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People should be able to decide more freely to whom they will bequeath their property in the event of death: the National Council decided on Tuesday. Succession law should be modernized and members of mixed families should be better off, with one exception.
Federal Councilor Karin Keller-Sutter represented modernized probate law in parliament.
In 1907, when the current inheritance law was created, marriage was not only valid in front of the altar until death: marriages generally did not divorce during this time, the mosaic or second families were unknown, cohabitation relationships were taboo anyway, and childless marriages were that unwanted exception. The inheritance law is always closely linked to the family image, in the case of the Civil Code (ZGB) of 1907 with the bourgeois family of the 19th century. As remarkable as it is that in a central area of everyday life a law can survive for more than a hundred years: now the inheritance law must be modernized, a majority in the National Council agreed to this on Tuesday.
No less inheritance disputes
The objectives of the inheritance law – the preservation of economic values beyond the death of the owner, as well as the prevention of conflicts and the preservation of social peace – apply without change. Justice Minister Karin Keller-Sutter declared in the National Council that the current inheritance law had proven its effectiveness and that “fundamental innovations” were not necessary. However, the testator, that is, the person who inherits property, should receive more freedom in the future. In the future, he should be able to determine a larger part of his assets himself. CVP National Counselor Matthias Bregy (cvp.), Who works as a lawyer, pragmatically summed this up as follows: “The proposal will not lead to fewer inheritance disputes, but at least a little more freedom.”
Specifically, this should be done by reducing the required portions, to the chagrin of the offspring and parents. Because, together with their spouses, they are now among the so-called heirs with mandatory social protection. According to the current inheritance law, the mandatory portion of the children is three-quarters, that of the spouse half. The mandatory offspring and spouse portions will be standardized. Their mandatory share should amount to half of the inheritance claim, which for parents should even be abolished entirely. Therefore, the testator will have more leeway in the future, for example to bequeath assets to a life partner, a stepchild, or a charity. And finally, a smaller mandatory portion, especially for SME owners, results in greater flexibility in the regulation of business succession.
“A command of the times”
The National Council followed the Federal Council on these points. Only the claim of support that she also proposed for royal couples who find themselves in financial difficulties after the death of their partner did not survive the advice of the two councils. According to the Council of States, the National Council also removed this provision from the bill, albeit only slightly, with 94 votes to 90 and 2 abstentions. The SVP, the media and a large part of the FDP parliamentary group voted against it. They feared the regulation would be difficult to implement and lead to complex inheritance disputes. Proponents argued against the fact that improved protection for unmarried couples corresponds to social reality and time domain.
Several other changes that have been imposed by the practice of the last decades were indisputable. For example, the surviving spouse should not be able to claim a mandatory share if a person dies during the divorce proceedings. The National Council specified that in such cases the mandatory portions are applied as if the testator were not married. The National Council also proposes detailed changes to the marriage contract. In the general vote, the large chamber accepted the proposal by 140 votes to 48 and one abstention. Now go back to the Council of States. The little chamber will likely discuss the two remaining differences in the winter session.
More and more is inherited
After several additional cycles, the new and more modern law of succession is now on the home stretch. Finally, some are inclined to say, because the law in Switzerland has an economic and social importance that should not be underestimated. As a December 2019 University of Lausanne study shows, one in two francs of wealth in Switzerland is inherited. The inheritance and donations that accumulate annually are increasing rapidly. According to the study, it should reach a new high of 95 billion Swiss francs in 2020. For comparison: in 1999 it was still 36 billion francs.
