Compulsory portions under the new inheritance law: how much room a will has today
Since the start of 2023, Switzerland has had a revised inheritance law: the compulsory portions have become smaller, the freely disposable quota has grown. Anyone who wrote their will earlier — or has none at all — may be planning around outdated limits.
Swiss inheritance law works on two levels. Without a will, the law distributes the estate to the spouse and relatives according to fixed shares. With a will, you can deviate from that — but only up to a limit: the compulsory portions (Pflichtteil). They guarantee the closest relatives a minimum share that even the clearest will cannot take away. It is exactly at this limit that the 2023 reform made its changes.
What changed
Two changes carry the reform. First: the compulsory portion of descendants was reduced from three-quarters to half of their statutory share. Second: the compulsory portion of parents was abolished entirely — anyone who dies without descendants can now freely dispose of the share that would have gone to their parents. The compulsory portion of the spouse remained unchanged at half of the statutory share.
The result: in most constellations, the freely disposable quota has grown considerably. Anyone who leaves a spouse and children can today freely dispose of half the estate — before the reform it was three-eighths. Anyone with neither a spouse nor children can dispose of everything freely.
What the new room is used for
More room is not an end in itself. It is the tool that makes it possible to resolve real-life situations where the statutory scheme falls short: putting the surviving partner in a position to keep the shared home. Letting a cohabiting partner inherit at all. Giving a child with special needs stronger protection. Patchwork families, where "the children" don't all share the same parents. In every one of these cases, the freely disposable quota decides what is possible — and since 2023 that quota is a different one.
Old wills still apply — with new consequences
The reform did not invalidate existing wills; but they are interpreted under the new law whenever the succession opens after 1 January 2023. A phrase like "I limit my children to the compulsory portion" therefore means something different today than when it was written — the compulsory portion being invoked has become smaller. Whether that still matches the testator's original intent is something only someone who has reread their will since can know.
Calculate first, then dispose
Compulsory portions are quotas — but quotas of what? The estate itself is the result of a calculation that happens first: when a married person dies, the property regime is settled first, and only the remaining part is inherited. How large the freely disposable quota actually is in francs therefore depends on the course of the couple's wealth, on the property regime, and on the timing.
In Wealth4Life, you can run the succession through as a scenario: with the matrimonial property settlement, statutory shares, compulsory portions under current law, and a will whose bequests the model checks against the compulsory portions. This shows what the new room for maneuver actually delivers in your own case — before a professional takes over the legal implementation.