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Around 40-50% of all marriages in Switzerland are divorced. On the positive side, the rate is tending to fall. Does that mean you have to be negative about marriage? Not at all. Should we be aware of the statistics and think about them? In our opinion, definitely!
We would therefore like to present the unpleasant topic of divorce and prenuptial agreements to Swiss citizens in a simple and understandable way.
A divorce is already unpleasant enough. It is therefore important to consider the possible consequences in advance. A prenuptial agreement can also help in the event of the death of one of the partners.
Find out exactly what that looks like in today's post.
Before we talk about the prenuptial agreement, we should briefly talk about the division of property. This is the form of property division without a prenuptial agreement.
The share of acquisitions means that everything that is earned within the marriage is shared. Assets that were earned BEFORE the marriage still belong to the respective partner in the event of a subsequent separation.
Example 1A woman marries a man without a marriage contract. During her marriage, she inherits a house. She then separates from her husband after 10 years. The value of the house is attributed to the woman because an inheritance/gift is not counted as an acquisition (keyword own property).
Example 2: A married couple saves and buys a house together. They got married without a special contract and live happily together. One partner dies. Now the joint children/grandchildren are entitled to 50% of the inheritance. Since they insist on their share, the still living partner now has to sell the house to be able to pay the inheritance.
Example 3: A woman inherits a house before her marriage. She later marries without a marriage contract and then separates from her husband after 10 years. The house remains in her possession. Everything that was earned during the marriage is divided.
Please note in this post the simplification of the topic! The purpose is to raise awareness of the topic of divorce / inheritance from a financial point of view. In detail, the issues are far more complex and should be discussed with a lawyer or notary.
Examples 1 and 2 in the above chapter clearly show what can happen if no contractual arrangement has been agreed. Without a prenuptial agreement, the share in the acquired property applies. With a prenuptial agreement, this can be changed.
By means of a marriage contract it can be stipulated that assets which were earned BEFORE the marriage are also divided in the event of separation. The man from example 3 would therefore receive a share of the wife's assets/house. This is referred to as a Community of property.
More often, however, the so-called Separation of property is used. Here it is stipulated that each spouse manages his or her own assets and that these remain strictly separate. Assets that were brought into the marriage and assets that were generated during the marriage always belong to the respective partner.
Divorce is just one instance of how a marriage can be broken up. Above we have in the Example 2 already mentioned what can happen in the event of the death of a partner. Especially when assets are concentrated / not liquid in a marriage, a contract (also a contract of inheritance, will) can help. Because typical cases are the already mentioned home ownership, through the Home. The illiquid (non-liquid) value of the house here is 50% payable to the heirs of the deceased upon death. If children or grandchildren insist on their share, difficulties often arise in the payment of the inheritance. It is not uncommon for the home to have to be sold for this purpose.
The situation is similar for Entrepreneurs who bequeath a company. Under certain circumstances, there are payment obligations or other liabilities that must then be covered by the remaining partner. Furthermore, a company often represents a high value. Similar to the case of a home, the corresponding funds must be raised in order to pay out the heirs.
The remedy is a previously drawn up marriage contract in which, for example, the Spouse maximum beneficiary can be made. Especially if the assets were brought into the marriage very unilaterally by one person, a community of property in the marriage contract makes sense. This means that in the event of death, the other partner is entitled to all the assets and not just the part that was earned during the marriage. The topic of inheritance law is even more complex, especially if you want to protect the inheritance of your children or pursue other goals. If you want more info on this, please leave a message below in the comments.
Prenuptial agreement Switzerland is researched relatively often, yet people don't necessarily seem to like talking about it - at least that's our impression. We think that a prenuptial agreement is not bad per se. You should take a close look at your personal situation and talk about it openly with your spouse. Even years after marriage, a contract can still be made. No matter whether you want to benefit your spouse as much as possible, protect your home or protect your children from risks - this and much more is possible in a Swiss prenuptial agreement!
The marriage contract must be notarised in order to be valid. Since we had to make some simplifications as mentioned above, please be sure to check the details with a lawyer or notary if you want to draw up a marriage contract, a contract of inheritance or a will to regulate the subject.
What else are you missing on the subject? Do you conclude a marriage contract and if not, why not?
Leave us a comment there!
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8 Responses
I was looking for an appropriate clarification for marriage contract or prenup. Much appreciated, administrator for sharing such awesome substance on this theme. Presently I have all I require about it. Here's another enlightening substance for reginafamilylawyers. com/marriage-contract-or-prenup/ Marriage Contract or Prenup . You will get well-informed data about it here.
dou have english website for finanzfabio . ch
cos i will be marrying in Switzerland in 2021.
want to know more .
Hey Amy
why for Finanzfabio? Did he write a similar article?
The whole Schwiizerfranke.com website is available in English also - including this aricle. Just switch the language on the top of the website.
Here is the link for the English article:
https://www.schwiizerfranke.com/en/ehevertrag-schweiz
By the way, what you can't regulate in a marriage contract in Switzerland is alimony and maintenance payments in Switzerland. So it is of no use if one party earns much more than the other.
In the event of death, you still need an inheritance contract, not only the marriage contract. Furthermore, you can also mix the matrimonial property regimes for individual things. So you can have a share in the inheritance and exclude your wife from it.
It would also be important to note that the income from the personal property is also a share in the acquired property. So if I own an investment property before marriage (own property) and have rental income for 10 years, the money does not belong to me alone, but to both spouses.
Thanks for the extra tip Fabio 🙂 .
In the example with the house inheritance, there needs to be an inheritance contract where the children renounce the inheritance during the lifetime of both parents. They only inherit when the second parent also dies. This way, the value of the house does not have to be divided during the lifetime and the surviving person does not have to sell the house.
Such an inheritance contract can be extremely important, especially if one of the children has a manipulative parter who wants the money.
Correct, thank you so much for your input Helga 🙂 .