Cantonal guide: Jura
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 Jura.
Handing in and opening the will
In the canton of Jura, a will or inheritance contract that you find after the death at home, in a bank safe-deposit box or with third parties, you hand in without delay to the Recette et administration de district (the district administration) of the last place of residence – in the original, even if the document looks incomplete or probably invalid; it receives the wills found at death (Art. 9a LiCC). The three district administrations are in Delémont (Rue de la Justice 2), Porrentruy (Rue Auguste-Cuenin 15) and Saignelégier (Place du 23-Juin 6). If the will had been deposited, it is with a notary or with the municipal council (Conseil communal) – in Jura it is not the Recette but the municipal council that keeps the wills that are not deposited with a notary (Art. 9 LiCC). The will is opened not by an office but by a notary. If an estate inventory is drawn up, it is the notary who draws up the inventory. If none is drawn up, the Recette et administration de district designates the notary with whom a will was deposited, otherwise the one proposed by the heirs; this designation is final (Art. 55c LiCC). The notary opens the testamentary dispositions (Art. 557 and 558 CC) by operation of law within one month of the hand-in and notifies an appointed executor. Everyone concerned receives a copy of the provisions that concern them; the original then stays with the notary who opened it (Art. 56 LiCC). Deadlines start running with the opening: the one-month objection period against the certificate of inheritance and, for appointed heirs, the three-month renunciation period. The notarial tariff provides no separate amount for the opening – ask the notary what he or she charges for it; the costs are charged to the estate.
Certificate of inheritance (certificat d'héritier)
In the canton of Jura, no court and no municipality issues the certificate of inheritance; only a notary does: under the cantonal act introducing the Swiss Civil Code (Art. 56a LiCC), the notaries alone are competent to issue the certificate for legal, appointed or contractual heirs under Art. 559 CC – and likewise the certificate for an executor (certificat d'exécuteur testamentaire). You apply to a notary admitted in the canton of Jura; the list is on jura.ch under «Notaires». This can be the notary who opened the will or drew up the estate inventory, because he or she already knows the heirs. The notary tells you which documents are required. The certificate of inheritance is issued only once it is clear who inherits: where there is a will, at the earliest one month after its opening, provided no one has raised an objection; without a will, as a rule after the three-month renunciation period has expired or as soon as all heirs have expressly accepted the inheritance. The fee follows the notarial tariff (Décret 189.61, the decree on notarial fees) and is calculated by the size of the estate: 4 ‰ of the first CHF 100'000, 3 ‰ of the next CHF 400'000 and 2 ‰ of the amount above CHF 500'000; if the same notary also handles the division of the estate, the fee is halved. Ask for a cost estimate at the start. Order right away as many copies as you need for banks, insurers and the land registry.
Renunciation and public inventory
In the canton of Jura, you declare the renunciation to the Juge administratif (administrative judge) of the Tribunal de première instance (court of first instance) in Porrentruy, who handles the non-contentious inheritance matters. There is an official form, «Répudiation de la succession», on jura.ch: fill it in on screen, print it, sign it and send it to «Tribunal de première instance, Juge administratif, Chemin du Château 9, Case postale, 2900 Porrentruy 1»; the form names no enclosures. You can reach the court by telephone on 032 420 33 50 or at secr.tpi@jura.ch. The fee is CHF 10 plus outlays (débours). The period is three months – for legal heirs from the day you learned of the death (as a rule the day of death), for appointed heirs from the official notification of the disposition. The renunciation is irrevocable. Anyone who interferes in the inheritance beforehand – for instance by taking estate assets for themselves or concealing them, or by doing more than the mere administration of the estate requires – can no longer renounce (Art. 571 para. 2 CC). If you renounce as a legal heir, your position passes to your descendants, who then must renounce as well. Parents can renounce together with their minor children on a single form; adult descendants must renounce themselves. A public inventory with a call to creditors (bénéfice d'inventaire) you request in writing from the Recette et administration de district (district administration), within one month of the same point in time; one heir's request counts for all. It is ordered by the Juge administratif. The Recette designates an administrator of the estate and the notary who draws up the inventory; the heirs can propose a notary, but the Recette is not bound by that. The administrator and the notary publish the call to creditors at the last place of residence and, if necessary, in newspapers. After completion, the inventory is available for inspection for one month; after that you have one month to declare to the Juge administratif whether you accept or renounce the inheritance; whoever accepts under public inventory is liable only for the inventoried debts. The costs are borne by the estate and, where it is not sufficient, by the heirs.
