Swiss Inheritance Law — Complete Geneva 2026 Guide (reserve, will, estate division)

Inheriting in Switzerland is not an administrative formality. It is a precise legal mechanism combining statutory order, testamentary dispositions, unbreakable forced shares and cantonal taxation. Since the reform that came into force on 1 January 2023 the rules have shifted markedly: the forced share of descendants was reduced, that of parents abolished, and freedom of testation significantly enlarged. This guide sets out, for Geneva, the entirety of Swiss succession law in 2026 — who inherits, who can be disinherited, how to draft a valid will, how estate division proceeds, and what an inheritance costs in tax.

State of the law : Swiss Civil Code as in force on 17 May 2026, Federal Supreme Court case law through ATF 149 III, Geneva inheritance tax (LDS) as of 1 January 2026.

1. Who inherits — the statutory order (parentela system)

Absent a will or inheritance contract, the Civil Code designates heirs through a parentela system (CC arts. 457-466). The rule is mechanical: you move up generation by generation, and a closer parentela excludes the more remote ones.

1.1 First parentela — descendants

The decedent’s children inherit per capita, in equal shares (CC art. 457). Predeceased children are represented by their own children. Fully adopted children rank equally with biological children. Children born out of wedlock have inherited equally since 1978.

1.2 Second parentela — parents and their descendants

Failing descendants, the estate passes to the decedent’s father and mother in equal halves (CC art. 458). The share of a predeceased parent passes to that parent’s descendants — the decedent’s siblings, then nieces and nephews.

1.3 Third parentela — grandparents

Failing descendants and the second parentela, the grandparents and their descendants (aunts, uncles, first cousins) inherit (CC art. 459). Beyond that, the estate escheats to the canton of last domicile (CC art. 466) — in Geneva, the State of Geneva.

1.4 Surviving spouse and registered partner

The spouse (or registered partner, CC art. 462) always receives a share, which varies with the heirs in concurrence:

• with descendants: half of the estate,
• with parents or their descendants: three quarters,
• alone: the whole estate.

A cohabiting partner inherits nothing. He or she must be expressly named in a will or inheritance contract — and even then, the disposable portion caps the amount that can be left.

2. Forced heirship after the 2023 reform

This is the cornerstone of Swiss succession law. Certain heirs — forced heirs — cannot be entirely disinherited without serious cause. The decedent may withdraw the disposable portion from them but must leave the forced share (CC arts. 470-471).

2.1 New forced share for descendants

Before 2023, the descendants’ forced share was three quarters of their statutory share. Since 1 January 2023 it is one half (CC art. 471 no. 1). For two children concurring with a spouse, each child has a statutory share of one quarter of the estate, hence a forced share of one eighth. The decedent may freely dispose of the remaining five eighths.

2.2 Spouse’s forced share and abolition of parents’ forced share

The surviving spouse retains a forced share of one half of his or her statutory share (CC art. 471 no. 2). Parents no longer have a forced share. The decedent may set them aside without giving reasons.

2.3 The practical effect — more testamentary freedom

For a decedent leaving two children and a spouse, the disposable portion has risen from 3/8 (former law) to 5/8 (current law). This is a significant lever to benefit a spouse, an unmarried partner, a disabled child, a foundation or philanthropic project.

2.4 Disinheritance — the final tool

Even the forced share can be withdrawn through reasoned disinheritance (CC art. 477): grave offence against the decedent or close family, serious breach of family duties. The cause must be set out in the will or contract and remains challengeable in court.

3. Disposable portion and testamentary instruments

3.1 Calculating the disposable portion

The disposable portion is the fraction of the estate the decedent may freely dispose of, after the forced shares. With two children and a spouse, take the total estate (say CHF 1,200,000), compute the statutory shares (spouse 600,000, each child 300,000), then the forced shares (spouse 300,000, each child 150,000). The disposable portion is CHF 600,000 — one half.

3.2 Lifetime gifts and the calculation mass

The forced share is computed on the estate at death increased by gifts subject to clawback (CC art. 475): donations within the last five years, gifts ad libitum, life insurance to third parties. A testator cannot empty the forced share through anticipated gifting without exposure to an action in reduction.

4. Forms of the will

Swiss law admits three forms, available only to a testator with legal capacity (CC art. 467).

4.1 Holograph will (CC art. 505)

Written, dated and signed entirely by hand. No witness, no notary. Day, month and year required. The simplicity is its strength and its trap: a typed will signed by hand is void. An incomplete date may cause nullity where two versions exist.

4.2 Public will (CC arts. 499-504)

Recorded by a Geneva notary with two witnesses, read aloud then signed. Recommended for complex estates, substitutions, executors, or where testamentary capacity might be challenged — the notary attests to the testator’s lucidity.

4.3 Emergency oral will (CC arts. 506-508)

An exceptional form admitted only where imminent danger makes the other forms impossible (disaster, war, severe accident). Two witnesses receive the will and transmit it immediately to an authority. Validity lapses fourteen days after the impediment ceases.

5. Inheritance contracts

The inheritance contract (CC arts. 494-512) is an agreement on death, concluded between the testator and one or more heirs or third parties, before a notary and two witnesses.

5.1 Renunciation and contractual institution

Two typical uses:

• Renunciation contract: an heir renounces all or part of his future share, usually against an inter vivos payment.
• Institution contract: the testator institutes an heir or legatee irrevocably against an undertaking by the other side (for instance the child who takes over the farm undertaking to house the parents).

