Since 1 January 2021, fathers in Switzerland have the right to two weeks of paternity leave. This change gives new fathers a chance to take some valuable time off to settle into their new role and support their families. Paternity leave raises various considerations for employers and employees, the most important of which are discussed below.
Inheritance law revision 2023
The reduction of the compulsory portion from 1 January 2023 offers the testator new flexibility. Plan early and review your last will or inheritance contract. Careful estate planning facilitates the settlement of the estate and reduces potential conflicts between heirs or beneficiaries. Our attorneys are happy to assist you in this process.
Inheritance law: The digital estate
Digital technology has long been a topic of discussion for most people. Accordingly, deceased persons are increasingly leaving an estate in digital form. For surviving relatives, it is almost impossible to track down the data of a deceased person on the internet and gain access to his or her digital estate. For this reason, everyone should take precautions regarding their digital estate during their lifetime. This article provides an overview of the necessary and sensible measures.
Cantonal Court of Lucerne finds error in calculation of short-time work benefits
In its landmark decision 5V 20 396 (LGVE 2021 III No. 2), the Cantonal Court of Lucerne ruled on the non-inclusion of holiday and public holiday entitlements in the assessment of short-time work (STW) benefits in the summary procedure introduced due to the Covid 19 pandemic for employees on monthly wages.
Abolition of bearer shares: Deadline!
Bearer shares are only permissible if a company is listed on a stock exchange or has structured the bearer shares as intermediated securities. If this is not the case, bearer shares must be converted into registered shares by 30 April 2021 at the latest. The conversion requires notarization by a notary public.
Cryptocurrencies: Tax values 2020 for Swiss net wealth tax purposes
The Swiss Federal Tax Administration (SFTA) has published the list of exchange rates of foreign currencies and cryptocurrencies as per December 31, 2020. The exchange rates are used to determine the tax values of foreign currencies and cryptocurrencies in CHF which individuals have to declare in their private tax declarations for net wealth tax purposes.
EU Growth Prospectus filed
In collaboration with our colleagues in the EU we have filed an EU Growth Prospectus for the public sale of participation certificates by a Swiss Startup in the Crypto Valley.
Coronavirus: Measures against bankruptcies will not be extended
At its meeting on October 14, 2020, the Federal Council decided not to extend the temporary measures to prevent corona-related bankruptcies. The measures of the Covid-19 Ordinance on Insolvency Law of April 16, 2020 were limited to six months and continue to apply until October 19, 2020. For legal entities and their responsible persons that are subject to a legal obligation to notify in the event of capital loss and over-indebtedness, this also means a return to the regular legal obligations to notify in the event of capital loss and over-indebtedness.
Debt collection request remains visible even after unsuccessful legal proceedings
With this decision, the Federal Supreme Court clarified the question whether an unsuccessful proceeding for setting aside the objection also justifies the non-disclosure of debt collection to third parties based on Art. 8 para. 3 lit. d of the Swiss Debt Enforcement and Bankruptcy Act. The Federal Supreme Court denies this. Even after an unsuccessful application for the objection to be set aside, the debt enforcement request would still be disclosed to third parties. If the (alleged) debtor nevertheless wishes to prevent disclosure of the debt collection to third parties, he can and must take action himself and bring an action against the (alleged) creditor for cancellation of the debt collection request or demonstration of non-existence of the claim.
Non-competition clauses in employment agreements
You are welcome to read our article in the magazine Fokus Rechtsguide 2020 on post-contractual non-competition clauses.
COVID-19 in inheritance law
In these extraordinary COVID-19 times, many people are forced to deal with illness or even death. Accordingly, precaution seems more important than ever and the question of what happens or should happen to one's assets in the event of death is omnipresent. Certain legal precautions can be taken in such cases to safeguard one's will as comprehensively as possible. The following article provides an overview of the legal possibilities.
Swiss tax consequences of the liquidation of companies and partnerships
Legal entities and partnerships ceasing their business activities should be formally liquidated sooner or later. The required proceedings and tax consequences in Switzerland are summarised in this newsletter.
We accept crypto currencies (Bitcoin, Ethereum, Ripple) 