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If you own a home in Horgen, your estate planning options come down to five tools: a will (Testament), an inheritance contract (Erbvertrag), a marriage contract (Ehevertrag), lifetime gifts, and a Vorsorgeauftrag, which covers you while you are still alive but unable to decide for yourself. Each one affects what happens to the house, its contents and the people living in it. We are interior designers, not lawyers, so this guide explains the options and what they mean for a home on Lake Zurich. A notary or lawyer should draft the documents.
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TL;DR
- Swiss law (the ZGB) sets the framework. A will must be handwritten, dated and signed by you, or notarised. An inheritance contract always needs a notary.
- Since 1 January 2023, the forced share for descendants is half of their legal share, and parents no longer have one. You have more freedom than before.
- The Canton of Zurich does not levy inheritance or gift tax on spouses, children, grandchildren and registered partners.
- For a family home, the key question is whether the surviving spouse can stay. A usufruct (Nutzniessung) and a marriage contract are the usual answers.
- Review your documents every three to five years and after any big life event, including buying or selling property.
Why the home is usually the hardest part
Most people in Horgen hold their wealth mainly in one place: the house or apartment. Cash can be split in any proportion, but a house cannot. When one spouse dies and the children have a legal claim to part of the estate, the survivor may have to find the money to pay them out. In the worst case, the family home is sold.
The contents matter too. Design furniture, art, lighting and custom joinery are often worth real money and carry real memories. Heirs who disagree about who gets the sofa or the dining table can turn a calm succession into a long dispute. Good planning handles both the walls and what is inside them.
The legal framework in short
Estate planning in Horgen follows federal law, the Swiss Civil Code. Local authorities describe the main instruments as the will and the inheritance contract. The municipality's page on personal provision is a good starting point, and it also covers the arrangements for illness and incapacity that we come to below.
Two ideas help you to read everything else:
- Legal shares. If you leave no documents, the law decides who inherits and how much.
- Forced shares (Pflichtteile). Even with a will, certain close relatives are guaranteed a minimum. Only the free portion (freie Quote) is yours to distribute as you wish.
According to hausinfo.ch, only spouses or registered partners and direct descendants are now protected by a forced share. A spouse is entitled to half of their legal share, which the site puts at 25 per cent of the whole estate. Children and grandchildren are also entitled to half of their legal share.
Your main options at a glance
The will
The will is the simplest tool. The Horgen municipality states that a handwritten will must be written entirely by hand, dated and signed by you. A typed printout does not qualify unless it is notarised.
You can leave the document with a notary, a lawyer, a bank or someone you trust. Pro Senectute points out that you can also hand a handwritten will to the competent office for safekeeping. A will nobody can find does not help anyone.
A will can do more than say who gets how much. It can give a specific heir the house through an allocation rule (Teilungsvorschrift), or leave a particular object to a particular person as a legacy (Vermächtnis). The structure of these options is laid out clearly in this property-law presentation.
The inheritance contract
An inheritance contract needs a public deed, and its strength is that it binds. It suits situations where several people have to be able to rely on the plan: a second marriage, children from different relationships, or a business that one child is meant to continue. Horgen has its own Notariat, Grundbuchamt und Konkursamt at Dorfplatz 1, which lists inheritance contracts, equalisation and reduction, and the opening of wills among its topics.
The marriage contract
Married couples often look at the will first and miss the property regime. Without a marriage contract, the default regime applies, and a spouse can claim half of the gains made during the marriage, including increases in the value of real estate and company holdings. Changing that regime shifts what ends up in the estate in the first place.
Combined with an inheritance contract, a marriage contract allows tailored distribution. That can reduce conflict between heirs, especially in international families, as the same law firm explains. If you are an expat in Horgen with property or family in more than one country, ask a specialist which country's law applies to which asset before you sign anything.
Lifetime gifts
Giving early is an option, but it comes with a catch. Gifts and advances on inheritance count when your estate is calculated, because they can affect the forced shares. The municipality notes that after a death the tax authorities start an inventory, and heirs must be ready to declare gifts and pre-inheritance payments. Keep written records of every transfer, with date and value.
Protecting the surviving spouse in the family home
This is the scenario that worries most homeowners, so it deserves its own section. Without planning, the children's legal claim can force a sale. Many people use marriage contracts and inheritance contracts to give the surviving spouse a lifelong usufruct over the property. The spouse keeps living in the house, and the children do not have to be paid out straight away.
The hausinfo.ch guide on forced shares and usufruct is a clear primer before you speak to a notary. Questions to ask yourself first:
- Who should live in the house after the first death, and for how long?
- Can the survivor afford the upkeep, the mortgage interest and renovations?
- Should the children inherit the property at once, or only once the survivor has died?
- If one child wants the house, can they afford to compensate the others?
Only a notary or lawyer can turn the answers into a binding document. The answers are worth working out at your own kitchen table first.
Tax: what Horgen homeowners should know
Horgen belongs to the Canton of Zurich, where inheritance and gift tax is not charged on transfers to spouses, descendants and registered partners. Other beneficiaries, such as a partner you are not married to, siblings or friends, can be taxed under the cantonal inheritance and gift tax law, with progressive rates. If you want to leave something to an unmarried partner, check this early.
