Cantonal guide: Appenzell Ausserrhoden
Much of inheritance law is cantonal – for example where the will is handed in and which taxes apply. Here are the key points for the canton of Appenzell Ausserrhoden.
Handing in and opening the will
In the canton of Appenzell Ausserrhoden, the Erbschaftsamt (estate office) of the municipality of the last residence is responsible for the estate. The Introductory Act to the Civil Code (Einführungsgesetz zum ZGB) assigns the tasks in estate matters – securing the estate, opening wills and inheritance contracts, the certificate of inheritance, the renunciation and the request for a public inventory (öffentliches Inventar) – to the municipal council (Gemeinderat) and allows the municipality to transfer them by regulation to a special office; that office is the Erbschaftsamt. It is run by the head of the Erbschaftsamt, in many municipalities the municipal clerk (Gemeindeschreiber). A will or inheritance contract that you find after the death at home, in a bank safe-deposit box or with a third party, you hand in there without delay – in the original, even if the document looks incomplete or probably invalid; the information sheet (Merkblatt) of the municipality of Herisau on the estate inventory (Nachlassinventar) requires such documents to be submitted for opening "within one month of the day of death". The estate offices also run a deposit point for wills, marriage contracts and inheritance contracts; a deposited document is opened by the office of its own accord after the death. The Erbschaftsamt identifies all legal and appointed heirs. The will or inheritance contract is opened, under the Introductory Act, "within one month of delivery" – so a deposited document soon after the death –, by the municipal president (in the Act "Gemeindehauptmann") together with the municipal clerk; everyone involved in the estate receives a copy of the opened document. With the opening, the three-month renunciation period begins for appointed heirs; Herisau issues the certificate of inheritance only after it has passed, earlier only if all heirs accept the inheritance unconditionally (see "Certificate of inheritance"). For the opening, the Erbschaftsamt charges registry fees under the fee schedule for the municipalities (Gebührentarif für die Gemeinden); the municipalities do not state an amount – the office will tell you the fee. The costs are charged to the estate. Disputed questions – for example the validity of a will – are decided not by the Erbschaftsamt but by the cantonal court in Trogen.
Certificate of inheritance
In the canton of Appenzell Ausserrhoden, the Erbschaftsamt (estate office) of the municipality of the last residence issues the certificate of inheritance – the Introductory Act to the Civil Code (Einführungsgesetz zum ZGB) assigns this task to the municipal council (Gemeinderat), and the municipality has transferred it to the Erbschaftsamt; in Herisau it is called "Erbenbescheinigung". Whoever wants to assert inheritance claims, for example with banks, insurers or the land registry, proves their status as an heir with it. You apply for it at the Erbschaftsamt (in Herisau telephone 071 354 54 91); the office tells you which documents it needs. In Herisau the certificate of inheritance is issued "only after the three-month renunciation period has passed"; ask your Erbschaftsamt whether it proceeds in the same way. The renunciation period begins for legal heirs, as a rule, on the day they learned of the death, for appointed heirs with the official opening of the will. If all heirs declare that they accept the inheritance unconditionally, the certificate of inheritance can be issued as early as one month after the opening of the will; Herisau provides the form "Erbannahmeerklärung" for this. Note: with this declaration of acceptance, a renunciation is no longer possible – whoever still wants to renounce the inheritance does not submit one. A special feature of the canton is the official estate division (amtliche Erbteilung): the Erbschaftsamt draws up the division contract (Erbteilungsvertrag) in consultation with the heirs, assesses the inheritance tax and issues the certificate of inheritance – the three steps come together at the same office. The certificate of inheritance is subject to a fee under the fee schedule for the municipalities (Gebührentarif für die Gemeinden); the municipalities do not state an amount – ask the Erbschaftsamt about it, and order right away as many copies as you need.
