Start here01
Relocation & lump-sum taxation
Moving to Switzerland on an expenditure-based tax basis: choosing the canton, negotiating the lump-sum agreement, and the residence permit and practicalities that come with it.
Explore relocationPrivate clients
& trusts in Switzerland
For international individuals and families, Switzerland offers stability, discretion and real tax planning — if the structure is built correctly. We advise on relocation and lump-sum taxation, foundations and trusts, succession and estate planning, and the family-office and banking arrangements that hold a family's wealth together across borders.
What we advise on
The Swiss structure for a family, its wealth and its succession.
Most clients start with relocation, a foundation, or a succession question. Begin with yours.
Services in detail
Eight private-client services — for international families.
From an expenditure-based tax agreement to a foundation or trust, with the succession and banking that complete the picture.
The vehicle02
Swiss foundation
Setting up a Swiss foundation (Stiftung) for philanthropy or wealth holding: deed, endowment, purpose and, where charitable, tax exemption.
Explore this serviceCross-border03
Trusts & trustee services
Foreign-law trusts administered from Switzerland by FINMA-supervised trustees: structuring, governing-law coordination and connection to licensed trustee services.
Explore this serviceThe next generation04
Succession & estate planning
Wills, marital-property agreements and structures that handle forced heirship, choice of law and cantonal inheritance tax across a cross-border family.
Explore this serviceCoordination05
Family office
Centralising entities, investments, reporting and governance for a family, sized from outsourced administration to a staffed Swiss entity, with the licence question settled first.
Explore this serviceAccess06
Swiss bank account
Introductions to the right Swiss bank for your profile, and the source-of-wealth file that gets the account opened rather than declined.
Explore this serviceGiving07
Philanthropy & charitable foundation
Establishing a tax-exempt charitable foundation, or a structured giving programme, with the governance and reporting Swiss supervision expects.
Explore this serviceThe whole picture08
Wealth structuring
Bringing entities, holdings, residence and succession into one coherent structure: efficient, defensible, and built to survive a generational handover.
Explore this service
The move
Moving to Switzerland — residence, tax, structure.
Relocating to Switzerland is three decisions, not one. There is the residence permit: its route depends on your nationality and whether you will work here. There is the tax basis, ordinary taxation, or expenditure-based (lump-sum) taxation if you qualify and do not take up Swiss employment. And there is the structure: what happens to your existing companies, holdings and succession once your residence changes. Get them in the right order and the move is clean; get the tax basis wrong and it follows you for years.
| Decision | The choice | Turns on |
|---|---|---|
| Residence permit | Work / non-work route | Nationality & activity |
| Tax basis | Ordinary vs lump-sum | Employment & canton |
| Inheritance tax | Cantonal, by relationship | Canton of residence |
| Existing structures | Keep, move or restructure | New residence & CFC rules |
None of this is a form-filling exercise. The canton you choose drives the lump-sum threshold, the inheritance-tax exposure and the day-to-day rate, so it is a decision to model before you commit. We run the relocation, the tax basis and the structure as one plan, with the cantonal tax modelling behind it.
The structure has to move with you
Changing residence changes how your companies and assets are taxed, sometimes dramatically, through controlled-foreign-company and exit rules in the country you leave. We coordinate the personal move with the corporate and tax side so the structure follows the person, rather than creating an unplanned tax event.
Authoritative sources: federal information on taxes and residence is at ch.ch, and the statutes are consolidated at fedlex.admin.ch.
Related
Around private wealth
The numbers
Tax & accounting
Cantonal effective-rate modelling, rulings and the tax side of relocation and structuring.
Tax & accountingIf licensed
Financial regulation
Where a family office or trustee activity crosses into FINMA-supervised territory.
Financial regulationWho you work with
The firm
A Swiss fiduciary practice running since 2014, discreet, multilingual, and used to cross-border families.
About the firm
FAQ
Private clients & trusts, answered.
01What is Swiss lump-sum taxation?
