Blocked inheritance: mediation or court?

A house nobody agrees to sell, objects heavy with history, a joint account nobody touches any more: when an estate grinds to a halt, two paths open. This guide compares what each one can actually deliver.

Why estates get stuck

Under Swiss law, heirs form a community of heirs: until the estate is divided, they own all assets jointly and in principle decide unanimously (Art. 602 of the Swiss Civil Code). A single disagreement is therefore enough to stop everything: the sale of a property, the termination of a lease, sometimes the mere payment of a bill.

The deadlock is rarely about numbers. It often crystallises older questions: each person's place in the family, the feeling of having given more or received less, the sentimental value of a house or an object that no valuation can capture.

What court proceedings can achieve

Any heir may at any time ask the court to divide the estate (Art. 604 of the Swiss Civil Code). The procedure does reach an end: the court orders the division and, where needed, the sale of assets. It is a certain outcome, but it comes at a price.

• Duration: several years are not unusual, including expert reports and appeals
• Cost: court fees and lawyers' fees for each heir, often paid out of the very substance of the estate
• Rigidity: the court divides according to the law; it does not award the house to the person attached to it, it orders a sale if nobody can buy out the others
• The relational toll: siblings who have fought through litigation rarely gather around a table again

What inheritance mediation can achieve

Mediation does not decide: it restores a structured discussion where direct communication has failed. In practice, it makes possible what no judgment can order:

• Addressing the emotional dimension: who cares about what, and why, before talking figures
• Building tailored solutions: allocating an asset against a balancing payment, a phased sale, usufruct, a buy-out by one heir, a partial division to unblock what is urgent
• Preserving confidentiality: nothing said in mediation may later be used in proceedings without the parties' consent
• Reaching a robust agreement: the outcome can be formalised in a written partition agreement (Art. 634 of the Swiss Civil Code), reviewed by each party's counsel

How to choose

Court becomes necessary when an heir durably refuses any dialogue, or when a limitation period is approaching. In most other situations, mediation deserves to be tried first: it is faster, its cost is controlled and shared, and it rules nothing out. If it does not succeed, the judicial route remains fully open.

A reliable sign that mediation makes sense: the heirs want out of the deadlock, but each is waiting for the other to take the first step. The mediator's neutral first contact exists precisely for that.