Cantonal guide: Lucerne
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 Lucerne.
Handing in and opening the will
In the canton of Lucerne, the estate division authority (Teilungsbehörde) of the municipality of the last residence is the inheritance authority; in most municipalities, the responsible office is called the "estate division office" (Teilungsamt) and is part of the municipal administration (in Kriens the "Nachlass/Sondersteuern" department). 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 estate division office is also the place of deposit for wills and marriage and inheritance contracts; a document deposited there, it opens of its own accord after the death. The estate division office opens the testamentary disposition and communicates it to the legal heirs and everyone named in the will. With this notice, the one-month period to object to the disposition begins; as long as an objection is pending, the estate division office does not issue a certificate of inheritance. The opening carries a fee; the cantonal fee schedule for municipalities (SRL 687) applies, under which it is billed by time spent, at an hourly rate of CHF 60 to CHF 200; depositing a document costs CHF 100 plus time spent. The costs are charged to the estate. Disputed questions – for example the invalidity of a will or the division of the estate – are not decided by the estate division office, but by the district court (Bezirksgericht).
Certificate of inheritance
In the canton of Lucerne, the estate division authority (Teilungsbehörde) of the municipality of the last residence – the estate division office (Teilungsamt) – issues the certificate of inheritance (the cantonal guide calls it "Erbenbescheinigung"), on application by an heir; it is not issued of its own accord. You order it in writing from the estate division office; it is drawn up on the basis of the civil status records, and the estate division office tells you which documents it needs for this. The certificate of inheritance is issued only once the legal or appointed heirs have accepted the inheritance – that is, after the three-month renunciation period has passed, or earlier if all heirs expressly declare their acceptance (the City of Lucerne has the form "Antritt Erbschaft" for this) – and, if there is a will, at the earliest one month after the notice of its opening, provided nobody has objected during that time. Note two features specific to Lucerne: because the estate division office draws up a protective and tax inventory (Sicherungs- und Steuerinventar) after every death, the renunciation period only begins, under municipal practice – as in Kriens and Emmen –, with the completion, respectively the receipt, of this inventory, not on the date of death; the certificate of inheritance therefore often arrives more than three months after the death. And whoever still wants to renounce the inheritance does not sign a declaration of acceptance. If an objection was raised, it takes longer: under the cantonal guide, the certificate of inheritance is then usually issued only once the one-year period for an action for invalidity has expired or the court has ruled – the estate division office tells you what applies in your case. The fee is set under the cantonal fee schedule for municipalities (SRL 687) and amounts to CHF 63 to CHF 500, in very complex cases by time spent; the same applies to the executor's certificate, which an executor orders from the estate division office. Order as many copies right away as you need for banks, insurers and the land registry.
Renunciation and public inventory
In the canton of Lucerne, you declare the renunciation to the estate division authority (Teilungsbehörde) of the municipality of the last residence – to the estate division office (Teilungsamt) –, in writing with your signature: the City of Lucerne has the form "Ausschlagung der Erbschaft" for this, Kriens the form "Erbenbeschluss", which you submit by post; Emmen requires a written declaration. The period is three months. Because the estate division office draws up a protective and tax inventory (Sicherungs- und Steuerinventar) after every death, it does not begin on the date of death under municipal practice: in Kriens it runs from the completion of this inventory, in Emmen from its receipt. The renunciation is irrevocable; whoever has accepted the inheritance can no longer renounce it. If you renounce as a legal heir, your position passes to your own descendants – they too must renounce if they do not want the inheritance. For minor children, the parents act as legal representatives; if the estate is overindebted, the renunciation does not need the consent of the child and adult protection authority (KESB) under the cantonal guide, otherwise the estate division office reports the devolution to the KESB and tells you how to proceed. The cantonal fee schedule for municipalities (SRL 687) does not provide for a separate fee for the renunciation. You also request a public inventory with a call to creditors (Rechnungsruf) from the estate division office, within one month – in Kriens counted from the day you learned of the death; the City of Lucerne states 30 days –, preferably in writing: Kriens' information sheet requires the written form, Kriens' website also allows an oral request, and the City of Lucerne has the form "Begehren um öffentliches Inventar". Do not wait for the notice about the inventory to do this, but if in doubt ask the estate division office directly. The request of a single heir counts for all. The estate division office publishes the call to creditors in the official gazette of the canton of Lucerne (Luzerner Kantonsblatt), with a one-month period for creditors and debtors. The public inventory is billed by time spent (SRL 687); the costs are borne by the estate, and where it is not enough, by the heirs who requested the inventory. Once it is closed, the estate division office asks you to declare, within one month, whether you accept the inheritance; whoever accepts it under public inventory is liable only for the inventoried debts. As a further option, you can request official liquidation (in the City of Lucerne with the form "Gesuch um amtliche Liquidation"): then the authority winds up the estate, and you are not liable for its debts.
