At the onset of the succession process, an initial step for the heirs involves establishing the estate’s composition and extent.
Banks are a key source of information, but their duty of confidentiality – stemming from banking secrecy and the deceased’s right to privacy – may conflict with heirs’ right to information. The heir’s access to the deceased’s banking information is based on two legal premises: the contractual relationship between the deceased and the bank, and the inheritance rights arising from the heir’s legal status.
According to the Swiss Code of Obligations, heirs succeed to the contractual rights of the deceased and may access all details of the deceased’s accounts at the time of death. Access to past transactions is limited by privacy considerations unless the information is necessary to assess the bank’s diligence or its potential liability. From an inheritance law perspective, heirs may request information only if they can provide evidence of a practical legal interest – such as the ability to file an action for abatement, hotchpot or have a right to division – particularly if the share of heirs with a statutory entitlement is affected.
At the international level, contractual claims typically fall under the Lugano Convention and Swiss law (depending on banks’ general terms and conditions), while inheritance-based claims are generally governed by the Swiss Federal Act on Private International Law (PILA) (if no international treaties are applicable) and the law of the deceased’s last state of domicile. If the deceased was the beneficial owner of an account rather than its holder, banking secrecy fully applies, and the heir’s right to information exists only when necessary to protect legitimate inheritance rights.
Serge Fasel
Partner, Geneva
&
Théo Goetschin
Counsel, Geneva
The authors would like to thank Noémie Pauli for her help in preparing this article.
