Death of vested benefits account holder and debts collection

My husband has passed away recently at the age of 65, leaving unpaid child supports towards ex-wife. As social services were paying her instead till their children were 18, they demand a release of his vested benefits.(For this cash payout, spousal consent is needed) We believe this death benefit is not part of his estate. Is it really mandatory to release his vested benefits as lump sum in the event of death?

I'm not a lawyer, but the general rule is that if heirs accept an inheritance, they also accept responsibility for debts along with the assets. So if someone has debts to the government at the time of their death, these would normally be included in the inheritance.

The question here would be whether your husband had a pension fund or vested benefits.

• If he had a pension fund, then you would receive a survivor's pension. That pension does not qualify as an inheritance.
• If his pension fund benefits were vested (e.g. in a vested benefits account), then they would fall under his estate AFAIK, albeit with special rules governing who can inherit them, and in which order.

I highly recommend that you get help from a lawyer who specializes in Swiss inheritance law.

Thank you for your advice, karlweber. I agree with you and definitely need to consult a lawyer.

The reason I am confused is the following clause in the regulations of organisation for my late husband's vested benefits account;

(In order to dissolve the vested benefits account of the deceased account holder and to pay out the death benefit to the eligible beneficiaries)

''This entitlement is not subject to inheritance rights and does not form part of the deceased’s estate or bankruptcy estate.''

So no matter what our desicions are to accept inheritance or renounce inheritance, there are still entitlements for eligible beneficiaries, It is a sort of compelling entitlement, I thought. 

Also It is clearly not included in the deceased's estate, rather like a life insurance payout ?

But I am afraid if this trust is cashed out, creditors can seize it, can't they? In fact, Swiss social services has admitted that their seizure request was failed before without a release request from my late husband. (Now that has been replaced by spousal consent.)

It's true that vested benefits do not fall into the general inheritance pool, as there are specific rules about who will inherit this money. There is a moneyland.ch article that explains these rules:
https://www.moneyland.ch/en/inheritances-switzerland-rules

The main idea is that vested benefits should be used to compensate their dependents for lost income due to their holder's death.

What makes your situation complicated is that children from a former marriage have a claim to vested benefits, and a divorced spouse may have a claim too when certain criteria are met (having kids together being one of the main ones).

That the municipality could apply those rights in arrears to include money owed for the care of dependents in the past seems disputable, but not impossible.

I don't know of any legal precedent in this regard. I know the federal court has upheld the right of municipalities to demand that vested benefit be used to repayment of welfare benefits when the recipient reached retirement age, but your situation goes a lot further. That's why I recommend consulting with a specialized lawyer, as it is theoretically possible that there is no legal precedent for your situation yet.

Much appreciated,karlweber. 
I am now trying to find a specialised lawyer.

We have a child who is 19 in full time education.
I am over 45 but not at pension age, had been married to late husband for 6 years.
His Swiss children are both over 25 and working.

The rules for his vested benefits account are as follows;

-If the insured person dies, the following persons shall be entitled to the vested
benefits, independently of the inheritance law:

a. The surviving spouse; the children of the insured person who are entitled to an
orphan's pension in accordance with the Swiss Occupational Pensions Act; 

b. In the absence of the above, natural persons who were maintained to a
significant extent by the insured person,or the person who cohabited with the
insured person in a shared domicile on an uninterrupted basis in the final five
years prior to the insured person’s death;

c. In the absence of the above, the children of the deceased insured person who
are not entitled to an orphan's pension in accordance with the Swiss
Occupational Pensions Act;

Despite this, all procedures are initiated by Swiss social service as if they were executors.
I don't feel comfortable about it.

Possible issues here are:
A. The first point (a. The surviving spouse) can also include an ex-spouse under certain circumstances.
B. Even though your husband's children from his previous marriage are nearly past the age limit for an orphan's pension (26th birthday), the debt for their care was incurred during the period when they had an entitlement.

The Swiss social services will push hard to collect the debt, because that's their job. But I cannot say whether or not they are justified in their demands for repayment using vested benefits. Personally, I would not pay too much attention to their demands temporarily until you consult with a Swiss lawyer who specializes in Swiss inheritance law.