Cantonal guide: Valais
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 Valais.
Handing in and opening the will
In the canton of Valais, the municipal judge (Gemeinderichter) of the municipality of the last residence is the inheritance authority for the first steps: they open wills and inheritance contracts, seal the estate's assets where the law provides for it, draw up the inventory of the estate and issue the certificate of inheritance (Art. 90 EGZGB). 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. Dispositions drawn up or deposited with a notary are registered with the Valais central register of wills (Walliser Testamentszentrale, Avenue de la Gare 39, 1950 Sion); it regularly checks the death notices and informs the competent authorities when a disposition exists – for a death outside the canton or abroad this can take longer. You can also send it the official death notification yourself by e-mail to SRF-DGB@admin.vs.ch. The municipal judge opens the disposition within one month of it being handed in (Art. 557 ZGB), invites the heirs known to them, and communicates it to the legal heirs, the appointed heirs and the legatees. With this communication, deadlines begin to run: one month for an objection to the disposition with the municipal judge – it need not be justified –, three months for renunciation by appointed heirs. The opening is subject to a fee; the cantonal fee schedule does not name a specific amount for it (Art. 18: CHF 90 to 4'800 for other proceedings) – the municipal judge tells you the fee, which is charged to the estate. For drawing up or depositing a disposition with a notary, the notary fee schedule (Notariatstarif) applied: deposit of a holographic disposition CHF 100 to 400, public testamentary disposition CHF 200 to 3'000.
Certificate of inheritance
In the canton of Valais, the municipal judge (Gemeinderichter) of the municipality of the last residence issues the certificate of inheritance (Erbenbescheinigung), after consulting the civil status registers (Art. 90 EGZGB); only on application, not of its own accord. In the application, name the heirs with surname, first name, date of birth, parentage, place of origin and full address, and enclose the death certificate and, if there is one, the will or inheritance contract; marital status is checked by the municipal judge themselves in the civil status register. The certificate of inheritance is issued once all heirs have accepted the inheritance or the three-month renunciation period has passed. If there is a testamentary disposition, at the earliest one month after it is communicated to those entitled – and only if, within that period, no one has raised an objection against the disposition with the municipal judge. Note: whoever still wants to renounce the inheritance does not request a certificate of inheritance and does not declare acceptance. The certificate of inheritance is subject to a fee; the cantonal fee schedule does not list it separately (Art. 18: CHF 90 to 4'800 for other proceedings) – ask the municipal judge about the amount and order as many copies as you need for banks, insurers, debtors and the land registry right away. The notary fee schedule (Notariatstarif) includes a deed of devolution of the estate (CHF 35 to 350); it applies only if a notary draws up such a deed for you. The certificate of inheritance is also a mandatory enclosure of the inheritance-tax return (Steuererklärung für Erbschaften) and of the tax return of an undivided community of heirs.
Renunciation and public inventory
In the canton of Valais, you declare the renunciation not to the municipal judge but to the district judge / district court (Bezirksgericht) of the last residence – in writing; according to the municipalities' guide, a simple signed letter is enough, with the death certificate and the certificate of inheritance from the municipal judge – ask the district court which documents it requires in your case. 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 municipal judge's communication of the disposition. Whoever declares nothing within this period has accepted the inheritance together with all debts. The renunciation is irrevocable. 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 declare the renunciation; if the parents are themselves heirs, the child and adult protection authority (KESB) may decide for the child or appoint a deputy – ask the district court what is needed in your case. If all the next legal heirs renounce, the debt enforcement and bankruptcy office liquidates the estate. You also request the public inventory from the district judge (Art. 105 EGZGB), within one month of the death – for appointed heirs from the communication of the disposition; the request of a single heir counts for all. The district judge instructs a notary with the inventory (Art. 97 EGZGB) and the call to creditors, published in the official gazette (Bulletin officiel). The costs are borne by the estate, and where it is not enough, by the heirs who requested the inventory; the cantonal fee schedule does not name a specific amount for the procedure (Art. 18: CHF 90 to 4'800), the notary bills according to the notary fee schedule (Notariatstarif) – ask the district court about the costs. Once the inventory is closed, the district judge calls on you to declare yourself within one month (Art. 109 EGZGB): accept, renounce or request official liquidation (Art. 110 EGZGB); whoever accepts under public inventory is liable only for the inventoried debts.
