The first inheritance usually goes to a spouse

Family wealth rarely passes straight to the children. It goes first to the surviving spouse, most often the wife. That first handover is the one families prepare least.

Two handovers, not one

When people speak of the great wealth transfer, they usually picture parents and children. In practice a family’s wealth tends to move twice. On the first death it passes largely to the surviving spouse. Only on the second does it reach the next generation. The two events are often years apart, sometimes decades.

Why the first heir is usually a woman

Women live longer than men, and in many couples the wife is the younger partner. Both facts point the same way: the person who inherits first, and who then decides alone, is most often a woman.

Source: Swiss Federal Statistical Office, 2023 figures.

Where it goes wrong

In many households one person has dealt with the banks for thirty years. The other may never have met the banker, seen the full list of accounts, or been asked what they want from the money. When the first death comes, the surviving spouse has to learn all of it at once, during the hardest months of their life.

The cost is practical before it is financial. Accounts are blocked while the estate is settled. Signatures and powers of attorney turn out to be out of date. Nobody is sure which bank holds what. Decisions are postponed, or taken in a hurry on the advice of whoever happens to call first.

It is also the moment when many families change adviser. A surviving spouse who was never part of the conversation has little reason to stay with people who never spoke to her.

What to put in place

None of this needs a complicated plan. It needs the two partners to be equally informed while both are alive.

People

Both partners meet every banker and adviser, and each has someone they can call directly.

Overview

One consolidated list of accounts, assets, structures and debts, kept up to date.

Authority

Powers of attorney and signatures checked at each bank, so that one partner can act if the other cannot.

Liquidity

Enough accessible cash for a year of living costs, taxes and fees while the estate is settled.

Intentions

A conversation, with the family’s lawyer or notary, about the will, the marital property regime and what each partner wants.

How we approach it

We ask to meet both partners from the first meeting, and we report to both. The aim is simple: on the day one of them is alone, she or he already knows the portfolio, the banks and the people who manage it, and nothing has to be explained again. For the legal and tax side, we coordinate with the family’s own specialists.

Sources: Swiss Federal Statistical Office, life expectancy at birth, 2023. This article is provided for information purposes only. It is not legal or tax advice, and it does not constitute investment advice, an offer or a recommendation. Inheritance and tax rules depend on each person’s situation, residence and nationality; please consult a qualified legal or tax adviser. The views expressed are those of the author and of GYRA SA at the date of publication and may change without notice.