Case studies, slides and detailed solution notes from the workshop held by Robert Desax and Urs Christ on October 28, 2025 on the occasion of the ISIS seminar "Gratuitous asset transfers in tax law".
Note: This language version is an automatically generated translation. The text may therefore contain linguistic and terminological errors.
view in original language (German)On September 7, 2022, Susanne Klein, a resident of the city of Schaffhausen (SH), passed away. She left her godson, Leo Gross, as her sole heir. No other persons were named as beneficiaries. Her estate consists of the following:
Assets
Securities and bank balances CHF 1,000,000
Single-family home in Fehraltorf (ZH) CHF 2,000,000
Liabilities: Lump-sum
funeral expenses CHF 12,000
Debts incurred during her lifetime: CHF 88,000
The value of the single-family home is the fair market value as of the date of death. The corresponding wealth tax value amounts to CHF 1,000,000. The relevant apportionment factor for the Canton of Zurich is 115%.
On September 1, 2021, Peter Keller, who had been residing in Uster, died. He left his wife, Petra Keller, as his heir. In his will dated January 1, 2015, he bequeathed his estate to his wife as the initial heir. He appointed his nephew, Sven Becker, as the reversionary heir to the remainder of the estate upon her death. In his will, he formulated this as follows:
“My estate goes to my wife Petra. Upon her death, I appoint Sven Becker as reversionary heir.”
On August 7, 2024, Petra Keller transferred CHF 1,000,000 from her late husband’s preliminary bequest to the reversionary heir, Sven Becker.
Ms. A was a widow and passed away in 2020, with her last place of residence in the Canton of Zurich. In her will, she named Foundation B in the Principality as the beneficiary of the movable assets held at Bank C. She had established the foundation 20 years earlier. In the foundation’s bylaws, Ms. A had designated herself as the first and (during her lifetime) sole beneficiary. She also secured a right of revocation and entered into a mandate agreement with the foundation board.
The secondary beneficiaries upon her death were her three children. They knew nothing of the foundation and were not intended to serve on the board of trustees. The children’s statutory shares were not infringed upon. Each of the children (or, in the event of their predecease, their respective descendants) was to receive CHF 1 million from the foundation upon reaching the age of 35. The remaining balance was to be donated to Foundation X, which is tax-exempt in the Canton of Zurich due to its charitable status. Thereafter, the foundation was to be dissolved. The children all live in the Canton of Zurich.
A (widowed) lives in Vaduz (FL). His two children (daughter B and son C) live in the city of X in Switzerland. A owns a property in the city of X, which he purchased in 2010 for CHF 2 million.
In 2020, A makes an advance on inheritance to his children. As a set-off against their share of the inheritance, he transfers to them the property in X, which is now worth CHF 3 million, as well as cash assets of CHF 3 million. The property is not mortgaged. No value-enhancing expenditures have been made since 2010. The property is now jointly owned by B and C (simple partnership BC).
In 2024, B takes over the entire property and buys out C. The property is now worth CHF 3.6 million. They enter into a “partition agreement” for this purpose and have it notarized. B transfers CHF 1.8 million to her brother. In return, the simple partnership BC is dissolved and B becomes the sole owner.
