money or valuable jewelry. The basis of the calculation is the value on the day of death.

In Switzerland it is not so easy. There is penal inheritance and preventive inheritance. Withdrawal of the compulsory part is possible only if the child has committed a serious crime against the testator or a person closely related to him (a criminal conviction is not required). In this case, criminal disinheritance may be considered in case of serious violation of family obligations to the testator or his relatives. Insults, minor material damage, lack of contact or unfulfilled debts are not enough. There is also the option of preventive inheritance in case the child becomes bankrupt and the money goes to the state. Attention: It is not possible to give money to avoid the need to pay a mandatory part. Donations are considered property. Relatives can also claim their mandatory shares from this inheritance.