Lump-sum taxation (Pauschalbesteuerung, or expenditure-based taxation) lets qualifying foreign nationals who move to Switzerland and do not work here be taxed on their living expenditure rather than worldwide income and wealth. The tax base is negotiated with the canton, subject to federal and cantonal minimums. It suits wealthy individuals relocating without taking up Swiss employment. Not every canton offers it, and the thresholds vary, so the choice of canton matters. We model it before you move.
02Can a foreigner set up a Swiss foundation?
Yes. A Swiss foundation (Stiftung) is a well-established vehicle for philanthropy and, in family form, for succession and wealth holding. It is created by notarised deed, endowed with assets dedicated to a defined purpose, and, for charitable foundations, can obtain tax exemption. Family foundations are more restricted in Switzerland than abroad, which is where a trust or a foreign structure may fit better. We advise which vehicle achieves your purpose under Swiss law.
03Does Switzerland recognise trusts?
Switzerland does not have its own trust law, but it recognises foreign trusts under the Hague Trust Convention, which it ratified, and Swiss-based professional trustees administer them under FINMA supervision. So you can have a trust governed by a foreign law administered from Switzerland by a licensed Swiss trustee. We structure the trust, coordinate the governing law, and connect you with supervised trustee services.
04How does Swiss inheritance work for foreigners?
Swiss succession law gives certain heirs forced-heirship protection, but foreign nationals resident in Switzerland can, within limits, elect their national law to govern their estate. Cross-border estates raise questions of applicable law, forced heirship and inheritance tax, which varies by canton and relationship. Planning ahead, through wills, marital-property agreements and structures, avoids the conflict and the tax that an unplanned estate attracts. We build the plan around your family and assets.
05Is there inheritance or gift tax in Switzerland?
There is no federal inheritance or gift tax; it is levied at cantonal level, and the rate depends heavily on the relationship. Transfers to a spouse are exempt in every canton, and transfers to direct descendants are exempt or very low in most. More distant relationships and unrelated beneficiaries can face meaningful rates. Because it is cantonal, the planning answer depends on where you and the beneficiaries are resident, which we factor into the structure.
06What does setting up a family office involve?
A family office centralises the administration of a family's wealth (entities, investments, reporting, governance and succession) in one coordinated structure. In Switzerland it can be as light as outsourced administration or as substantial as a staffed Swiss entity, and if it manages third-party (including wider-family) assets it may need a FINMA licence. We design it to the family's scale and confirm whether it falls inside financial regulation before it is built.
07Can you help me open a Swiss bank account?
We make introductions to Swiss banks and prepare the file that gets an account opened: identity, source of wealth and the rationale a Swiss bank now requires. We do not control the bank's decision; what we do is present a complete, credible application to the right institution for your profile, which is what avoids the rejections that come from approaching the wrong bank with a thin file.
08Can I choose which country's law governs my estate?
Often, yes. Under the Swiss Private International Law Act, a foreign national resident in Switzerland can elect, in a will or succession agreement, that the law of their nationality govern their estate, a choice known as professio juris. This can displace Swiss forced-heirship rules in favour of the chosen national law, within limits. The election has to be made expressly and drafted correctly. We coordinate it with your home-country advisers so the estate plan holds across both systems.
09What are Swiss forced-heirship rules?
Swiss law reserves a compulsory portion of the estate for close heirs, which limits how freely you can dispose of your assets by will. Since the succession-law reform that took effect on 1 January 2023, the reserved portion for descendants was reduced to half of their statutory share and the reserved portion for parents was abolished, leaving more of the estate freely disposable. A surviving spouse or registered partner still has a reserved portion. We plan around these rules, or around a valid choice of foreign law where one is available.
10Is a Swiss family foundation an option for succession?
Only a limited one. Swiss law permits a family foundation, but Article 335 of the Civil Code bars it from simply maintaining family members. It can fund specific purposes such as education or support in need, not serve as a general wealth-holding vehicle. For broader succession planning, families more often use a Liechtenstein foundation or a foreign-law trust, recognised in Switzerland, instead. We compare the structures against your residence and beneficiaries before recommending one.
Planning a move, a structure, or your succession?
Tell us the family situation and the goal. A partner replies with the Swiss options (relocation and tax, foundation or trust, succession) and what each would involve.