Who inherits without a will in Switzerland?
In Switzerland the spouse takes half and the children share the other half; with no children the spouse takes three quarters or all.
Updated October 2026. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.
A spouse and children survive
The spouse (or registered partner) takes one half and the children share the other half.
A spouse survives, but no children
With the parents and their descendants the spouse takes three quarters. With the grandparents' line the spouse takes three quarters as well. With no heirs from those lines the spouse takes the whole estate.
No spouse: who comes next
Children first. If there are none, the parents and their descendants, then the grandparents and their descendants. If no one is found, the estate passes to the canton or the municipality.
A partner who is not married
Registered partners are treated like spouses. An unmarried partner has no right to inherit without a will.
What a will cannot take away
The children and the spouse each have a reserved share of half of what they would inherit by law. The parents' reserved share was abolished in 2023.
If the person or the property is abroad
Switzerland does not take part in the EU Succession Regulation. Swiss law generally applies to the estate of a person who died with their last domicile in Switzerland.
Understand the legal system first
Switzerland belongs to the Civil law family. Succession law grows out of the legal tradition, so it helps to know how the system works.
Read the Switzerland legal-system profile in the Legal Families Atlas →
Who owns what in a marriage in Switzerland? →
Official sources
Take it further
The family and property rules of a European country in one PDF, with questions for a local lawyer.
A complete, editable will in Word and PDF.
Keep property out of probate, with clear fill-in fields.
How trusts work and why courts enforce them.
A short PDF reference book with self-check questions.
Support this free tool
This guide is free, and it takes a lot of careful work to build and keep up to date. If it helped you, you can leave a small contribution. No account is needed, and nothing is sold to you.
A one-time card payment through Stripe. It is a contribution, not a purchase, and it is not tax-deductible.
Other countries
AfghanistanAlbaniaAlgeriaAndorraAngolaAntigua and BarbudaArgentinaArmeniaAustraliaAustriaAzerbaijanBahamasBahrainBangladeshBarbadosBelarusBelgiumBelizeBeninBhutanBosnia and HerzegovinaBotswanaBrazilBruneiBulgariaBurkina FasoBurundiCabo VerdeCambodiaCameroonCanadaCentral African RepublicChadChileChinaColombiaComorosCôte d'IvoireCroatiaCubaCyprusCzechiaDemocratic Republic of the CongoDenmarkDjiboutiDominicaEgyptEl SalvadorEquatorial GuineaEritreaEstoniaEswatiniEthiopiaFijiFinlandFranceGabonGambiaGeorgiaGermanyGhanaGreeceGrenadaGuatemalaGuineaGuinea-BissauGuyanaHaitiHondurasHong KongHungaryIcelandIndiaIndonesiaIranIraqIrelandIsraelItalyJamaicaJapanJordanKazakhstanKenyaKiribatiKosovoKuwaitKyrgyzstanLaosLatviaLebanonLesothoLiberiaLibyaLiechtensteinLithuaniaLuxembourgMadagascarMalawiMalaysiaMaldivesMaliMaltaMarshall IslandsMauritaniaMauritiusMexicoMicronesiaMoldovaMonacoMongoliaMontenegroMoroccoMozambiqueMyanmarNamibiaNauruNepalNetherlandsNew ZealandNicaraguaNigerNigeriaNorth MacedoniaNorwayOmanPakistanPalauPalestinePanamaPapua New GuineaPeruPhilippinesPolandPortugalQatarRepublic of the CongoRomaniaRussiaRwandaSaint Kitts and NevisSaint LuciaSaint Vincent and the GrenadinesSamoaSan MarinoSão Tomé and PríncipeSaudi ArabiaSenegalSerbiaSeychellesSierra LeoneSingaporeSlovakiaSloveniaSolomon IslandsSomaliaSouth AfricaSouth KoreaSouth SudanSpainSudanSurinameSwedenSyriaTaiwanTajikistanTanzaniaThailandTimor-LesteTogoTongaTrinidad and TobagoTunisiaTurkeyTurkmenistanUgandaUkraineUnited Arab EmiratesUnited KingdomUnited StatesUzbekistanVanuatuVenezuelaYemenZambiaZimbabwe
TheLawToKnow Tools’s inheritance guide is an educational overview of general rules. It is not legal advice, and it does not replace the official source or a lawyer in the country. Report a mistake.
