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The National Council has no sympathy for heirs: they must continue to repay any additional benefits (EL) of the deceased from the estate.
Parliament only instructed heirs to do this in 2021. This repayment obligation is especially burdensome for those who inherit property, such as their parents’ home. The state has access to the entire inheritance.
If the deceased received EL for many years and lived in a nursing home before his death, things can become difficult: the amount to be repaid can amount to tens or even hundreds of thousands of francs.
Threatened business transfers
This means: If a homeowner’s heirs cannot transfer the amount, they must sell the inherited home. Farming families can be particularly hard hit by this: with such high debts, a farm is usually no longer sustainable. And farmers often have a meager pension because the pension fund is not mandatory for them. Especially as they get older, they often depend on EL.
But such problems can be prevented. Blick says what you need to know about heirs and ELs:
The basic rules
The obligation to repay only applies to inheritances of more than 40,000 francs. The heirs are asked to pay for the EL that the deceased received in the last ten years before death. Because the rule only came into effect in 2021, a small discount still applies today: only ELs paid out after January 1, 2021 must be paid by the heirs. Important to know: For married couples, ELs are only required to be repaid after the death of both spouses.
Arrange your inheritance early…
Farming families can avoid the inheritance trap: parents can pass the farm on to the next generation once they retire. It becomes more difficult if the older generation has not yet chosen a successor for the farm before their death. She then transfers the farm via will; this falls under the refund scheme and must be sold if debts are high. To prevent this, it is worthwhile to start looking for a successor early on.
…but not too early!
However, caution is advised when giving gifts: the money given away yields less EL than you would actually be entitled to based on your current account balance. The amount given away is still counted as part of the assets in the EL calculation. Only from the second year after the donation is 10,000 francs annually deducted from the balance during the calculation.
You can refuse an inheritance
The inheritance trap cannot be imposed: if an inherited house has heavy debts or if there are other debts (for example, due to the EL), the heir can simply reject it. Important: This decision must be communicated to the competent authority of the deceased’s last place of residence within three months.
In this case, the inheritance is passed on to the next legal heirs. If they too refuse the inheritance, the bankruptcy office steps in and liquidates the house. This serves the same purpose: the amount is then used to cover the debts of the deceased.
In this case, you must be careful not to accept the inheritance unintentionally. For example, by ordering a declaration of inheritance or paying outstanding bills. Anyone who performs such actions on the estate automatically accepts the inheritance.
Source:Blick
I am Liam Livingstone and I work in a news website. My main job is to write articles for the 24 Instant News. My specialty is covering politics and current affairs, which I’m passionate about. I have worked in this field for more than 5 years now and it’s been an amazing journey. With each passing day, my knowledge increases as well as my experience of the world we live in today.