Inheritance tax
Spouses, registered partners and life partners who lived together with the deceased for at least two years in a marriage-like relationship pay no inheritance tax in the canton of Lucerne. Descendants (children, grandchildren; adopted children count as descendants) as well as stepchildren and foster children – for foster children under the Steuerbuch, if the foster relationship lasted at least two years during minority – pay no cantonal inheritance tax. A number of Lucerne's municipalities, however, levy their own inheritance tax on descendants (Nachkommenerbschaftssteuer), a pure municipal tax under SRL 652: for example the City of Lucerne and Malters (with a progression surcharge) and Meggen (without), but not Kriens, Emmen, Horw, Ebikon and Adligenswil. Shares of the inheritance up to CHF 100'000 per person stay tax-free there; above that, the whole share of the inheritance is taxed without allowance, at a maximum of 1 percent – with a progression surcharge, a maximum of 2 percent overall. A child with CHF 120'000, for example, pays CHF 1'920 in the City of Lucerne (1 percent plus a 60 percent surcharge). The deciding factor is the deceased's municipality of residence; the overview of municipalities and a calculator (Kalkulator) are on steuern.lu.ch. All other heirs pay a rate according to the line of kinship (Stamm): 6 percent for the parental line of kinship (elterlicher Stamm) – the tax administration (Steuerverwaltung) names parents, siblings, nieces and nephews as well as foster parents and employees here, the Steuerbuch also stepparents –, 15 percent for the grandparental line of kinship (grosselterlicher Stamm) – grandparents, uncles and aunts, cousins – and 20 percent for more distant relatives and non-relatives. For shares of the inheritance over CHF 10'000, a progression surcharge (Progressionszuschlag) of 10 to 100 percent of the tax amount is added, staggered by the size of the share of the inheritance – at CHF 50'000, for example, 40 percent, from CHF 500'000 100 percent; effectively this results in 6 to 12, 15 to 30 and 20 to 40 percent. A niece with CHF 50'000 thus pays CHF 4'200. The Steuerbuch also names a tax allowance of CHF 2'000 for the parental line of kinship. Funeral costs are usually deducted as a flat CHF 15'000 from the assets as at the date of death. The tax is assessed by the municipality of the last residence, usually by the estate division office (Teilungsamt), on the basis of the tax inventory (Steuerinventar); as a rule you do not have to file a separate inheritance-tax return. You can object in writing to the assessment decision within 30 days.
Protective and tax inventory
In the canton of Lucerne, the estate division authority (Teilungsbehörde) of the municipality of the last residence – the estate division office (Teilungsamt) – draws up a protective and tax inventory (Sicherungs- und Steuerinventar) after every death; Emmen, for example, draws it up in every case of death, even where there are no assets. You do not have to report the death for this yourself – the estate division office contacts the relatives in writing: in Emmen usually about ten days after the death is reported, in the City of Lucerne with an invitation to a meeting at the estate division office; in Kriens the inventory is usually drawn up within 30 days of the death. But you can also report it yourself. The tax law provides for the inventory to be drawn up within two weeks of the death. The inventory records the entire assets and debts as at the date of death – including the assets of the surviving spouse or registered partner in an undissolved marriage and of minor children under parental care: accounts, securities, insurance, property, vehicles, household goods, open invoices and funeral costs. You are obliged to cooperate: give truthful information and allow inspection of records; banks and other third parties are likewise obliged to provide information. Until the inventory is drawn up, a statutory prohibition on disposing of the estate assets applies; only dispose of estate assets in agreement with the estate division office. For protection, the estate division office may – at the request of an heir, or if it considers it necessary – seal rooms and containers, take assets into custody or restrict the right to dispose of them. After it is drawn up, the estate division office prepares the tax inventory and sends it to the heirs (in Kriens to all heirs); it is the basis for the inheritance tax, and under Kriens' and Emmen's practice, the three-month renunciation period begins with its completion, respectively its receipt. The preparation is billed under the cantonal fee schedule for municipalities (SRL 687) by time spent, at an hourly rate of CHF 60 to CHF 200; if the estate division office holds estate assets in custody, 1 per mille of these is added (minimum CHF 60, maximum CHF 600). Keep the records of assets and debts as at the date of death in a safe place.
The deceased's tax return
The death ends the deceased's tax liability; for the year of death, a last tax return has to be filed for the period from 1 January up to and including the date of death – in the canton of Lucerne, the tax return for a partial-year tax liability. If the deceased lived alone, the survivors file this tax return. The information sheet does not say which office sends it – if in doubt, contact the tax office of the municipality of the last residence. The deadline is stated on the tax return (the general rule in the canton of Lucerne is: within 30 days of delivery) and can be extended on request – submit the request before it runs out. In it, you state income and deductions up to and including the date of death and the assets as at the date of death; you reconcile the asset figures with the estate division office's (Teilungsamt) tax inventory. You reclaim withholding tax due up to the date of death with this tax return. Spouses and registered partners are jointly assessed up to and including the date of death and file two tax returns for the year of death: the first contains the joint income from the start of the year up to and including the date of death and the joint assets as at the date of death; from the date of death, the surviving person is assessed separately as a single person and states in the second tax return their income from the day after the date of death to the end of the year and their assets as at 31 December. For the undivided estate, the following applies: the heirs declare the year-end assets and the income since the date of death proportionally in their own tax return. The information sheet "Unterjährige Steuerpflicht" from the cantonal tax office (Dienststelle Steuern) on steuern.lu.ch explains the details.
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.