Renunciation and public inventory
In the canton of Appenzell Ausserrhoden, under the Introductory Act to the Civil Code (Einführungsgesetz zum ZGB) the municipal council (Gemeinderat) receives the renunciation; in practice you declare it within three months at the Erbschaftsamt (estate office) of the municipality of the last residence, to which the municipality has transferred this task. Herisau writes that the renunciation is to be declared "orally or in writing", "in writing if at all possible", and provides the form "Erbausschlagungserklärung" for this. The period runs for legal heirs from the day you learned of the death, for appointed heirs from the opening of the will. The declaration must be unconditional and without reservation and is irrevocable; whoever intervenes in the inheritance beforehand can, as a rule, no longer renounce. If you renounce as a legal heir, your descendants must renounce too; for minor children the parents act, and if they renounce themselves as well, the KESB (child and adult protection authority) must as a rule be involved – ask the Erbschaftsamt early. If it is unclear how high the debts are, you can request a public inventory (öffentliches Inventar) within one month of the death; the request of one heir counts for all. Under the Introductory Act the request is to be submitted to the municipal council; in practice you submit it to the Erbschaftsamt – Herisau writes "within one month of the day of death at the Erbschaftsamt". The division committee (Erbteilungskommission) then takes over the administration of the estate, and the municipal council orders a call to creditors (Rechnungsruf): it is published at least twice in the cantonal official gazette (Amtsblatt) and at the place of residence of the deceased, where necessary also in other publications, and the filing period is at least one month from the first publication. Creditors and debtors register their claims and debts as at the date of death, in writing and with supporting documents, within this period at the municipal chancellery (Gemeindekanzlei), in Herisau at the Erbschaftsamt. After the inventory is completed, each heir declares within one month whether they accept the inheritance – unconditionally or under public inventory – or renounce it; whoever accepts it under public inventory is liable only for the inventoried debts. The costs are charged to the estate; if it is insufficient, they are borne by the heirs who requested the inventory. The Erbschaftsamt tells you the amount.
Inheritance tax
Spouses, registered partners (treated like spouses), descendants, stepchildren and foster children as well as the parents of the deceased pay no inheritance tax in the canton of Appenzell Ausserrhoden; customary occasional gifts (Gelegenheitsgeschenke) up to CHF 2'000 are likewise not taxed. Everyone else pays a fixed rate on their share of the inheritance, depending on their relationship to the deceased: 12 percent for the unmarried life partner (Lebenspartnerin, Lebenspartner); 22 percent for siblings, step-parents, parents-in-law, son-in-law and daughter-in-law as well as grandparents; 32 percent for everyone else – nieces and nephews, uncles and aunts, unrelated persons. In the calculation, an allowance (Freibetrag) is deducted from the share of the inheritance: CHF 10'000 for the life partner, CHF 5'000 for everyone else; between the same persons it is granted only once in total, even where there are several transfers. Legacies are taxed the same as shares of the inheritance. A life partner is someone who lived with the deceased in an uninterrupted shared household for five or more years before the death, provided the deceased contributed substantially to their maintenance or there was a "Gemeinschaftlichkeit der Mittel" (pooling of means) – that is, the two lived from shared means. The tax is assessed and collected not by the cantonal tax administration (Kantonale Steuerverwaltung) but by the municipality of the last residence: under the Tax Act (Steuergesetz), the assessing authority is the municipality's division authority (Teilungsbehörde der Gemeinde), in practice the Erbschaftsamt (estate office), and the basis is the official inventory or the record of the estate (Protokoll über die Hinterlassenschaft) – neither the Act nor the municipalities mention a separate inheritance-tax return. The tax is calculated for each taxable person, but invoiced jointly for all and deducted from the estate before the shares of the inheritance are paid out. The payment period is 30 days; after that default interest (Verzugszins) runs, even during an objection. The 90th day after the date of death counts as the due date (Verfalltag); from that day compensatory interest (Ausgleichszins) may accrue – the Erbschaftsamt will explain the calculation. You can file a written objection (Einsprache) against the assessment within 30 days of its notification. The heirs are jointly and severally liable for the tax, each up to the amount of their own share of the inheritance. Note: whoever pays out the estate as an heir or as an executor of the will before the tax has been paid is liable for it with all of their own assets. The revenue goes half to the municipality and half to the canton.