Inheritance tax
The surviving spouse, the registered partner and the descendants of the deceased person pay no inheritance tax in the canton of Jura (Art. 10 para. 1 of the Loi sur l'impôt de succession et de donation, LISD, the act on inheritance and gift tax); for the descendants of a person who was taxed on expenditure (lump-sum taxation), half the rate of 7 percent applies (Art. 22 para. 3 LISD). Since 1 January 2017, this exemption falls away when two conditions come together (Art. 10 para. 2 LISD): no treaty for the avoidance of double taxation in respect of inheritance and gift taxes is in force between Switzerland and a foreign state, and that state in turn taxes spouses, registered partners and descendants. They then pay 7 percent as well – on inheritances as on gifts. The rule says nothing about the heir's place of residence. If the inheritance has a connection to another state, ask the Service des contributions (cantonal tax administration) whether that applies to your case. The remaining heirs pay a fixed rate on their share, depending on the relationship (Art. 22 LISD): 7 percent for parents, grandparents and the other ancestors, for stepchildren – the children of the current or a former spouse or registered partner – and their descendants, and for foster children (enfants placés ou confiés); 14 percent for siblings, for stepparents and for cohabiting partners who lived in a shared household with the deceased person for more than ten years, and for their descendants and for the descendants of a former cohabiting partner who lived with the deceased for more than ten years; 21 percent for uncles and aunts, nieces and nephews, cousins and sisters- and brothers-in-law; 35 percent for all other relatives, for all other relatives by marriage – including parents-in-law and sons- and daughters-in-law – and for non-relatives. Foster children and the descendants of a former cohabiting partner fall into these classes only if the deceased person supported them for at least five years. Anyone who receives less than CHF 10'000 pays no tax – a threshold for each beneficiary, not an allowance: gifts from the same person in the five years before the year of death are added, and if the total reaches or exceeds CHF 10'000, everything is taxable (Art. 21 LISD). The tax is levied by the canton (the municipality receives 20 percent of the proceeds, Art. 37 LISD). After a death, the Recette et administration de district (district administration) sends the taxable persons an inheritance tax return (déclaration de succession). You file it signed and with all useful documents within 30 days of receipt – with the Service des contributions, Bureau des personnes morales et des autres impôts (office for legal entities and other taxes), the division for special taxes, Rue des Esserts 2, 2345 Les Breuleux (telephone 032 420 44 00, secr.pmo@jura.ch); several heirs can file a joint return (Art. 24 and 27 LISD). You request an extension before the deadline runs out from the Recette et administration de district. Against the assessment you can file a written objection (réclamation) within 30 days of delivery – with the Section des personnes morales et des autres impôts, Rue des Esserts 2, 2345 Les Breuleux.
Estate inventory (inventaire de succession) and tax inventory
In the canton of Jura, an inventory is not drawn up after every death. The estate inventory (inventaire de succession) is ordered by the Recette et administration de district (district administration) of the last place of residence only in the cases named in the cantonal act introducing the Swiss Civil Code (Art. 55 LiCC) – when an heir is or has to be placed under guardianship or curatorship, when an heir is absent for an extended period and has no representation, when an heir asks for it, or when the father or mother has died and leaves minor children. If the estate is manifestly small, the Recette can waive it. A tax inventory (inventaire fiscal) is drawn up in the cases that tax law provides for; the Recette will tell you whether that applies to you. If it orders an inventory, it notifies the known heirs and points out their right to request a public inventory within the statutory period. The inventory is drawn up by a notary whom the Recette commissions (Art. 5 of the inventory decree, Décret 214.431); the notary informs the heirs of the place and time at least three days in advance and opens a will on that occasion. The inventory records assets and debts as at the date of death. You are obliged to cooperate – provide information, open rooms and containers; a refusal is recorded and reported to the Recette and to the Service des contributions. The tax law provides for fines when procedural duties are breached (up to CHF 1'000, in serious cases up to CHF 10'000) and when estate assets are concealed or someone incites this (up to CHF 10'000, in serious cases up to CHF 50'000; Art. 40, 42 and 43 LISD). For the sealing of rooms and containers (apposition des scellés, Art. 552 CC), the municipal council (Conseil communal) is responsible in Jura, not the Recette; the seals are removed as soon as the heirs are established or a notary is appointed. The costs of the inventory and the sealing are borne by the estate and, where it is not sufficient, by the heirs; the State pays for the tax inventory if the gross assets do not exceed CHF 35'000. For an inventory, the notary charges under the notarial tariff (Décret 189.61) 4 ‰ of the first CHF 200'000 (minimum CHF 100), 3 ‰ of the next CHF 800'000 and 2 ‰ of the amount above CHF 1'000'000; the municipality's fees for the sealing are set by the municipal council.
The deceased's tax return
With the death, the deceased person's tax liability ends; for the period from 1 January to the date of death, the heirs file a final tax return. In the canton of Jura, the Service des contributions (cantonal tax administration) is responsible, Section des personnes physiques (the individuals section), Rue de la Justice 2, 2800 Delémont; as a rule it sends the documents to the heirs – contact it if nothing arrives. In it 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 any inventory drawn up by the notary and with the inheritance tax return. The deadline is in the covering letter; you apply for an extension before it runs out with the Service des contributions. Spouses and registered partners are assessed jointly up to the date of death; after that the surviving person is taxed alone and files their own tax return for the period from the day after the date of death to the end of the year, with the assets as at 31 December. For the estate that has not yet been divided, the following applies: the heirs declare the assets and income since the date of death proportionally in their own tax return. Against an assessment you can file a written objection with the Service des contributions within 30 days of delivery.
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.