Patrick Schmutz
lic.iur., Attorney-at-law, LL.M., TEP
Contact
Patrick Schmutz
+41 43 501 18 18
+41 43 501 18 10 (direct)
+41 43 501 18 19
patrick.schmutz@vslaw.ch
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Languages
German, English, French
Patrick Schmutz graduated from the University of Zurich with a law degree and from the University of Florida with a Master of Laws (LL.M.) in Taxation. He is qualified as an attorney-at-law in Switzerland and has been practicing for more than twenty years as a private client lawyer.
He has extensive experience advising high-net-worth individuals and families in connection with Swiss and international wealth and business succession planning. He also advises private clients in all tax matters, with a particular emphasis on the taxation of trusts and foundations and on international administrative assistance. Moreover, he represents clients in disputes involving trusts and estates.
He has been included in the Who’s Who Legal list of leading Swiss private client lawyers since 2013, having been “singled out for his expertise in international wealth transfer planning and understanding of collision law and tax issues arising in a cross-border context for clients with a multinational family background”. He has also been endorsed by PLC’s “Which Lawyer”.
He is a member of several professional associations, including the Swiss and the Zurich Bar Associations, the International Bar Association (IBA) and is a member of the STEP Zurich branch committee. Patrick is a frequent speaker at professional conferences and contributor to leading journals in his practice area.
Since December 2015, he serves as president of the board of the charitable Blooming Juniper Foundation.
- CAS Civil Litigation (University of St. Gallen), 2014
- LL.M. in Taxation (University of Florida, Gainesville, USA), 2006
- Trust & Estate Practitioner (TEP), 2004
- Rechtsanwalt / Attorney-at-law, 1997
- Licentiate / Master (University of Zurich), 1994
- Zurich Bar Association ZAV
- Swiss Bar Association SAV
- International Bar Association IBA
- International Fiscal Association IFA
- Society of Trust & Estate Practitioners STEP
- Jurisdictional Overview: Switzerland, in: Trusts in Prime Jurisdictions, 2. Auflage, London 2006
- The classification of Private Foundations for U.S. federal income tax purposes, in Trust & Trustees (2007) [PDF file]
- The Swiss Business Foundation - a suitable estate planning vehicle for entrepreneurs? in Trust & Trustees (2007) [PDF file]
- Zuwendungen am Nachlass vorbei in Deutschland und der Schweiz, in Zeitschrift für Erbrecht und Vermögensnachfolge (2008) [PDF file]
- Are charitable trusts an alternative to Swiss charitable foundations? in Trust & Trustees (2008) [PDF file]
- Switzerland: estate planning with foreign family foundations - an assessment of the conflict of law and tax issues arising, in Trust & Trustees (2009) [PDF file]
- Trusts in Switzerland, in World Trust Survey, London 2010
- Jurisdictional Overview: Switzerland in Trusts in Prime Jurisdictions, 3. Auflage, London 2010
- Wohnsitznahme in der Schweiz, in Wirtschaftsbild, 60. Jahrgang, Mai 2010 [PDF file]
- Deutsches Erbrecht und Schweizer Erbrecht: Eine Synopse, in Erbschaftsratgeber Deutschland – Schweiz, 4. Auflage, Januar 2014
- Tax on corporate transactions in Switzerland: overview, in the Multi-jurisdictional Guide to Tax on Transactions, Practical Law (2014/2015) [PDF file]
- Deutsches Erbrecht und Schweizer Erbrecht: Eine Synopse, in Erbschaftsratgeber Deutschland – Schweiz, 5. Auflage, 2017
- Seminar der Treuhand Kammer (Zurich, Juni 2007): Anerkennung von Trusts in der Schweiz, Abgrenzung zu Stiftung und Treuhand
- The International Forum on Asset Protection Planning (Las Vegas and New York, 2007): Presentation on Litigation in Switzerland against Foreign Trusts
- The Future of Trusts & Foundations (Jersey, 2008): Panel member in the debate on Trusts vs. Foundations
- Seminar of the Institute for Swiss and international tax law (Zurich, November 2009): Erben und Vererben - Steuerfolgen und Steuerplanung
- Course on "International Estate Planning" (Thomas Jefferson School of Law , August 2010) - Presentation on Swiss Succession Law
- Seminar of the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (Zurich, September 2010): Comparing different asset holding structures
- isa-Congress (Mallorca, September 2010): Rechtliche und regulatorische Risiken von Dienstleistungen für Trusts und andere Offshore-Strukturen
- STEP Swiss European Annual Conference (Zurich, Mai 2011): How to use Partnerships and Foundations in a compliant world
- STEP Swiss European Annual Conference (Zurich, October 2013): Privacy rules in Switzerland – who is entitled to what information?
- Conference on Automatic Exchange of Information (Zurich, March 2015): Tax planning strategies for foreign private clients
- Finix Conference on Trusts and Transparency (Zurich, November 2015): How to avoid being classified as a «sham trust»?
- Moderation of STEP panel discussion (25 August 2016): Termination of fiduciary structures and the termination of Swiss bank accounts
- Moderation of STEP panel discussion (20 September 2016): Switzerland - still competitive in an uncertain world?/!
- STEP lunch event (21 September 2017): What happens to an individual’s digital legacy on his death
- Swiss & Liechtenstein STEP Federation Alpine Conference (31 January/1 February 2018): Digital Legacy