- Individuals
International Matrimonial and Inheritance Law
Note: This language version is an automatically generated translation. The text may therefore contain linguistic and terminological errors.
view in original language (German)Note: This language version is an automatically generated translation. The text may therefore contain linguistic and terminological errors.
view in original language (German)What legal precautions should members of international families take before moving to Switzerland? The seminar with Kinga Weiss examines the challenges of international matrimonial and inheritance law. The seminar focuses on the recognition of foreign marriages, applicable matrimonial property law, international jurisdiction, estate planning, and the use of trusts. Legal risks and planning options are illustrated using practical case studies.
A. is a Swiss national residing in U., Canton of Lucerne. On xx/xx/2017, he married B., a Bangladeshi national. She exchanged marriage vows in the presence of witnesses before a marriage authority in Bangladesh, while A was in Switzerland and gave his consent to the marriage over the phone.
Subsequently, the marriage documents were submitted to the competent Swiss diplomatic mission in Bangladesh. The mission forwarded the files to the competent authorities of the Canton of Lucerne for review regarding the recognition of the marriage contracted abroad and its registration in the Swiss civil registry.
In a decision dated June 7, 2024, the Municipal Affairs Division of the Department of Justice and Security of the Canton of Lucerne refused to recognize and register the marriage (BGE 152 II 127, September 3, 2025).
Is this a marriage validly contracted abroad?
Paula, an Austrian national and highly successful asset manager from Vienna, has been living in Zurich since 2024. She has been married to Dominique, a French national and teacher, since 2020. The spouses were married in Vienna and lived and worked there until they moved to Switzerland together.
The spouses have neither entered into a prenuptial agreement nor chosen the applicable matrimonial property regime.
Paula now wishes to divorce Dominique.
K. had seven children from two relationships: F., G., and E. from his first marriage, and A., B., C., and D. from his relationship with I. He had been married to H. since 2017.
K. initially lived in W. (Switzerland). Later, he spent more and more time in U. (France), where his wife was living due to her deteriorating health and was being cared for by her daughters. K. continued to own an apartment and maintain economic and financial ties in Switzerland, but had also purchased an apartment in France.
His health deteriorated in 2022. On June 20, 2022, he was hospitalized in U., where he died on July 13, 2022. His wife, who was being cared for by her daughters, lived in U.
K. deliberately kept his tax situation opaque. In 2019, he reported a change of residence to his son G.’s home in V. The Vaud Tax Administration did not recognize this and assessed his taxes on a discretionary basis.
On July 13, 2022, K. died in France.
The justice of the peace in Nyon declared that she lacked jurisdiction because, according to public records, K. had been residing in V. since September 15, 2019. Upon a motion for reconsideration filed by B., she affirmed her jurisdiction. She based her decision on a body of circumstantial evidence: tax domicile, business affairs, health insurance, bank accounts, and the larger apartment. From this, she concluded that his last place of residence was in W.
The court of second instance upheld E.’s appeal and ruled that the justice of the peace lacked jurisdiction. A., B., C., and D. filed a civil appeal seeking a determination that jurisdiction lay with W. The court dismissed the appeal to the extent that it was admissible (Federal Supreme Court 5A_101/2024 of December 17, 2024).
Do Swiss authorities have international jurisdiction over the administration of estates?
John, a U.S. citizen from Florida, has been living in Zug since 2020; he is married and has two children. He wishes to plan his estate. He has bank assets in Zurich and an apartment in Miami.
Who will be responsible for administering his estate, and which law applies to his estate?
Who will be responsible for administering the estate, and which law applies to his estate?
A deceased testator was a Swiss-British dual citizen whose last place of residence was in England. He left behind a piece of real estate located in Switzerland as well as an associated bank account. In his will, he expressly stipulated that English law should apply to his entire estate; at the same time, however, he elected the jurisdiction of the Swiss authorities over the assets located in Switzerland.
A Spanish national had his last place of residence in Switzerland. Among other assets, he left behind a condominium in Madrid (Spain).
In his will, pursuant to Article 22 of the European Succession Regulation (EuErbVO), the decedent expressly chose Spanish law as the law applicable to his estate.
After his death, a Spanish notary issued a European Certificate of Succession (Certificado Sucesorio Europeo).
Is the European Certificate of Succession issued in Spain recognized in Switzerland pursuant to Art. 96 of the Swiss International Private Law Act (IPRG)?
Salome Müller (S) is 60 years old, holds German citizenship, and has been living in Switzerland for ten years. She is a successful entrepreneur and wishes to plan her estate.
She recently separated from her husband (M), who subsequently moved back to Germany. However, she does not wish to divorce at this time.
She has one child, A, with her husband, and two other children (B and C) from a previous relationship.
Because the latter two are not exactly living the high life, she wants to establish a structure to ensure the long-term security and support of B and C (and their potential children). S is considering setting up a foreign trust.
Her soon-to-be ex-husband and their child A, of course, would not be “amused” by this and could challenge this arrangement or question its validity.
Can the trust be challenged?
