A wire transfer is safer, the fee, if any, is minimal from UBS, (the fees should be charged to the US bank) and cheques are just difficult and expensive to process here.
You need to declare the inheritance here (it will fall under assets) so you will need supporting information from the estate, which specifically mentions your relationship to the deceased.
I inherited the money from a friend so not a relative. I've read online that the tax here in Switzerlandcan be upwards to 20% in this case..can it be? I am living in Zürich at the moment
If you are transferring a large sum of money, it may be worth investigating the difference in exchange rates between what UBS will offer you and what you could get yourself by transferring the money to your US account and using www.currencyfair.com (or similar) to do the international transfer.
Not sure how the tax office would be able to find out... unless it is an awesome sum of cash. On the tax form your fortune would suddenly increase unless you spend it before the end of the year.
We've transferred in various amounts on a couple of occasions. Never have we been asked where it came from. Our 'wealth' increased and they just seemed content to tax us on the higher amount.
However, your mileage may vary ... Or kilometrage ...
The CU I use in the US, does not charge wire fees, and there are no foreign transaction fees on debit card transactions. I set a high daily withdraw limit $3000, so it easy to pull cash out of the ATM machines. Not only in CH but anywhere.
Moving money costs money, the more people you involve the more it tends to cost. Good luck!
K-Geld answered the question of whether an heir in Switzerland to an inheritance from abroad would be taxed in Switzerland. The answer is no (translation):
"Inheritance from abroad: Do I have to pay taxes here?
My mother has left me around € 45‘000. The inheritance tax is deducted in her native Holland. Do I have to pay inheritance tax again in Zurich?
No. Inheritances are taxed at the testator's domicile - in your case in the Netherlands. In Switzerland, however, you must declare the inheritance in the tax declaration as assets and then pay the asset tax. If you earn interest on the assets, it will be subject to income tax."
Depending on the amount involved, it may be better to ask your Swiss bank to open a USD account, which will have a separate IBAN. The money can be transferred in as USD and the you can ask the bank to do the FX transaction which should get a better rate than if it happens automatically during the transfer.