Swiss will will be valid in the foreign inheritance procedure at least as to its form. Bilateral conventions between Switzerland and other countries should be examined in this respect before establishing the bill. What law is applicable in the Swiss inheritance procedure? In principle, Swiss law is applicable to the Swiss inheritance procedure. However, the foreign national may pronounce a ‘professio iuris’ in his Swiss will submitting his inheritance to the law of his national state, even if the inheritance procedure takes place in Switzerland. This will avoid the application of the compulsory portion (see below) in the Swiss inheritance procedure, leaving the foreign national free to dispose of his assets to whom he wants, an outcome accepted by the Swiss Federal Court. (Art. 90 al.2 Federal Act on International Private Law) (Swiss Federal Court Decision, 102 II 136) Furthermore, the ‘professio iuris’ will avoid the application of several laws to an inheritance if the inheritance procedure takes place in several countries, thus avoiding incoherencies and supplementary costs. Nevertheless, it must first be determined if the law of the national state concerned accepts a ‘professio iuris’ and under what conditions it is accepted. (Art. 90 al. 2 Federal Act on International Private Law) What kinds of disposition are permitted under the Swiss law of inheritance? Public Will (Art. 499 Swiss Civil Code) The testator mandates a notary public THOUGHT LEADER 57 The purpose of the revision of the more than 100-yearold Swiss law of inheritance is to enable the law to embrace today’s new forms of life and relationships.
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