Cantonal guide: Glarus
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 Glarus.
Handing in and opening the will
In the canton of Glarus, the Fachstelle Erbschaft (cantonal estate office) of the canton is the inheritance authority for all estates of persons whose last residence was in the canton – not the municipality: Departement Volkswirtschaft und Inneres (Department of Economic Affairs and the Interior), Fachstelle Erbschaft, Asylstrasse 30, 8750 Glarus (telephone 055 646 67 65, erbschaft@gl.ch). Whoever holds a handwritten or public will or an inheritance contract of the deceased hands it in there without delay, in the original – even if the document looks invalid, and, if there are several dispositions, all of them. A will that was deposited with the municipality (Glarus, Glarus Nord or Glarus Süd) is forwarded to the Fachstelle by the authorities themselves after the death. The Fachstelle identifies all persons concerned – the legal heirs, including excluded ones, the persons named in the disposition and those who benefit under an earlier disposition – and opens the disposition to them by correspondence, as a rule without an opening hearing. Heirs receive a copy of the disposition, legatees and beneficiaries of a charge an extract of the part concerning them. With this notification, the Testamentseröffnungsverfügung (decision on the opening of the will), deadlines begin to run: for appointed heirs the three-month renunciation period and the one-month period in which legal heirs can contest the entitlement of appointed heirs before a certificate of inheritance is issued. The costs are based on the cantonal ordinance on fees in civil law; for estate matters it provides CHF 200 per decision and CHF 80 per hour for clarifications such as identifying the heirs, but names no separate item for the opening. The Fachstelle will tell you the amount; the costs are charged to the estate.
Certificate of inheritance
In the canton of Glarus, the Fachstelle Erbschaft (cantonal estate office), Asylstrasse 30, 8750 Glarus, issues the certificate of inheritance – on written order, not of its own accord. The form "Bestellung einer Erbbescheinigung" (form 06) is available on gl.ch for this; you send it by post or by e-mail to erbschaft@gl.ch. The appointed heirs and the legal heirs who are not excluded, an executor (Willensvollstrecker) and the spouse holding a usufruct can order it; whoever orders for an heir without being an heir themselves encloses a power of attorney (Vertretungsvollmacht). If an executorship has been ordered, the executor receives the certificate of inheritance even if someone else ordered it. The certificate of inheritance is a provisional certificate that the persons named are the sole heirs; you need it mainly to identify yourself as an heir to banks and the land registry (Grundbuchamt). The form contains a declaration of acceptance (Annahmeerklärung): whoever signs it declares that they accept the inheritance unconditionally and undertakes to pay the fees to the Fachstelle. Only the person who orders has to sign; you list the other heirs on the form merely for information. Whoever has accepted the inheritance in this way can no longer renounce it – as long as you are considering a renunciation, therefore do not sign the form. If there is a will, appointed heirs receive the certificate of inheritance at the earliest one month after notification of the opening, and only if the legal heirs have not contested their entitlement. Under the ordinance on fees in civil law, each copy costs CHF 30 – order as many as you need right away; if clarifications are needed, for example to identify the heirs, the ordinance provides CHF 80 per hour for them, and CHF 200 for a decision. For registering the heirs in the land register (acquisition of real estate by succession) it states CHF 100. If you first want only to obtain information about the estate – for example because it is still open whether it is overindebted –, you can, as an heir, order a "Bescheinigung auf Auskunft" (certificate for information purposes) from the Fachstelle and use it to make enquiries with banks and authorities without ordering a certificate of inheritance; it too costs CHF 30.
