Relocation
Relocation & lump-sum tax
Negotiate the forfait base and arrange residency, canton and timing so the benefit actually applies.
Relocation & lump-sum taxPrivate Clients & HNWI
in Switzerland.
Moving wealth or a family to Switzerland is a tax decision, a structuring decision and a banking decision at once. Lump-sum taxation can fix the income-tax position, but only if residency, the canton and the family's assets are arranged in the right order. We plan the relocation and the structures around it as one piece of work.
At a glance
Relocation, structuring and succession handled together for the family and its assets.
Independent since 2007 · IFLR1000-ranked · offices in Zurich and Zug · one partner per file.
- Relocation
- Lump-sum (forfait) taxation
- Structures
- Foundations, trusts, holdings
- Succession
- Cross-border estate planning
- Banking
- Swiss account introductions
The challenge
What this sector has to get right in Switzerland
A high-net-worth individual relocating to Switzerland weighs several moving parts. Lump-sum taxation — the forfait — taxes on expenditure rather than worldwide income and is available to qualifying non-working foreign nationals, but it is granted canton by canton and the negotiated base varies. Residency permits, the choice of canton, and the timing of the move all interact with it, and a step taken in the wrong order can forfeit the benefit or trigger tax in the country being left.
Around the individual sit the assets. Family wealth is often held through foundations, trusts or holding companies, and Switzerland recognises trusts and offers its own foundation forms. Succession adds another layer: Swiss forced-heirship rules, the interaction with the law of the client's nationality, and cross-border estates all shape how wealth should be structured before, not after, the move. Getting a Swiss bank to open and fund the accounts is its own process, with source-of-wealth and source-of-funds scrutiny that rewards preparation.
We treat the person and the structures as a single mandate: relocation, tax base, the holding and succession vehicles, and the banking, so the pieces are sequenced and consistent rather than handled by separate advisers who optimise their own part.
What this desk handles
The services this sector uses most
Each links to the service page itself. Most mandates here combine several; one partner co-ordinates them.
Structure
Swiss foundation
Establish a Swiss foundation for family, charitable or succession purposes.
Swiss foundationStructure
Trusts & trustee services
Settle and administer trusts recognised under Swiss law for holding family wealth.
Trusts & trustee servicesSuccession
Succession & estate planning
Plan around Swiss forced heirship and the law of your nationality for a cross-border estate.
Succession & estate planningWealth
Wealth structuring
Arrange holding entities and vehicles so assets sit coherently behind the family.
Wealth structuringBanking
Swiss bank account
Prepare source-of-wealth evidence and introduce the family to a suitable Swiss bank.
Swiss bank account
Talk to the desk
Speak to a partner who knows the sector
No intake form to a junior, no call centre. The partner who reads your enquiry is the one who has run this structure before, and the one who will own your file. Outline your situation and you will have a considered reply, with the likely route and the next step, within one business day.
Why Goldblum and Partners
Swiss depth, one accountable partner
A relocation done in the wrong order can cost the forfait or trigger exit tax. We plan the move, the structures and the banking on one desk, have been independent since 2007, and have been ranked by IFLR1000 every year from 2015 to 2026. One partner stays with the family from the first canton conversation to the funded account.
Relocating to Switzerland or restructuring family wealth?
Tell us about the family, the assets and the destination canton. A partner will set out the tax base, the structures and the banking path, and reply within one business day.