The concept of hereditary reserve

The concept of hereditary reserve
Legal adviceFamilyWills and inheritance

"In these columns on 26 and 27 January, an unfortunate cross-over occurred in the batch of questions I receive in abundance from Tribune readers. While thanking you for your assiduous interest in my column, I must provide you with further information on the legal concepts that led me to give you, quite unintentionally, overly strict advice on how to exclude a relative from his or her inheritance."

Angel, in Bernex, wanted to know how to disinherit his brother, while Nicole, in Geneva, wanted to know how to disinherit her father. We published Angel's question and answered that of Nicole. However, the procedure is not necessarily the same for these two parents. My apologies to those of you who were concerned that you may not have planned your estate properly.

Under Swiss law, everyone is entitled to dispose of his or her property in the event of death, provided that the reserves of three categories of heirs are not affected: descendants, parents and the surviving spouse. This reserve consists of a proportion of the inheritance fixed by law in the absence of provisions by the deceased. This means that brothers and sisters are not reservatory heirs, which means that anyone can decide not to leave them anything as an inheritance. A simple written, dated and signed will is sufficient. Setting out in this will the grounds for disinheritance explained in my previous column also makes it possible to achieve this result, but in an unnecessarily complicated way that is a source of family tension. On the other hand, excluding a rightful heir from the succession necessarily involves recourse to such a procedure.

This is a good time to remember that inheritance law contains some important formalities, so it's wise to seek specialist advice to avoid the risk of dispositions mortis causa being annulled by the courts after a dispute between heirs. The Chambre des notaires (022 310 72 70) and the Ordre des Avocats (022 310 50 65) can help you with any specific questions you may have.