Inheritance tax
In the canton of Valais, spouses, registered partners and relatives in the direct line – children and grandchildren, parents and grandparents – pay no inheritance tax. Also exempt are persons who have lived with the deceased for at least five years in a demonstrated cohabitation or who have a child in common with them (Art. 112 para. 1 lit. a of the Tax Act); the cantonal tax administration (Kantonale Steuerverwaltung) tells you which evidence is sufficient for this. Also exempt is any share of the inheritance whose net amount does not exceed CHF 20'000 (Art. 112 para. 1 lit. b); if the share of the inheritance exceeds this, it is taxed in full. All other heirs and legatees pay a fixed rate on their share, depending on the line of heirs (Stamm; Art. 116): 10 percent on acquisitions in the parental line of heirs – meaning the deceased's siblings and their descendants –, 15 percent in the grandparental line of heirs – uncles and aunts and their descendants –, 20 percent in the great-grandparental line of heirs, and 25 percent on all other acquisitions, including to unrelated persons; the law does not name the relatives individually. Two-thirds of the net proceeds of the tax belong to the municipality (Art. 116 para. 3). The tax is levied jointly for all heirs and legatees against the estate (Art. 147); whoever is entrusted with liquidating the estate then counts as the authorised representative of all heirs. The basis is the inheritance-tax return (Steuererklärung für Erbschaften) of the cantonal tax administration, inheritance and gift tax section (Bahnhofstrasse 35, 1951 Sion); the form is on vs.ch. The cantonal tax administration sets the deadline in the form itself ('deadline by …') – there is no fixed number of days; you file a request for an extension before it runs out. In it, list the main heirs and legatees with their degree of kinship and share of the net assets, and enclose: the certificate of inheritance (for legal heirs, the Erbenschein), a power of attorney for the representative, a copy of the will or inheritance contract, cadastral extracts and insurance policies; it is signed by the heirs or their representative. The tax is to be paid within 30 days of falling due (Art. 163); against the assessment you may, within 30 days of service, file a written objection with the assessment authority (Art. 139).
Protective inventory and tax inventory
In the canton of Valais, the municipal judge (Gemeinderichter) of the municipality of the last residence secures the estate where necessary; the Valais rules do not provide for an inventory meeting for every community of heirs. They are responsible for sealing the estate's assets, the inventory of the estate (Art. 553 ZGB) and the administration of the estate (Art. 90 EGZGB). Sealing takes place in the cases of Art. 102 EGZGB: when a minor heir is under guardianship, an heir is absent, an adult heir is under general deputyship, the heirs are unknown, at the request of an heir or a legatee, or at the request of the district judge or the KESB; the heirs are obliged to report such cases to the municipal judge. The inventory is drawn up by the municipal judge together with a notary (Art. 100 para. 4 EGZGB); the seals are removed when the inventory is taken, otherwise as soon as circumstances allow (Art. 104 EGZGB). The municipal judge's fee is not listed separately in the cantonal fee schedule (Art. 18: CHF 90 to 4'800 for other proceedings) – they tell you the amount; the notary bills according to the notary fee schedule (Notariatstarif), which has no line of its own for the protective inventory – its general scale is based on value: CHF 200 up to a value of CHF 5'000, above that graduated from 5 to 1 per mille, hourly rate CHF 250. For tax purposes: the cantonal tax administration (Kantonale Steuerverwaltung) only draws up a tax inventory if there is a suspicion of tax evasion (Art. 160 of the Tax Act). The basis of the inheritance tax is otherwise the inheritance-tax return (Steuererklärung für Erbschaften): in it the heirs state the assets and debts as at the date of death and enclose the certificate of inheritance, cadastral extracts and insurance policies. Give truthful information, report assets discovered later, and 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 from 1 January up to the date of death. In the canton of Valais, the cantonal tax administration (Kantonale Steuerverwaltung) as a rule serves this tax return together with its deadline (the «Guide de la déclaration d'impôts» sets no deadline – ask if nothing arrives a few weeks after the death); you file a request for an extension before it runs out, under the same rules as for any other tax return. In it you state income and deductions up to the date of death and the assets as at the date of death; you fill in the Valais tax return with the VSTax software, provided by the cantonal tax administration on vs.ch. Spouses are taxed jointly up to the date of death: the death ends the tax liability of both spouses, and the tax liability of the surviving person begins anew ('Guide de la déclaration d'impôts 2025') – for the period after that, they are taxed alone. The undivided community of heirs is not a tax subject in its own right: each heir declares their share of the assets and income since the date of death in their own tax return. If the estate of a widowed, divorced or single person remains undivided beyond the year of death, the community of heirs additionally files the tax return for the undivided community of heirs (Steuererklärung unverteilte Erbengemeinschaft) – exclusively with VSTax; the cantonal tax administration sends it to the representative of the community of heirs. It is mandatory if the estate includes property in Valais, movable assets of more than CHF 50'000, or property outside the canton, provided an heir lives in Valais; the certificate of inheritance (Erbenbescheinigung) is a mandatory enclosure. If the estate is divided within the year of death, it is not needed. The questions and answers 'Heirs' from the cantonal tax administration on vs.ch and the 'Guide de la déclaration d'impôts' explain 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.