Succession and sale / Question 4
An emergency plan for business owners.
An accident or illness should not leave the company unable to act. A plan answers three questions in advance: who decides for you, how the company stays able to act, and how succession and inheritance are arranged. UBS likens it to a “living will” for the company.
Paid plans from CHF 19 a month · Vault availability depends on your plan
01 / Who decides for you
Name the person while you can.
Under Swiss law, a person with capacity can appoint someone to look after their personal affairs or their assets, or to represent them, should they lose capacity: an advance care directive (Vorsorgeauftrag). (ZGB Art. 360)
It must be handwritten from beginning to end, dated and signed, or publicly notarised. On request, the civil registry office records that one exists and where it is kept. (ZGB Art. 361)
Open your private view02 / How the company stays able to act
Someone must be able to sign.
A company limited by shares (AG) must be able to be represented by a person resident in Switzerland who is a board member or a director; for a GmbH, a managing director or a director. (OR Art. 718(4), Art. 814(3))
If that person is you alone, the plan says who steps in, which signing rights they need, and where they find the articles, the shareholders’ agreement, bank mandates, insurance policies and key contracts.
Open your private view03 / Succession and inheritance
More room since 2023.
Since 1 January 2023, a compulsory share is half of the statutory inheritance entitlement. For descendants it used to be three quarters, and parents no longer have one. (ZGB Arts. 470–471; AS 2021 312)
That leaves more of an estate free to dispose of, which can matter when one successor is to take over the company. The will, any inheritance or marriage contract and the shareholders’ agreement are read together, and a notary or lawyer confirms that they fit.
Open your private view04 / In Antevo
One private place for the papers the plan relies on.
Keep copies of the documents behind the plan in one private vault, beside your investments, property and private holdings in the private view, and note where each original is kept. You can seal a document on upload: it is encrypted in your browser with a key only you hold, and Antevo cannot open it. A sealed document opens with your key only, so keep what a deputy will need where they can reach it.
Open your private viewSources
Where this comes from.
The study behind the figures and the primary sources for every legal point. Intelligence, not advice: nothing here is legal, tax, estate or investment advice, and your lawyer, notary or tax specialist confirms anything a decision rests on.