This post is based on my recent (and continuing) experience. Hopefully it can help someone else navigate what is a very stressful and confusing time, and others will share their experiences too. All of this is based on my own experience, and it could be a bit different from canton to canton. I’ll try to break this down into a few posts.
The death
The local authorities must be notified within 2 days of a death.
If the death happens in a care home or hospital, that entity informs the local authorities.
If the death happens at home, do not disturb the body or alter the scene. Call the GP/Hausarzt to come and certify the death.
If you find a body, do not disturb the body or alter the scene. Call the police.
Transport
If the death happens in a care home or hospital, that entity usually arranges for transport of the body to the local funeral home.
If the death happens at home, the next of kin or a designee needs to arrange for transport.
I don’t know what happens in an accident or when a body has been found, but I suspect the police arrange for transport and contact the next of kin.
The body
The funeral home prepares the body for any viewing, funeral, burial or repatriation. It can coordinate with the local crematorium and with the local religious official, should the family ask for those services. Note that if one has not declared an “approved” religion when registering, the local religious entity may charge for its services.
Embalming is not generally done in Switzerland, but will likely be done before any repatriation due to various laws. I believe that if someone dies abroad and wants his/her remains repatriated to Switzerland, the body must have been embalmed.
Similarly, autopsies are not generally performed unless there are specific reasons and it’s requested by either the authorities or the next of kin.
In my recent experience, the first on scene called the paramedics. They confirmed the death but could not certify it. Nor could they leave the body alone. The GP was called. It took a few hours for the GP to arrive, so that was a particularly odd and stressful time, being in the home with the paramedics and the body. The GP provided a certificate certifying the date and approximate time of death, and the cause.
The funeral home director met with us after the GP left. He took the certifying document to provide to the authorities along with whatever paperwork he provides. We covered boring formalities that the authorities would need, as well as personal wishes for the body and any services.
The minister met with us the day after the death and asked for the Lebenslauf (sort of like what the Americans would call an obituary) and other details we would want shared in a service. That included scriptures, songs, poems, etc.
Notifications
We notified family and friends using a mix of phone calls and emails. We also posted a traditional notice in the local newspaper.
Funeral/Memorial
From what I’ve learned, funerals/memorials are often held within a week of the death. In our case, the municipality has a non-denominational facility where all memorials/funerals are held. It’s adjacent to the cemetery. There was a viewing area as part of the facility. The family could visit and view the deceased. If the family did not wish for other people to view or pay respects in that way, it was provided with a key to lock the door. The viewing area was connected to the memorial hall with a lift, whereby the coffin was raised into the memorial area for the service and lowered back down after.
A container is placed near the exit of the memorial hall, so that those who have paid their respects leave can make donations to a special cause designated by the family.
Many municipalities have local cemeteries. These generally include family plots for burials of multiple individuals, single or double plots (such as for couples) that allow both coffins and urns, and plots solely for urns. These plots are generally rented from the municipality for a period of 25–60 years, depending on the type of plot. After the rental time has elapsed for all plots in a specific zone of the cemetery, a notice is posted and the stones and graves are removed. The land is left without burials for some years, and then reused. There is sometimes also a communal area for cremains with name plaques along a wall.
In the services I’ve been to, those being buried in a coffin were lowered into the ground shortly after the memorial ceremony. Those being buried in an urn were cremated following the memorial service and the inurnment was later. Following the memorial and/or burial, the family invites everyone to lunch at a nearby restaurant.
Repatriation
We didn’t encounter this, but were informed that should we want to repatriate the remains to another country, the body must be embalmed and the remains sealed in an approved metal container and accompanied by a fair amount of paperwork.
Initial costs – Dying is not cheap in Switzerland
None of the above was free, except for the minister because the deceased was registered with the church. The paramedics, doctor and funeral home charged for their time and every supply. The coffin, lining, flowers for the viewing, etc. were another charge. The coffin was cremated with the body, and cremation was yet another cost. The municipality charged for the death certificate.
The funeral home director kindly gave us a checklist of legal notifications we’d need to handle. The list included banks, rental agency, phone company, internet, insurances, social help, AHV, RAV, etc. Of course not everything on the list applies to every situation. Note that in Switzerland, even death doesn’t release someone from a rental contract. The next of kin still must follow the notice period specified in the contract.
The Sealing Protocol (Siegelungsprotokoll)
Within about 30 days after the death, the municipality contacts the next of kin for the “sealing protocol”. This will probably vary by canton. Bern has a PDF if you’d like to see the kinds of things the authorities want to know. The purpose is to have a clear picture of all assets and liabilities as of the date of death, including things like jewelry, coins, cash, stocks, etc. Change the language to FR if the French version is more helpful. Nothing we had was actually sealed off as in police tape or anything. However, I can imagine that if one lived in a shared flat, the room might be sealed.