There is a second tax point. If heirs find income or assets that the deceased never declared properly, the canton offers a simplified back-taxation procedure for heirs. Clean records during your lifetime save your family this work.
The Vorsorgeauftrag: planning for the years before succession
Estate planning is not only about death. A Vorsorgeauftrag lets you name a person you trust to manage your finances, represent you in medical matters and look after daily support if you can no longer decide. Without it, the adult protection authority (KESB) may appoint a generic legal representative.
The federal government is currently working on changes to adult protection. According to the Federal Council's 2026 message, the plan is to strengthen the right of self-determination and the role of the Vorsorgeauftrag. The draft law would require cantons to allow the document to be deposited at an official office. This is a draft, so check the current rules with the Horgen social advisory service or your notary. In the meantime, tell your family where the original is kept.
Keeping your plan current
The 2023 reform changed the forced shares, so a will written years ago may no longer reflect what you want or what is optimal. Specialists at SMZH recommend reviewing your documents at least every three to five years, and also after marriage, divorce or buying property. Treat a review like a service appointment for the house: short, regular and much cheaper than repairing a problem later.
Perspective: what we see when families plan around the home
We design homes for families, and the same pattern shows up again and again. People invest years and real money in a house, then leave the question of its future to chance. We are not lawyers, and we never give legal advice. But with over 480 completed projects behind us, we know how much of a family's life sits in a home's rooms, and how hard it is when the people who share them disagree.
Our practical suggestion is to treat the home as two things: the property and the contents. Write down what you own that matters: the dining table you commissioned, the modular shelving, the lighting, the art. Note who you would like to have each piece. When we plan a project, we document every piece we source, with brand, dimensions and finish. Many clients tell us that this list is useful for insurance too, and it gives their notary a clear basis if they want to name specific objects in a will.
Second, think about the next occupant. If the house is meant to stay in the family, a layout that works for a different generation, with a ground-floor bedroom option or flexible rooms, makes a handover much easier. A sensible renovation now can protect both comfort and value.
— Giorgia D'Amico
A practical checklist for Horgen homeowners
- List what you own. Property, accounts, shares, business interests, and the valuable contents of the house.
- Map your family. Spouse, children, stepchildren, unmarried partner, and any links abroad.
- Find out your legal and forced shares. Your notary will calculate them. The result shows how much of the estate you can freely allocate.
- Decide about the home. Who stays, who inherits, and how any compensation will be paid.
- Check your marital property regime. Ask whether a marriage contract makes sense.
- Write the Vorsorgeauftrag. Name a trusted person and a back-up.
- Store everything properly. Tell your family where the originals are.
- Put a review in your diary. Every three to five years, and after any major change.
For questions specific to your case, the notary's office in Horgen is the natural first contact. Its team handles company, marital property and inheritance matters for the municipality, as the Notariat's own page shows.
Where interior design fits in
Planning a handover often triggers a renovation: freeing up a floor for a parent, splitting a large home into two units, or preparing a house before one child takes it over. If that sounds like you, we can help with the design side of it. We offer online packages with published prices: a Consultation for CHF 490, a Single Area Package for CHF 970 and a Full Home Package for CHF 3390. For larger or more complex projects, the Individual Offer has no published price and is tailored to your home. Our Zurich interior design page shows how we work around Lake Zurich, and our Single Area Online Package is an easy way to start with one room.
FAQ
Do I need a notary to make a will in Horgen?
No, not if you write the will entirely by hand, date it and sign it. A will drawn up by a notary is also valid and can reduce the risk of mistakes. An inheritance contract, however, always needs a notary.
Can I disinherit my children?
Not completely. Since 2023, children and grandchildren keep a forced share of half of their legal share. You can freely dispose of the rest. A notary can calculate the exact figures for your family.
Is there inheritance tax in Horgen?
Not for spouses, children, grandchildren and registered partners, according to the Canton of Zurich. Other heirs can be taxed at progressive cantonal rates. Check the rate for your beneficiaries before you decide.
How can I make sure my spouse can stay in our house?
A marriage contract, an inheritance contract or both can give the surviving spouse a lifelong usufruct, so the children's claims do not force a sale. The wording matters, so have a notary draft it.
What happens if I lose the ability to decide for myself?
Without a Vorsorgeauftrag, the adult protection authority may appoint a representative for you. With one, you choose the person yourself. Make sure your family knows where the document is kept.
Sources
- Eigene Vorsorge, Gemeinde Horgen
- Pflichtteil, Gerichte Kanton Zürich
- Erbschafts- und Schenkungssteuer, Kanton Zürich
- Erbrecht Schweiz: Pflichtteil, Nutzniessung und freie Quote, hausinfo.ch
- Testament und Erbschaften, Pro Senectute
- Erben, Schenken und Verkaufen von Liegenschaften
- Notariat, Grundbuchamt und Konkursamt Horgen
- Eheverträge bei Errungenschaftsbeteiligung, Gütergemeinschaft und Gütertrennung, HÄRTING
- Erbrechtliche Gestaltungsmöglichkeiten und ihre Vorteile, Provida
- Merkblatt zur vereinfachten Nachbesteuerung von Erben, Kanton Zürich
- Botschaft zur Änderung des ZGB (Erwachsenenschutz), Fedlex
- Entwurf ZGB (Erwachsenenschutz), Fedlex
- Nachlassplanung, SMZH
