Pflichtteil after the 1 January 2023 reform -- more freely disposable estate
Switzerland reformed its forced-heirship (Pflichtteil) rules under the Swiss Civil Code effective 1
January 2023. Descendants' compulsory share was reduced from three-quarters to one-half of their
statutory entitlement; the spouse's compulsory share remained at one-half; and parents' compulsory share
was abolished entirely -- siblings never had a compulsory share under Swiss law and still do not. The net
effect is that a testator with a surviving spouse and children can now freely dispose of at least half
the estate, a materially larger freely disposable portion than before the reform, giving more flexibility
for estate planning, unequal distribution among heirs, or business succession.
PILA, not Brussels IV -- Switzerland's own conflict-of-laws regime
Switzerland is not an EU or EEA member state, so the EU Succession Regulation 650/2012 (Brussels IV)
does not apply there. Instead, Switzerland applies its own Federal Act on Private International Law
(PILA/IPRG). As a default rule, the succession of a person domiciled in Switzerland at death is governed
by Swiss law -- including Swiss forced-heirship rules -- regardless of the deceased's nationality. A
foreign national resident in Switzerland may, however, elect by will or succession contract for the law
of a country of their nationality -- such as India -- to govern their succession instead, generally
allowing them to avoid Swiss compulsory shares on their estate. A further PILA succession-provision
revision, effective 1 January 2025, extended a version of this choice-of-law election to Swiss nationals
holding multiple nationalities, though Swiss nationals cannot use it to escape Swiss compulsory shares the
way a purely foreign national can.
Why Swiss succession law does not touch assets located in India
For a Switzerland-based person of Indian origin (or an Indian citizen resident in Switzerland) who
dies owning property in India, the applicable Indian succession law depends on personal law exactly as it
would for anyone else -- the Hindu Succession Act, 1956 for Hindus, Sikhs, Jains and Buddhists; Muslim
personal law for Muslims; and the Indian Succession Act, 1925 for Christians, Parsis, and those who die
leaving a valid will governing testamentary succession generally. Heirs based in Switzerland seeking to
access a deceased relative's Indian bank accounts, securities, or movable assets typically need a
Succession Certificate from the relevant Indian court (or Letters of Administration/Probate where a will
exists), and can pursue this through a Power of Attorney authorizing a representative in India, avoiding
the need to travel to India for most stages of the process.
Common mistakes NRIs in Switzerland make with succession matters:
- Not making a PILA choice-of-law election in a Swiss will, leaving Swiss forced-heirship rules to
apply by default once domiciled in Switzerland.
- Assuming the pre-2023 compulsory-share figures still apply, when the 1 January 2023 reform
materially reduced the descendants' share and abolished the parents' share.
- Delaying the Succession Certificate/Probate application, which can hold up access to Indian bank
accounts and securities for an extended period.
