The Executor (Willensvollstrecker) in Swiss Inheritance Law: Appointment, Duties and Pay

Naming an executor is one of the more consequential choices a person can make in a Swiss will, and one that is often decided on assumption rather than on what the statute actually says. Swiss law calls this role a Willensvollstrecker, and the rules governing appointment, acceptance, duties and pay sit in two short articles of the ZGB, Art. 517 and Art. 518.

This page works through both articles directly, corrects a common assumption about how executor pay works, and is explicit about the one thing those two articles do not cover at all, which is liability. It also looks at what an heir can actually do if an executor is not doing the job, and when appointing one is genuinely worth the added cost and process.

Information last verified on 21 July 2026. This page provides general legal information about Swiss law and does not constitute legal advice in an individual case.

Appointing an executor: Art. 517 ZGB

An executor is appointed by the person making the will, naming one or more capable individuals directly in the testamentary disposition itself. There is no separate court proceeding to create this appointment. It exists the moment a valid will names the person and takes effect on the testator's death.

Once the testator has died, the named executor is officially notified of the appointment. From that notification, the executor has 14 days to say whether they accept the role, and the statute treats silence for that period as acceptance rather than refusal. A person who does not want the role has to actively decline within that window, not simply ignore the notification and assume it lapses.

More than one executor can be named in the same will. Where that happens, Art. 518 gives them their powers jointly, unless the will itself sets out a different arrangement, for example dividing responsibilities between them.

Remuneration is written into the statute, not just common practice

It is easy to assume that executor pay is simply a matter of custom, something families and professionals work out between themselves with no basis in the law itself. That assumption is wrong. Art. 517 Abs. 3 ZGB states directly that executors have a right to appropriate compensation for their work.

What the statute does not do is set a rate, a percentage or a method for calculating that compensation. A reader may come across percentage-of-estate scales, hourly rates or cantonal bar association guideline tariffs when researching executor fees, and those figures can be a reasonable starting point for a negotiation. They come from professional and cantonal practice, though, not from Art. 517 or Art. 518 themselves, so this page does not print a specific percentage as if it were set by the statute.

In practice this means the actual fee is usually agreed between the executor and the estate, informed by the complexity of the work and by whatever local convention applies, rather than fixed in advance by law. A family expecting a specific percentage to be legally mandated should not assume one exists.

Duties and powers: Art. 518 ZGB

Unless the will itself says otherwise, an executor has the rights and duties of an official estate administrator, what Swiss law calls an amtlicher Erbschaftsverwalter. That is the statute's own reference point for what the role actually involves.

Concretely, the executor is deemed responsible for representing the testator's wishes, administering the estate, paying the deceased's debts, distributing any bequests, and carrying out the division of the estate either according to the testator's own instructions or according to the general rules of succession where the will is silent. This is a genuinely active role, not a ceremonial one.

Where the will names more than one executor and does not say otherwise, these powers belong to all of them together rather than to each individually. A single executor acting alone in that situation would be acting outside what the will and the statute actually authorize.

Liability: the one thing Art. 517 and Art. 518 do not address

Neither Art. 517 nor Art. 518 says anything about what happens if an executor mismanages the estate, favors one heir over another, or otherwise fails at the job. This is worth being direct about, since it is easy to assume the same two articles that set out duties must also set out consequences for breaching them.

The path to liability instead runs through Art. 518's own cross reference to the official estate administrator role, combined with legal doctrine that draws an analogy to the ordinary rules on mandate liability found in the Code of Obligations. That means an executor's exposure for mishandling the role rests on interpretation built on top of the statute, rather than on a liability rule written directly into Art. 517 or Art. 518 themselves.

What an heir can do about an unsatisfactory executor

An heir who has concerns about how an executor is handling the estate has more than one option, and the right one usually depends on how serious the problem actually is. The most direct first step is simply raising the concern with the executor and asking for information about how the estate is being managed and divided.

If that does not resolve things, Swiss estate administration is subject to oversight by a cantonal authority, and an heir with a genuine grievance can bring the concern to that authority. As a further step, a court can remove an executor for good cause where the situation warrants it.

The exact procedure and which cantonal body handles this oversight varies from canton to canton, and this page does not attempt to describe that variation in detail. An heir facing a real dispute with an executor should raise it with the authority in the canton administering the estate, or with a lawyer, rather than assume a single nationwide process applies.

When an executor is worth appointing, and when it is not

An executor earns its cost most clearly where the estate is large, involves a business, spans more than one country, includes real estate that needs to be sold or transferred, or where the heirs are unlikely to agree easily on how to divide things. In those situations, having one person with clear legal authority to manage and distribute the estate can prevent a dispute from stalling everything.

A smaller estate with heirs who get along, and nothing especially complex to administer, often does not need one. Heirs are free to handle the division themselves under the ordinary rules of succession, and adding an executor in that situation mainly adds a layer of cost and process without solving a problem the family did not have.

Appointing an executor is a choice made in the will itself, alongside decisions about who inherits what. Our guide to writing a will in Switzerland covers how that document is put together, and our page on advance inheritance and lifetime gifts covers a related question an executor often has to sort out during the division. For the cantonal tax that applies once an estate is distributed, see our inheritance tax by canton page, and for the wider picture, our guide to Swiss inheritance law and our guide to Swiss law.

Frequently Asked Questions

How is an executor appointed under Swiss law?

The person making the will names one or more capable individuals as executor directly in the will itself, under Art. 517 ZGB. There is no separate court appointment process for this initial step.

What happens if the named executor does not respond?

Under Art. 517 Abs. 2 ZGB the named executor has 14 days from official notification to say whether they accept. Staying silent for that period counts as acceptance, not refusal.

Is a Swiss executor entitled to be paid?

Yes. Art. 517 Abs. 3 ZGB gives the executor a statutory right to appropriate compensation. The statute does not fix a specific rate, so the actual amount is usually agreed or follows professional practice.

What does an executor actually do?

Under Art. 518 ZGB, unless the will provides otherwise, the executor manages the estate, pays the deceased debts, distributes bequests and carries out the division according to the will or the law, with the rights and duties of an official estate administrator.

Is an executor personally liable if something goes wrong?

Art. 517 and Art. 518 do not address liability directly. It is reached through Art. 518 pointing to the estate administrator role and, in legal doctrine, by analogy to the ordinary rules on mandate liability, so this rests on interpretation rather than a single clear statutory rule.

What can an heir do if they are unhappy with the executor?

An heir can first raise concerns directly and request information on how the estate is being managed. If that fails, the next step is the cantonal authority that supervises estate administration, or ultimately a court, which can remove an executor for good cause.

Do I need to appoint an executor in my Swiss will?

No. Appointing an executor is optional. It tends to be worth it for a larger, more complex or contested estate, and less necessary for a small estate with heirs who get along and can divide it themselves.

Can more than one person be appointed as executor?

Yes. Art. 517 ZGB allows naming more than one executor, and Art. 518 Abs. 3 gives them their powers jointly unless the will specifies otherwise.