Estate inventory and official estate division
In the canton of Appenzell Ausserrhoden, an official inventory of the assets and debts of the deceased is drawn up after every death – the estate inventory (Nachlassinventar). Under the Introductory Act to the Civil Code (Einführungsgesetz zum ZGB), it is drawn up "in all cases" by the municipal president (in the Act "Gemeindehauptmann") and the municipal clerk (Gemeindeschreiber); in practice the Erbschaftsamt (estate office) of the municipality of the last residence does the work and also takes care of securing the estate. The inventory is at the same time the tax inventory (Steuerinventar): under the Tax Act (Steuergesetz), the civil-law inventory authority is also the inventory authority for taxes, and the inventory is drawn up "within two weeks" of the death – there is no second inventory by the tax administration. Until the inventory has been drawn up, you may dispose of the estate assets only with the consent of the inventory authority, that is the Erbschaftsamt. The Erbschaftsamt asks a contact person of the family to submit the documents as at the date of death. Herisau lists them in its information sheet (Merkblatt), the "Merkblatt Aufnahme Nachlassinventar": supporting documents on real estate (with the cantonal tax valuation), business assets, household goods (only if above average), cash and precious metals, securities and accounts, company shares, undivided estates, other assets and insurance policies, plus the debts – the costs arising from the death "only at a later date" – and, in the case of participation in acquisitions, details on the matrimonial property regime. The information sheet names no deadline for the documents; ask your Erbschaftsamt for its own information sheet. Assets not taxed so far also belong in the inventory – if they are concealed, the information sheet says that "in addition to a back tax, a penalty tax as well" (Nachsteuer, Strafsteuer) fall due. The finished estate inventory is communicated to the heirs; it gives you an overview of the financial situation and is the basis for the estate division, the inheritance tax and the asset figures in the last tax return. You are obliged to cooperate – give truthful information and allow inspection of records; at least one heir must be present when the inventory is taken, and you report assets discovered later within ten days. Rooms and containers are sealed if the officials who take the inventory consider it necessary or if an heir expressly requests it – contact the Erbschaftsamt in that case. A special feature of the canton is the official estate division (amtliche Erbteilung). The Introductory Act provides: "Every estate division takes place under the supervision and with the participation of the division committee (Erbteilungskommission)" – the municipal president, at least one other member of the municipal council (Gemeinderat) and the municipal clerk. In 1988 the Federal Supreme Court decided that this rule is not compatible with the free contractual estate division of the Civil Code, insofar as it makes every division an official one (BGE 114 II 418). Heirs who agree may also settle the division themselves in a written contract, in accordance with federal law. In Herisau the Erbschaftsamt is responsible for all the work of the official estate division – it draws up the division contract (Erbteilungsvertrag) and assesses the inheritance tax; ask the Erbschaftsamt early which documents it needs. If the heirs cannot agree, the division committee forms the lots at the request of an heir; it keeps complete minutes of every division. Against orders in these estate matters, you can file a written complaint (Beschwerde) with the municipal council within 20 days and, within the same period, an appeal (Rekurs) to the cantonal government (Regierungsrat); if an inheritance claim itself is disputed, the ordinary court decides. For the inventory and the division, the Erbschaftsamt charges fees under the fee schedule for the municipalities (Gebührentarif für die Gemeinden); the municipalities do not state an amount – the office will tell you; the costs are charged to the estate.
The deceased's tax return
The death ends the tax liability of the deceased; for the period from 1 January to the date of death, the heirs fill in a last tax return – the tax administration calls this the part-year tax liability (unterjährige Steuerpflicht). In the canton of Appenzell Ausserrhoden, the cantonal tax administration (Kantonale Steuerverwaltung) is responsible, assessing cantonal, municipal and federal taxes centrally (Gutenberg-Zentrum, Kasernenstrasse 2, 9100 Herisau); the heirs receive the documents from it – contact it if nothing arrives. In them you state income and deductions up to the date of death and the assets as at the date of death; you reconcile the asset figures with the estate inventory (Nachlassinventar). The wealth tax is levied only for the duration of the tax liability, that is pro rata up to the date of death. The guide to the tax return (Wegleitung) on ar.ch contains the rules for the part-year assessment in the event of a death. The deadline is in the cover letter; you request an extension before it runs out from the tax administration – the first is free of charge, for the second and each further one CHF 25 each is charged with the final invoice, and beyond 31 October the tax administration grants an extension only on written request and against a fee of CHF 25. Spouses and registered partners are assessed jointly up to and including the date of death: in the tax return you state the joint income from the start of the year to the date of death and the joint assets as at the date of death. After that, the surviving person is taxed alone and files, for the period from the day after the date of death to the end of the year, a separate tax return, with the assets as at 31 December. The assets and income of the still undivided estate, the heirs declare from the date of death pro rata in their own tax return.
Last checked: September 2026, against the canton's official pages. Is something no longer right? Let us know.
The application prepares; you act. It does not replace legal or tax advice.