Renunciation and public inventory
In the canton of Glarus, you do not declare the renunciation to the Fachstelle Erbschaft (cantonal estate office) but to the cantonal court of Glarus (Kantonsgericht Glarus), Spielhof 6, 8750 Glarus (Art. 111 EG ZGB). Use the court's form "Ausschlagung der Erbschaft" from gl.ch for this and send it by post or hand it in in person, with civil-status documents (Zivilstandsurkunden) if you have them; you do not need a certificate of inheritance for it. The period is three months – for legal heirs from the day you learned of the death (usually the date of death), for appointed heirs from the official notification of the opening, the Testamentseröffnungsverfügung (decision on the opening of the will). If a protective inventory (Sicherungsinventar) is taken – for example in the case of the appointment of a subsequent heir –, the period under Art. 568 of the Civil Code (ZGB) begins for all heirs only with the notification that it has been completed; in the case of the tax inventory (Steuerinventar) alone, do not rely on this. The period is extended or restored only in exceptional cases, likewise by the cantonal court; not having known the legal position is normally not enough. According to the information sheet (Merkblatt) of the canton, whoever interferes in the affairs of the estate before the period runs out can no longer renounce – for example by taking estate assets for themselves or concealing items belonging to the estate. Under the Civil Code the same applies to anything that goes beyond the mere administration of the estate; anyone who pays bills from the deceased's accounts or clears their home may also thereby have accepted the inheritance. As long as you are considering a renunciation, therefore clarify beforehand with the Fachstelle or the cantonal court what is permitted. If the insolvency of the deceased has been officially established or is obvious, renunciation is presumed (Art. 566 para. 2 ZGB); if in doubt, clarify with the cantonal court whether this applies. If you renounce as a legal heir, your position passes to your descendants, who must likewise renounce if they do not want the inheritance; for minor children the parents act, and in the event of a conflict of interest – for example if you are a co-heir yourself – the KESB (child and adult protection authority) of the canton of Glarus appoints a deputy (Beistand) or acts itself; contact it early because of the deadline. If all the next legal heirs renounce, the bankruptcy office (Konkursamt) liquidates the estate. The cantonal court usually charges CHF 100 per person for a renunciation; in addition there are the expenses for establishing who is an heir. Whoever renounces bears these costs. You request a public inventory (öffentliches Inventar) from the cantonal court as well (Art. 113 EG ZGB), within one month from the same point in time as for the renunciation, using the form "Begehren um Anordnung des öffentlichen Inventars". The court requires you to pay an advance on costs (Kostenvorschuss), usually CHF 5'000, and reports the request to the Fachstelle. The Fachstelle usually takes the inventory within three months: it issues the call to creditors (Rechnungsruf) – creditors and debtors of the deceased register their claims and debts within six weeks of the first publication –, draws up the inventory and makes it available for inspection to the persons concerned at the Fachstelle for one month; it too may require an advance on costs. Afterwards you have one month to renounce, to request official liquidation or to accept the inheritance under public inventory or unconditionally; whoever accepts under public inventory is liable only for the inventoried debts. If you do not make a declaration, the inheritance is deemed accepted under public inventory. The cantonal court may extend this period if the circumstances justify it. A public inventory is expensive. Under the Civil Code its costs are borne by the estate; if it is not enough, they are borne by the heirs who requested the inventory. If the estate is unlikely to cover the costs, the cantonal information sheet regards a public inventory as inadvisable – ask the cantonal court beforehand about the costs to expect.
Inheritance tax
In the canton of Glarus, transfers to the spouse, to direct descendants – children and grandchildren – and to adopted children are exempt from tax; stepchildren and foster children are not exempt. The information sheet "Merkblatt Erbschaftssteuer" does not expressly mention registered partners; ask the Abteilung Spezialsteuern (special taxes division) whether they are exempt like spouses. Household effects and personal items of daily use, customary occasional gifts up to CHF 5'000 and the children's waiver of their share of the estate in favour of the surviving parent are also tax-free, if they declare it no later than with the official inventory. All other recipients pay tax on their share of the inheritance or their legacy after deduction of an allowance (Freibetrag) – CHF 100'000 per stepchild or foster child, CHF 50'000 per parent and CHF 10'000 for all others, including grandparents; if a person receives several transfers, it is deducted only once. The rate depends on the relationship to the deceased: 2.5 % for parents, adoptive parents and grandparents; 4 % for siblings and for cohabiting partners (Lebenspartner/in) who demonstrably lived in a shared household with the deceased at least five years before the transfer; 5 % for half-siblings; 6 % for stepchildren and foster children, stepparents and foster parents, sons-in-law and daughters-in-law, parents-in-law and relatives by marriage; 7 % for uncles, aunts, nephews and nieces; 8 % for stepnephews and stepnieces, step-uncles and step-aunts; 9 % for children of siblings, great-nephews and great-nieces; 10 % for all others, including unrelated persons. If the transfer to one person exceeds CHF 200'000, the whole tax increases by 50 %, above CHF 400'000 by 100 % and above CHF 2'000'000 by 150 % – 2.5 % thus becomes at most 6.25 %, 10 % at most 25 %. For business assets, the tax is reduced by 50 % in certain cases. In addition to the inheritance tax there is the cantonal construction tax (kantonale Bausteuer), the rate of which the Landsgemeinde (cantonal assembly of citizens) sets every year for the following year – for 2026 it is 5 % of the inheritance tax. All transfers by virtue of inheritance law are taxable – from legal succession, an inheritance contract or a will, including legacies and gifts in contemplation of death; in the case of a usufruct, the person holding the usufruct is liable for the tax. The debts of the deceased, the costs of death, the costs of the division and of the executorship and the claims of members of the household (Hausgenossen) under Art. 606 of the Civil Code (ZGB) (in practice CHF 2'000) can be deducted. The canton taxes the estate if the deceased last lived in the canton, and land in the canton of Glarus even if the deceased lived elsewhere; land in another canton is taxed by that canton. The competent authority is the Steuerverwaltung (cantonal tax administration) of the canton of Glarus, Abteilung Spezialsteuern, Hauptstrasse 11, 8750 Glarus. It assesses the tax on the basis of the tax inventory (Steuerinventar), which is as a rule drawn up after a death. If no official inventory is drawn up, the heirs fill in the heirs' inventory (Erbeninventar) as a tax return, sign it personally and submit it to the Steuerverwaltung within the set deadline. The assessment and the invoice go to the heirs' representative (Erbenvertreter) whom the heirs designate in the inventory procedure – or, at their request, directly to the individual heirs and legatees. Heirs and legatees are jointly and severally liable for the tax, each person up to the value of what they received. Due date and payment period are governed by an ordinance; the payment period is stated on the invoice.
