Technical article
What Happens When My Heirs Live in Switzerland or the Netherlands and the Trust Is in Another Country
Switzerland recognises a trust validly constituted under the chosen foreign law, with the assets properly transferred.
Imagine a retired couple from the United States with a trust held in another country. Their son lives in Amsterdam and their daughter in Geneva. They ask a simple thing: does the trust still exist for my children, in a country that has no trust law?
The sources point to a plain answer on the first half. Both countries signed the 1985 Hague Convention on trusts. The Netherlands became a party on 1 February 1996, Switzerland on 1 July 2007 (tier A for the dates). Under the treaty, a trust formed under foreign law is recognised.
The Netherlands
The Netherlands cannot create a domestic trust. Foreign trusts are common there, according to Chambers (tier B). The treaty gives them a place.
Tax follows separately. Dutch tax looks through a discretionary trust to the settlor. On the settlor's death, the weight moves to the heirs or beneficiaries. So the trust exists, and the tax office still reads through it to a person.
Family rules apply as well. The Dutch forced share is a money claim worth half of the child's statutory share, which can be claimed within five years. Lifetime gifts may be reduced. For someone who lives in the Netherlands, EU Regulation 650/2012 says the law of the last habitual residence governs, with a choice of nationality law open. A Dutch notarial deed is the usual form for a will, and Chambers says it is often advisable to review and coordinate a foreign arrangement with Dutch and EU rules. A Dutch bank may ask for a notary statement from the heirs.
Switzerland
Switzerland recognises a trust validly constituted under the chosen foreign law, with the assets properly transferred. The limit is the family share. Since 2023 the spouse and descendants each hold half of their statutory share, and gifts in the five years before death may be counted. A transfer to a trust that infringes the share can face claw-back or abatement claims (tier B).
Foreign residents in Switzerland may elect their national law for succession if the conditions are met. Foreign judgments are recognised unless against public policy.
Side by side
| Point | Netherlands | Switzerland |
|---|---|---|
| Domestic trust law | None | None |
| Hague Trusts Convention | Party, 1 February 1996 | Party, 1 July 2007 |
| Family share | Money claim, half the child's statutory share, within 5 years | Half the statutory share for spouse and descendants, with a five-year gift look-back |
| Foreign trust | Common; tax looks through to the settlor, then to heirs on death | Recognised in principle; transfer can be pulled back if it infringes shares |
| Foreign will | Review and coordinate with Dutch and EU rules | Last domicile law, with a choice of national law |
What this means for the two children
For the son in Amsterdam, the trust is recognised and the tax office reads it as the settlor's, then as the beneficiaries' once the parents die. For the daughter in Geneva, the trust is recognised, and the Swiss family share is the thing to check against it.
The two answers look alike on the surface and differ underneath. One country's weight is tax. The other's is family shares.
You could
You could write the names of your heirs' countries beside the trust's country, and mark each as party or not. You could ask each child to find out what the tax office calls a trust there. You could also ask whether the family share in each country is something the whole family has talked through.
Who it touches
Children and a spouse meet the family share in Switzerland and the money claim in the Netherlands. A friend named as a beneficiary meets the other side of both rules.
If one of your heirs lives in one of these two countries, what did their adviser say first? Share it here. A reader in the same position may be glad to hear it.
Figures are estimates for planning, based on public data. Date read: October 2026.
Sources
- Hague Conference on Private International Law, status table of the 1985 trusts convention (A)
- Chambers Succession and Estate Planning 2026 on the Netherlands and Switzerland (B)
- EUR-Lex, Regulation 650/2012 (A)
- project research on bank requirements (B)
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