Federal Council reforms debt collection law: hope for those in debt

Indebted people should in future be given a second chance to live a debt-free life in Switzerland. The Federal Council wants to amend the federal law on debt collection and bankruptcy accordingly.

In contrast to many other countries, Swiss law does not provide any possibility for heavily indebted or penniless private individuals to sustainably restructure their finances. This is what the state government writes in its template published on Wednesday, which is now going to parliament.

Today, these people have no realistic prospects of ever living debt-free again and earning more than the minimum subsistence requirement. This could paralyze their motivation to improve their own situation and contribute to them remaining on social welfare.

The Federal Council is proposing two innovations: A simplified inheritance procedure should benefit debtors with a regular income. Bankruptcy restructuring proceedings are intended to help people who are hopelessly indebted. (sda/thw)

A 78-year-old woman died in a fire in a bedroom in Schaffhausen on Wednesday night. Likewise the dog of the affected family. Another person had to be taken to hospital for examinations.