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Private Clients

Our Private Clients Team been advising private individuals for many decades. The firm’s private client practice enjoys a high standing and reputation in the field. We strive to understand the needs of our clients and their families and to tailor our advice accordingly. The individuals we represent include entrepreneurs, professionals, landowners, artists, and philanthropists of all ages. In some cases, we have been acting for families over a number of generations.

Our private client team advises on a wide range of legal topics. Our expertise includes national and international aspects in the following areas:

  • Estate planning, estate administration and executorship 
  • Matrimonial property and inheritance agreements 
  • Wills and bequests 
  • In bound and outbound relocation, residence, and nationality 
  • Foundations, endowments, and trusts 
  • Separation, divorce and maintenance
  • Tax planning (wealth tax, income tax, capital gains tax, gift tax and inheritance tax planning) 
  • Compliance and structure audits
  • Legal wealth planning and structuring
  • Powers of attorney, living wills, patient’s directives, contingency planning 
  • Employment issues 
  • Charities and art 
  • Legal family office services
  • Corporate matters for family-owned enterprises, M&A transactions 
  • Insurance issues 
  • Dispute resolution in the aforementioned areas, in particular domestic and cross-border trust and estate litigation and arbitration 

Outstanding breadth of work and response on tax and corporate matters relating to personal taxation, family businesses, asset protection and investment taxation.

The Legal 500, Switzerland, Private Client, 2023

The team has outstanding personal and professional skills and knows how to apply them in a client-oriented manner. In addition, the international network of CMS works excellently.

The Legal 500, Switzerland, Private Client, 2023
30/04/2020
Private Clients
Security for you, your family, your company and your assets We advise and represent entrepreneurs, managers, wealthy individuals and their families, as well as banks, asset managers and family offices...

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05/01/2024
Revision of the Swiss Civil Procedure Code as of 1 January 2025: Short...
In view of the revision of the Swiss Civil Procedure Code ("CPC"), several lawyers from the CMS Zurich practice groups Lit­ig­a­tion/Ar­bit­ra­tion and Private Clients have authored, together with Prof. em...
26/04/2023
CMS one of the "Top Law Firms" in Switzerland in 28 areas of law
The Swiss business magazine BILANZ, the Handelszeitung, and the magazine PME have awarded the "Top Law Firms" in Switzerland for the 7th time. Out of the 31 legal areas, CMS von Erlach Partners (CMS Switzerland) was ranked as one of the top 25 law firms in Switzerland in 28 areas, which is more than any other law firm in Switzerland. This confirms our position as a leading full-service law firm in the country.
12/04/2023
CMS Switzerland recommended by The Legal 500 EMEA 2023
Rankings of CMS Switzerland in The Legal 500 EMEA 2023 Edition
14/07/2022
CMS Switzerland recommended in the Chambers High Net Worth Guide 2022
Chambers and Partners has pub­lished its rankings of leading law firms and lawyers in the High Net Worth Guide 2022. Our firm and our lawyers are listed in both rankings for Switzerland.
01/07/2022
Marriage for all
Since the Swiss Civil Code entered into force in 1912, Swiss marriage and family law has evolved during time due to the shifting views regarding equality between the parties involved. The introduction of the registered partnership in 2007 created a special civil status for registered same-sex couples. While this was a progress, it did not lead to an equal treatment compared to matrimony. Therefore, a parliamentary initiative was launched in 2013 and called on the legislator to open the marriage to all couples, regardless of their sexual orientation. On 26 September 2021, the marriage for all won thumping approval of the Swiss electorate. This makes Switzerland the 30th country worldwide – and one of the last in Western Europe – to extend civil marital status to male-male and female-female couples. As of 1 July 2022, matrimony is open to same-sex couples in Switzerland. It is no longer possible to establish new registered partnerships. Nevertheless, existing registered partnerships will continue to exist, provided they are not converted into a marriage by the couple's joint declaration at a civil registrar of their choice. As a default rule of law, registered partnerships were subject to the rules of separation of property (absent overriding contractual provisions agreed-upon by the couple). Under the new law, the regime of participation in acquired property shall apply to same-sex marriages as a standard rule of law. As a result, the position of the surviving spouse is strengthened. If a registered couple converts their partnership to marriage, the rules on participation in acquired property will apply retroactively unless the couple has previously entered into a nuptial agreement or, alternatively, changes the application of the statutory law by contract. Hence, an existing nuptial agreement remains valid beyond the conversion. With the possibility to marry, same-sex couples acquire full adoption rights. They may adopt the child of their partner and may also adopt jointly. Finally, the simplified naturalization procedure is now also open to married same-sex couples. 
28/04/2022
CMS once again named as one of the top law firms in Switzerland
For the sixth time, the leading Swiss business magazine BIL­ANZ and the newspapers Handelszeitung and Le Temps have published their rankings of the  top law firms in Switzerland. CMS von Erlach Partners (CMS Switzerland) is ranked as one of the top 25 law firms in Switzerland in a total of 28 out of 31 practice areas, which is more than any other law firm in Switzerland. This further underlines our position as a leading full-service law firm.
11/04/2022
CMS Switzerland recognised by The Legal 500
Rankings of CMS Switzerland in The Legal 500 EMEA 2022 edition
29/04/2021
CMS in 27 areas of law one of the "Top Law Firms" in Switzerland
CMS once again one of the leading law firms in Switzerland For the fifth time, the leading Swiss business magazine BIL­ANZ and newspaper Le Temps have published their ranking of the best law firms...
14/04/2021
CMS Switzerland ranked by The Legal 500
Rankings of CMS Switzerland in The Legal 500 EMEA 2021 edition CMS Switzerland is recommended in 18 categories in this year's Europe, Middle East and Africa edition of The Legal 500, published in April...
21/01/2021
Contingency planning with proxies in Switzerland
1. Are proxies used in contingency planning? A person capable of acting, i.e. anyone who is at least 18 years of age and has capacity of judgement, may grant a proxy. In Switzerland, proxies are frequently...
Comparable
01/01/2021
New Counsels at CMS
We are pleased to announce that Louise Lutz Sciamanna, Dr David Hofmann and Dr Fabien Liégeois have been appointed as Counsels, respectively within the Public Law, Tax and Private Clients departments...
30/04/2020
Private Clients
Security for you, your family, your company and your assets We advise and represent entrepreneurs, managers, wealthy individuals and their families, as well as banks, asset managers and family offices...