Tax inventory as at the date of death
In the canton of Glarus, the Steuerverwaltung (cantonal tax administration), Abteilung Spezialsteuern (special taxes division), Hauptstrasse 11, 8750 Glarus, draws up an official tax inventory (Steuerinventar) after a death; under the tax act this happens within two weeks of the death, and it is waived only if no assets, or only insignificant assets, can be assumed. If it is waived, the heirs themselves submit an heirs' inventory (Erbeninventar) as a tax return. The inventory records the assets as at the date of death – for married persons also those of the surviving spouse in a non-separated marriage and those of minor children under parental authority – and forms the basis for assessing any inheritance tax. It is drawn up by means of a questionnaire (Fragebogen): in practice, the Abteilung Spezialsteuern sends the "Fragebogen für die Inventaraufnahme" to an heir, the heirs' representative (Erbenvertreter) or the executor at the earliest two weeks after the death. You fill it in completely and truthfully and send it back within 60 days with the supporting documents – account and securities-account statements, insurance policies, details of properties, vehicles and open invoices as at the date of death; you can request an extension of the deadline by e-mail. If there is neither an executor nor an estate administrator, the heirs designate an heirs' representative, who fills in the declaration for everyone and is the contact person in the assessment procedure. You are obliged to cooperate; whoever conceals estate assets is fined. Assets that only come to light later, you report subsequently within ten days. The tax inventory and the inheritance-tax assessment go to the heirs' representative. Keep the records of assets and debts as at the date of death in a safe place. In addition to the tax inventory, the Fachstelle Erbschaft (cantonal estate office) may order a protective inventory (Sicherungsinventar), for example in the case of the appointment of a subsequent heir or at the request of an heir; for this it generally relies on the tax inventory. For clarifications such as securing the estate, the ordinance on fees in civil law provides CHF 80 per hour, and CHF 200 for a decision.
The deceased's tax return
The death ends the tax liability of the deceased; for the period from 1 January up to and including the date of death, the heirs file a last tax return, with the income up to the date of death and the assets as at the date of death. If the deceased had not yet filed the previous year's tax return, you file that one as well. In the canton of Glarus, the Steuerverwaltung (cantonal tax administration), Hauptstrasse 11, 8750 Glarus, assesses all natural persons; as a rule it sends the documents to the heirs – contact it if nothing arrives. The deadline is in the covering letter and can be extended on request; submit the request to the Steuerverwaltung before it runs out. You gather the figures yourself and send the tax return back signed; you reconcile the asset figures as at the date of death with the tax inventory (Steuerinventar). Spouses and registered partners are assessed jointly up to the date of death at the rate for married persons; the death creates a part-year tax period. The surviving person starts a new tax liability and is taxed at the rate for single persons for the period from the day after the death to the end of the year; they state their income for both periods in separate tax returns. If they live with children as a widowed person, the Steuerverwaltung applies a reduced rate under the tax act. The heirs declare the assets and income of the not yet distributed estate pro rata in their own tax return; all income that falls due from the date of death is taxable. If you discover income or assets that the deceased did not declare, you can, as heirs, request a simplified back taxation (vereinfachte Nachbesteuerung), provided the tax authorities do not yet know about them: only the taxes plus default interest for the three tax periods before the year of death are then claimed.
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.