I fear eviction
I fear eviction
"I'm divorced and my new boyfriend is separated from his wife, but not divorced. We live together in a house that he inherited from his parents. If my friend dies (he has no children), who will inherit his house? What chance do I have of being left out in the cold?
Marianne, Petit-Lancy
In the light of your question, I assume that your friend and his wife are married under the regime of separation of property or participation in acquests and that the house inherited from his parents is therefore your friend's own property.
As long as the marriage lasts, your friend's wife remains his heir. As your friend has no children and his parents are deceased, your friend's wife would be entitled to his entire estate (art. 462 of the Civil Code) if he died, unless he had reduced his wife's share by will or by inheritance agreement. In all cases, his wife would at least be entitled to her "reserve", which is equivalent to half of her inheritance rights (art. 471 CC). Therefore, your friend currently only has the option of leaving you his house without restricting his wife's right of inheritance if he has substantial assets, at least equivalent to the value of his property.
In the event of your friend's death as things stand, the new owner of the house, presumably his wife, would be entitled to demand that you vacate the premises immediately under the rules on possession (art. 926 et seq. CC), unless you can rely on a personal right, such as a tenancy agreement. Logically, however, it is considered that a person does not have a tenancy agreement - even a tacit one - with his or her live-in partner, if only because he or she does not pay rent.
If, on the other hand, you had signed an open-ended lease with your cohabiting partner as landlord, the usual rules relating to the lease contract would apply in the event of your friend's death, and you could only be given notice of termination in accordance with the standards applicable to all tenants (art. 560 of the Swiss Civil Code and art. 253 et seq. of the Swiss Code of Obligations).