Opening of the will (if there is one)
Apparently, in Switzerland the “opening of the will” is a boring formality as opposed to a reading like you might know from other countries. The notary will send a registered letter to all heirs with relevant information. That’s considered the “opening”.
A will is not mandatory, but can be helpful. The law in Switzerland is pretty clear about who the heirs are, and even with a will, one cannot generally disinherit spouse or children.
Edit - I’ll add more information tomorrow. That’s it for today.
That is another difference between towns in various Cantons.
Four years ago a Swiss relative died in Canton Thurgau and I got to organise the funeral.
The only cost was a couple hundred francs because the family wanted a different urn for the ashes.
If one is a Swiss citizen and resident in Switzerland at the time of death, Swiss law applies regardless of any other will. That doesn’t mean the other will is completely disregarded. It only means that any bits which conflict with Swiss law are not followed. For example, if the person wrote a will outside Switzerland that disinherits a child, that bit would not be honored by the Swiss for any assets located here (except in very specific circumstances).
I thought I might start a separate thread on inheritance at some point to share those experiences. But if people think that info could be useful in the same place, I can add it here at some point.
And yes, costs can vary. My experience was that the municipality didn’t offer anything for free or discount. However, the costs were reasonable and not inflated. The cremation here cost half of what it would in my home area in the USA.
One other point is you can opt not to inherit here when you are eligible, for example, if you know the deceased only had debts but then you are still liable to pay the funeral costs if there are not sufficient funds available from the deceased.
In addition, if an heir isn’t certain about assets vs. liabilities, a “public” inventory can be requested. A notary then conducts research to clarify the situation before the heir decides whether to accept or reject the inheritance. From what I understand, since this is not mandatory it is not free. However, I’m not clear whether all heirs share the cost, or only the one(s) who request the inventory. Google says such an inventory can cost into the thousands of Francs depending on the work required.
Depending on how accurate one requires the inventory.
I had a Swiss friend whose sister died who owned a top of the line Mercedes limousine and a Schloss, he was expecting a tidy sum but quickly found she was millions in debt.
In his case an overview was adequate.
I should clarify the above. The certificate from the GP is not the official “death certificate”. It’s preliminary paperwork. The official death certificate was issued by the municipality. From what I understand, the order of our paperwork was something like this:
Certification of time/date of death with cause (GP/hospital/whatever) > Funeral home > municipality of residence > regional office of the canton > canton > municipality of residence > official death certificate issued to the official contact for the heirs (not the executor).
The official death certificate was required for a number of notifications, but all of them accepted photocopies that were attached to registered letters.
That sounds like what we have been told is the official “inheritance certificate”. It hasn’t arrived yet, but we were told to expect a month or two wait depending on how busy the notary’s office is, how much staff they have, and possibly summer holidays!
Paying Bills
This is what I know so far…updates to follow.
The banking relationship ends upon death and all accounts are frozen. That includes any power of attorney over an account, as the POA agreement ceases to exist when one party dies. I believe a joint account is only temporarily blocked. Any loans continue to accrue interest and have payments due, but the executor should deal with those in time. Similarly, dividends and interest also accrue but are not able to be accessed while everything is frozen.
We were asked to choose an official contact person amongst the heirs. This is not the same as the executor. It’s just a point of contact in the interim. We didn’t know it at the time, but that person then is the lucky recipient of all information letters and bills related to the death and formalities thereafter, including bills for the administrative and funeral costs. I recommend having a decent cash reserve (10K at least) to pay those bills.
Or, ensure your loved one has a sufficient balance in the bank. The contact person can request an advance from the bank to cover funeral costs. Some banks also have forms which can be used to submit bills that arrived immediately before the death or are related to it. The bank then pays those bills directly. Any bills that arrive after the death but which are not related to it (such as rent) is not paid or reimbursed by the bank. Instead, individuals that pay bills related to the estate should keep all receipts and proof of payment to submit to the executor for reimbursement.
We’ve been told that most landlords are understanding if you let them know up front that you’ll be behind on rent payments until the inheritance comes through (assuming of course that the inheritance has a positive balance!)
Wow @3Wishes, the complete guide, worth reading, as we had to go through the process, and if you don’t know it, it can become very expensive and time consuming.
Remember also that if the person lives in a house, it has to be ‘kept to standards’, i.e. during the time when/where inheritance and admin procedures are finalized, the garden must be cared for, (or the neighbors will complain). Worth also checking on an ongoing basis the letterbox, because the person might have been subscribed / member of clubs that you are not aware of, and all the subscriptions need to be cancelled…before they start issuing subscription renewal invoices.
