At least 30% of the total offshore wealth is managed in Switzerland. If you inherited an offshore bank account the probability that your inheritance money is in Switzerland is 30%. Discover how to access the Swiss bank account of a deceased parent.

Avoid 4 typical mistakes of non-resident clients with Swiss banks. You will learn how to claim inheritance money from a Swiss bank account after death. Subsequently, we will transfer your inheritance money to a new Swiss bank account in your name.

1. Misconceptions with Swiss banks
2. Mistake No. 1: Asking the bank to transfer the inheritance money fast
3. Mistake No. 2: Not asking for bank account information
4. Mistake No. 3: Disregarding the bank account’s history
5. Mistake No. 4: Having family disputes
6. What kind of Swiss bank account inheritance documents do you need?
7. What are the formal requirements?
8. Swiss inheritance tax for non-residents?

Autor: Enzo Caputo
Banking Lawyer since: 1986

Position: Founder & CEO of the
Boutique Law Firm Caputo & Partners

Updated on: 26.04.2023

After multiple discussions with foreign clients, I realized several misconceptions about Swiss banks. Contrary to popular opinion, Swiss banks are not running after the heirs to distribute the money. Here is the truth. The Swiss bank is not a judge. Immediately after knowing that the account holder passed away, the bank will freeze the account and keep it frozen. That’s it.

Swiss bankers have no interest in sending money away from their Swiss banks. Swiss bankers want to keep the funds in the bank as long as possible making money out of it. They want to keep the heirs as their new clients. Their job is to earn money. Do you know the worst-case scenario for a Swiss banker? The worst-case scenario is when the money leaves the Swiss bank after the decease of the account holder.

If you want to keep the Swiss bank as your friend, you have to avoid the following mistake. Mistake number one is to tell the bank that you need the money urgently, for example, to buy your house of dreams. Don’t do that. The bank will not cooperate with you. They will keep the money frozen.

As long as the bank has duly identified not all heirs, they will not give access to the money. It’s much better if the bank believes that the money remains with it for the next decade. Tell the bank that you do not need the money. You will see that the bank will be more gentle and cooperative with you in handling the transfer of assets.

Mistake number two is that many heirs don’t know that just one heir has the right of accessing all bank account information, including the history of the account with all transactions. It happens frequently that banks refuse to disclose information to a single heir. This is illegal.

Here is the truth about the legal situation. Every single heir is entitled to receive the full Swiss bank account information. Based on my long experience collected with offshore inheritance money, I strongly advise you to invest some time and check the history of transactions.

Mistake number three is disregarding the Swiss bank account’s history. Check the history of the bank account carefully. Let’s do it together. Often, the history of transactions reveals the trace to the existence of additional offshore accounts. We are very familiar with the history of old offshore accounts. We will analyze the history of the account together with you.

Sometimes, we discover unexpected transactions to unexpected beneficiaries. Don’t miss this opportunity. You have to ask for it. You have the right to inspection. You have to claim your right from the bank. You have the right to see all sorts of documents. For accessing the bank account, all the heirs need to be identified by the bank based on their passport and their physical presence.

The bank will finally allow the transfer only subject to commonly signed transfer instructions. Commonly means the transfer instruction must be signed by all heirs. If one heir does not sign (for whatever reason) the account remains frozen. It’s very important that all heirs are in agreement. The bank will never take the risk of distributing the money to the wrong beneficiaries. The bank is not in hurry to transfer the funds. The bank is cooperative as long the heirs are in agreement.

Disputes among members of the family are quite frequent. They can cost a lot of money. It happens quite often that a family member obstacles to the inheritance procedure. If just one heir is not cooperating with the others, the bank has no interest in solving the family dispute. In such a situation, a good lawyer can make miracles convincing all family members to cooperate. Strong cooperation will save a lot of money.

The Swiss bank account remains frozen until all the heirs find an agreement. Therefore, it is very important that all heirs are in agreement during the negotiations with the bank. It is the job of a good lawyer to cool down the emotions among the family members.

For obtaining access to the inheritance of a Swiss bank account you must provide the following documents:

The Certificate of Inheritance shows the personal details of the legal heirs. This is important for countries with forced heirship rules (all countries in continental Europe). If one heir is not available or missing, if one is not cooperating with the negotiations with the bank, the bank will not transfer a cent. If you are the beneficiary of an offshore trust or family foundation, the succession rules are much different. They must be compliant with the applicable legislation in the competent offshore jurisdiction. The right to inspect the file is much more restricted compared to a Swiss bank account inheritance.

The exact name of the inheritance document depends on the applicable jurisdiction. The competent jurisdiction for the inheritance is the jurisdiction at the last residence of the deceased account holder.

I help you to open the best bank account with the safest Swiss bank. In case you have problems assembling the correct documents, I will help you. If somebody can’t travel to Switzerland, I will negotiate a solution with the bank. If you have problems obtaining a visa for Switzerland, I will issue an Invitation Letter to file with immigration. Let me negotiate with the competent Swiss immigration authorities if you have an exotic passport causing immigration issues.

How I gave the inheritance of a Swiss bank account to a lady living in Bagdad, Iraq

I solved a case of inheritance involving a very old lady. She was living in Bagdad, Iraq. It was impossible for the lady to travel to Switzerland. She was too old. We agreed with the Swiss bank to delegate the identification procedure to a general of the US Army. The general made a very good job acting as a notary public. He identified the lady. The bank did a good job accepting the certification done by the general.

You see, there is always a solution. Sometimes, you need to come up with creative and inventive solutions. If the Swiss bank account has been opened many years ago there is a risk that the funds are not tax-compliant that means black money. The old generation of clients had a mentality based on strict secrecy. They didn’t trust their own government. They grow up during WWII. They made the money after WWII.

Old clients, particularly those who are not supported by professional advisers, are not aware of the consequences of the Automatic Exchange of Information and the Common Reporting Standard. They still believe Swiss banking secrecy is still applicable as it was before. As we know, Swiss banking secrecy still exists today for the protection of privacy but not anymore for protecting tax evasion.

If you inherited an offshore bank account in the name of an offshore company, for example, a British Virgin Island company, you have to find out if the funds have been taxed. To get out of the black money trap, all heirs must be united and act coordinated. All heirs should legalize the funds with the tax agency at the place of residence of the heirs. Tax compliance is imperative.

The accounts of non-resident clients are not taxed in Switzerland. Many accounts with so-called black money, or better “tax-neutral money”, has been discovered by the tax agencies because the heirs did not cooperate. If one heir declares and the other does not, the tax agency will become wind. The penalties are very serious. Criminal law will be applicable. The result can be confiscation of the assets and prison time. Remember: Al Capone, the most famous mobster of Chicago, faced a prison sentence of 11 years for tax evasion and not for other crimes.

Depending on the competent jurisdiction, there are different ways to legalize the assets. During the last 7 years, we have legalized a few hundred bank accounts with the Voluntary Disclosure procedure. We help you to legalize your money. Give us a call before it will be too late. The penalties are very high in certain jurisdictions. We have seen cases where the assets on the account were not sufficient to pay the fines.

If you have a specific question about a Swiss bank account, call us immediately. We will discuss your issue free of charge. You can also send an email. Write your specific question and I will respond within 24 hours. If you have a very confidential question you would like to discuss with me only, write me an email or book a free telephone consultation with me now. It’s never too early to solve a problem but often too late. Be rich and stay rich. Have a wonderful day.