5.2 Modification and revocation

Unlike a will, an inheritance contract cannot be modified or revoked unilaterally. All parties must agree (CC art. 513), or exceptionally serious unworthiness must be shown (CC art. 514). This is the contract’s strength — and its rigidity.

6. Acceptance, public inventory, disclaimer

On opening of the succession the heir has three options (CC art. 566 ff).

6.1 Unconditional acceptance

By default, an heir who does not act within three months is deemed to have accepted. He is then liable for estate debts on his personal assets, without limit. This is the default — and the trap for estates whose liabilities are poorly known.

6.2 Public inventory (CC art. 580 ff)

At an heir’s request within one month of death, the Justice of the Peace orders a public inventory. Creditors are called to file their claims over three to six months; unannounced creditors are foreclosed. The heir may then accept under benefit of inventory and is liable only for listed debts, up to the net assets received. This is the key instrument for uncertain estates.

6.3 Disclaimer (CC arts. 566-579)

The heir declares disclaimer within three months of knowledge of the death, by filing with the Geneva Justice of the Peace. The disclaimed share passes to subsequent heirs (CC art. 572). If all heirs disclaim, the estate is liquidated through bankruptcy proceedings (CC art. 573).

7. Estate division

Where several heirs concur, they form a community of heirs (CC art. 602) until division.

7.1 Composition of lots

Division is in principle in kind (CC art. 610). The heirs compose lots, factoring in asset values, preferential attributions, reports (CC art. 626: lifetime advances to be brought back), and balance payments. Each heir may demand division at any time (CC art. 604), absent an indivision agreement.

7.2 Preferential attribution

Some assets may be attributed to a specific heir against balance payment: the family business to the descendant who runs it, the family home to the spouse (CC art. 612a), the farm to the operator (LDFR). Failing agreement, the court decides.

7.3 Contentious division

Failing agreement, any heir may seise the Geneva Court of First Instance — Family Chamber with an action for division (CC art. 604). Proceedings take one to three years depending on complexity (real estate to appraise, business to value, heirs abroad). The court orders inventory, sets values, attributes lots or orders public auction.

8. Action in reduction

If a will breaches the forced share of a forced heir, that heir may bring an action in reduction (CC arts. 522-533) within one year of knowledge of the breach. The court reduces dispositions beyond the disposable portion — legacies first, then institutions, finally lifetime gifts subject to clawback. The forced share is reconstituted in value, by monetary compensation if necessary.

9. International successions

Where the decedent or the assets present a foreign element, PILA applies.

9.1 Jurisdiction and applicable law

For a decedent domiciled in Switzerland, the Swiss authorities have jurisdiction over the entire estate (PILA art. 86), and Swiss law governs the worldwide estate (PILA art. 90). The decedent may, however, elect his or her foreign national law by testamentary disposition — professio juris (PILA art. 90 para. 2).

9.2 Coordination with EU Regulation 650/2012

For a decedent domiciled in France or another EU State, the EU Regulation applies the law of last habitual residence in principle. A French-Swiss dual national may therefore find Switzerland and the EU both claiming jurisdiction — particularly over French real estate. Anticipated planning (choice of law, will compliant with both systems) avoids such conflicts.

9.3 Recognition of foreign decisions

A European certificate of succession, a French acte de notoriété or an English grant of probate can be recognised in Switzerland under PILA art. 96 — indirect jurisdiction, public policy, due process.

10. Geneva inheritance taxation

Geneva applies its own inheritance tax (LDS, RSG D 3 25).

10.1 The family-core exemption

Under cantonal law, the surviving spouse and direct descendants (children, grandchildren) are fully exempt (LDS art. 6A). This is one of the most generous regimes in Switzerland — a significant asset compared with cantons (Vaud, Bern) that still tax children.

10.2 Scale for other heirs

Siblings pay a progressive tax up to about 26 %. Distant relatives and third parties (cousins, friends, unregistered partners) can reach 54 % on the top brackets (LDS art. 19 ff). The tax falls on the heir, in proportion to what he receives.

10.3 International coordination

The Franco-Swiss inheritance treaty was terminated by France in 2014. Cross-border estates may therefore suffer double taxation. Treaties with Germany, Austria, the United Kingdom and the United States remain in force and organise foreign tax credit.

11. Five common pitfalls to avoid

• Letting the three months elapse without action, thinking it buys time — unconditional acceptance then kicks in automatically, with personal liability for debts.
• Typing the will and signing it: it is void. A holograph will must be handwritten throughout (CC art. 505).
• Overlooking gifts subject to clawback when computing the forced share: donations within the last five years, life insurance to third parties, transfers to a child during the marriage.
• Assuming a cohabiting partner inherits: he or she inherits nothing without an express disposition, and even then the disposable portion caps the amount.
• Neglecting France-Switzerland coordination: a decedent domiciled in Geneva with a flat in Annemasse risks double inheritance taxation since the 1953 treaty was terminated.

12. Why a trilingual Geneva lawyer

A Swiss succession — especially with an international dimension — involves documents in French, English and sometimes Spanish: notarial deeds, UK probate, European certificates of succession, foreign testamentary dispositions. Maître Andrea von Flüe practises in French, English and Spanish, allowing:

• direct review of foreign succession papers,
• coordination with the foreign notary or solicitor,
• drafting of wills and contracts valid simultaneously in Switzerland and abroad,
• representation in a contentious division before the Geneva court.

Next steps

A first consultation at CHF 50 (30 minutes) sets the diagnosis: heirs concerned, estate to divide, forced shares to respect, testamentary options open, tax exposure.

See also : Successions — practice area · Family law · Adult protection and anticipated planning · Contact and first consultation