Can we track our inheritance?

February 6, 2013 5:13 PM

We had some money in Switzerland, we don't know where it is. Now what?

My father always told us our inheritance was locked up in a fund of funds in Zurich and that on his passing we'd get complete instructions on how to access it from his lawyer. He passed away about 10 years ago but no documentation on the account was ever found. We don't even know what institution it was banked with. Is there any way for us to track this money down now or in the future?

posted by anonymous to Grab Bag (7 answers total)

You should consider that possibly there is no account in Zurich.
posted by RustyBrooks at 5:38 PM on February 6, 2013 [30 favorites]

This might seem a bit far-fetched, but did the lawyer in question happen to retire (or move) fairly soon after your father's death?
posted by matlock expressway at 5:42 PM on February 6, 2013

Did you contact his lawyer? I'd think that would be the place to start.
posted by clockzero at 5:46 PM on February 6, 2013 [1 favorite]

From a MeFite who would prefer to remain anon:

As someone who ended up dealing with Switzerland because of an inheritance: it is entirely possible that such an account exists but that your names are nowhere on it. Swiss banks will be the opposite of helpful, especially if you -as I did- want to do things above board. I had to involve several lawyers and I knew about the account.

Talk to your father's old lawyer and ask about what fiduciary duty, if any, him and the banks had towards your father.

posted by jessamyn at 6:46 PM on February 6, 2013

There is no federal law in Switzerland governing the disposition of dormant accounts. In general, when a client has not been heard from for a number of years, the bank declares the account dormant. What happens then depends on a number of factors, including the laws of the canton in which the account was opened and any specific instructions the client may have given the bank for such an eventuality. Most business records in Switzerland, which includes all transactions in bank accounts, must be retained for 10 years; if an account is closed, there is therefore likely to be no record of it at all once 10 years has gone by. Small accounts may vanish because annual charges exceed any interest income, resulting in a zero balance and automatic closure; if there is then a wait of 10 years before looking, there won't even be any trace of the account. In researching a suspected lost account, the most important information is the name of the bank which held the account; if that is known, the bank should be contacted directly with as many details of the case as are known, and they will advise on the correct procedure. However, bank secrecy prevents them from answering the question "did X have an account with you"; such questions are routinely refused.

If the bank is not known, the search is obviously much more difficult. The Swiss Bankers Association has an office which, for a fee of Fr. 100, will attempt to trace dormant accounts when the bank is not known (Swiss Banking Ombudsman; Bahnhofplatz 9; Postfach; 8021 Zürich; Switzerland; Tel. [phone]; Fax. [phone]; e-mail is not available). As explained above, no guarantee of success can be given for such searches. This office, which may also be addressed as as the Swiss Banking Ombudsman, will consider all requests once the 10-year period has passed (hence in 2009 they will consider requests for accounts which have been inactive since 1999). -- FAQ Swiss Banking (and it looks like this firm is selling its services)

It should be noted that Swiss bank secrecy is under increasing scrutiny and pushback.
posted by dhartung at 2:50 AM on February 7, 2013 [3 favorites]

dhartung et al: a fund of funds is not a bank.
posted by 3mendo at 7:17 AM on February 7, 2013

Perhaps he was referring to a Zurich-branded insurance product?
posted by salsamander at 1:05 PM on February 9, 2013