Estate planning is readily postponed, with reference to later. Yet it is one of the few areas of law where a handful of documents creates a great deal of clarity, for oneself and above all for the family. Without planning, statutory succession applies, and it fits far from every life.
Since the 2023 inheritance-law revision, the freedom is considerably larger: the descendants' compulsory share is down to half of the statutory entitlement, parents no longer have one. Whoever plans today can secure the spouse or partner more strongly, pass a business to the right successor, or consider charitable causes more generously without violating compulsory shares. Older wills usually do not use this freedom, and sometimes even work differently than once intended.
Planning is especially urgent in four constellations. Cohabiting couples: without a will, the partner inherits nothing, however long the relationship. Patchwork families: the balance between the new partner and children from earlier relationships does not arise by itself. Entrepreneurs: without arrangements, the business risks fragmentation in a community of heirs. International situations: residence, citizenship and assets in different countries raise the question which law applies at all; a choice of law in the will helps here.
Planning is more than the will: a marital agreement orders the property regime and determines what falls into the estate in the first place. An advance care directive governs representation in the event of incapacity, a patient decree the medical decisions. Only together do these documents form a coherent whole, which in an emergency must also be findable.
The first step is unspectacular: assemble documents, record the asset and family situation, clarify goals. Our free estate-planning checklist walks you through exactly this preparation. Implementation then belongs in expert hands so that form, deadlines and wording deliver what they promise.
