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During a divorce, sometimes one spouse tries to seize the other's Swiss bank account.

Anyone wishing to seize the holdings of a spouse's Swiss account faces a long, difficult and costly procedure. To our knowledge, no such undertaking has met with a successful conclusion.

1. Marriage held in Switzerland
Bank secrecy is lifted when the divorce is declared under Swiss marriage law. The Swiss civil code (art.170) stipulates that spouses can request that their husband or wife inform them of their financial situation.

2. Marriage held outside of Switzerland
The situation is very different when the divorce is declared under foreign marriage law. The Swiss banker is in fact prohibited from testifying before a foreign court (art. 47 of the Banking Act) in accordance with bank secrecy. The procedure involves three stages:

Stage 1: check whether your country has signed a judicial cooperation treaty with Switzerland
A foreign judge cannot directly request information from Swiss banks. He or she can only obtain information by means of judicial cooperation.

• If there is no judicial cooperation agreement regarding civil matters between the two countries, bank secrecy cannot be lifted.
• If there is an agreement, the legal authorities of the two countries can correspond with one another directly.

Stage 2: check whether the plaintiff has identified the bank account
If there is a cooperation agreement, a Swiss judge will be assigned to the case. In order for a Swiss judge to pursue the charge, the plaintiff must prove that the account exists and determine the name of the holding bank.

Stage 3: check whether the banker has the right to testify before the courts in the canton where the account was opened
If the account has been identified, the judge submits the case and immediately applies the law of the canton where the account was opened.

The cantons can be placed in three groups:

* Unless you wish otherwise, Micheloud & Co. will open your account in the cantons of Vaud or Geneva.

** Article 198 of the Civil Procedure Code for the Canton of Vaud

No person is held to give evidence surrounding facts
that an official duty or function prohibits him or her from disclosing,
unless he or she is expressly freed from this duty.

Even if the person concerned has agreed to the disclosure, the people
bound by professional secrecy in accordance with article 321 of
the Criminal Code, as well as certified business agents, cannot
be held to testify on secrets they learned when practicing
their profession or by means of their services [...]