Yes, as long as it is entrusted with preparing the file rather than with the final legal decisions.
AI can sort the documents, prepare an inventory, identify anything missing and flag certain inconsistencies. In Switzerland, the rules vary from canton to canton, so validation by the notary or the competent authority remains essential.
What a succession file includes in Switzerland
A “succession deed” does not refer to a single document. Depending on the canton and the situation, the file may include a certificate of inheritance, an inventory of assets and liabilities or a partition agreement between the members of the community of heirs.
AI does not draw up these official documents. It can, however, prepare the file by sorting the documents received, flagging those that are missing and spotting any that are illegible or incomplete.
This preparation can prevent significant errors. An overlooked heir, an unrecorded asset or a missing document can slow down the entire procedure.
The documents to gather
The quality of the analysis depends first and foremost on the quality of the documents available.
In particular, you need to gather civil status documents, the death certificate, information about potential heirs and any wills or contracts of succession. Preparing these instruments during their author’s lifetime is covered in our guide AI for an authentic will.
The file must also contain the relevant financial and property records: bank statements, insurance policies, title deeds, mortgages, pension assets and information about debts.
Without a supporting document, any amount entered in the inventory is still only information to be checked.
Building an inventory linked to the documents
Once the documents have been sorted, AI can extract the key information and organise it clearly.
It can identify the presumed heirs, their family relationships, testamentary dispositions, legacies, assets and debts.
Each piece of information must remain linked to its source document. It must be possible to find a bank account, a property or a debt immediately in the document that supports it.
This method turns a scattered set of papers into a file that is easier for the notary, lawyer or fiduciary to check.
Monitoring key deadlines
In succession matters, certain deadlines require particular attention.
Under Article 580 of the Civil Code (CC), a request for a public inventory must be made within one month. A disclaimer of the inheritance is in principle subject to a three-month time limit under Article 567 CC.
AI can highlight these deadlines in the file and act as a reminder. However, it must not decide on the heir’s behalf whether to accept the inheritance, disclaim it or request a public inventory.
The exact calculation of the deadline and the strategy to adopt must be checked by a professional in light of the file and the canton concerned.
Spotting inconsistencies between documents
AI can also compare several documents to bring out differences that are hard to see on a quick read.
For example, it can flag an heir mentioned in one document but missing from another, a property with no supporting evidence, a debt without proof or an amount that does not match the bank statements.
Large withdrawals made shortly before the death can also be flagged for verification. Similarly, a gift that is mentioned but not documented must never automatically be treated as established.
Each alert must refer back to the source document so that the professional can quickly check the point in question.
From indexing to the summary memo
The method remains simple: the documents are first listed and sorted. The key information is then extracted and compared.
Inconsistencies and deadlines are flagged, and each important point is then checked against the original document.
The end result should be a clear memo for the professional, not an automatically generated succession deed.
What AI cannot do
AI remains a preparation tool. It does not issue certificates of inheritance and does not take the official steps required to search for a will or a contract of succession.
Nor does it decide whether an heir should accept or disclaim the inheritance. It does not carry out the final partition and does not handle transfers with banks, insurers or land registers.
A summary produced by AI is therefore never a legal instrument. The notary, the lawyer or the competent authority retains responsibility for the final procedure.
Protecting the family’s data
A succession involves highly sensitive data: assets, debts, family relationships, insurance or tax information.
Before using an AI tool, you therefore need to check where the data is stored, who can access it and whether it is used to train the models.
According to Silex, each organisation’s data is kept separate, is not used to train the models and is hosted in Switzerland with Infomaniak.
The measures in place are detailed on the security page.
Which professionals can benefit from this method?
In a notarial office, AI can do a first pass through the file, prepare the inventory and summarise the deceased’s wishes before the deeds are drafted.
Lawyers can use it to research the applicable succession law and prepare their analyses. Fiduciaries and legal professionals can rely on it to organise the financial data and identify information that is still missing.
The Silex and EXPERTsuisse partnership is aimed in particular at audit, tax and fiduciary professionals.
For non-professional users, our guide on legal AI for individuals explains how to use this type of tool with care.
The bank Bordier & Cie also uses Silex for legal research. The various use cases are presented on the Silex solutions page.
Preparing a succession file with Silex
Silex is designed for legal research and analysis in Swiss law. The tool remains an assistant: the professional keeps control of the file and the strategy.
With Silo, you can query the documents in the file directly and go back to the original document whenever a piece of information seems doubtful or incomplete.
This feature can help, for example, to link an earlier gift to the ongoing partition or to find a financial supporting document quickly.
How it works is explained on the product page. Uses specific to notarial offices are detailed in our article AI for notaries.
Silex can also be used from within WinLex and SkyLex. The Silex and MCR Solutions partnership likewise aims to integrate AI-assisted legal research into the tools professionals already use.
The Solo, Team and Enterprise plans are priced at CHF 149, CHF 490 and CHF 895 per month respectively. Details are available on the pricing page.
In May 2026, Silex also won the Berlin semi-finals of The Pitch by Deel.
Before sending the file to the notary
Before the file is sent, the documents must be sorted and any missing ones clearly identified. Every important item in the inventory must refer to a supporting document.
The deadlines for disclaiming the inheritance or requesting a public inventory must be flagged and checked. Information taken from a will must be kept distinct from assumptions or statements that have yet to be confirmed.
Finally, personally identifiable data must have been processed in an environment suited to its level of confidentiality.
In short
AI can speed up the preparation of a succession file by sorting the documents, building an inventory and flagging inconsistencies or key deadlines.
However, it does not issue certificates of inheritance, does not decide whether to accept or disclaim the inheritance and does not draw up official deeds.
Its role is to make the file clearer and easier to check. Final legal decisions remain with the heirs, the professionals and the competent authorities.
To see how Silex can prepare a succession file, you can request a demonstration.
FAQ
Can AI replace the notary?
No. It can prepare and organise the file, but it issues neither official deeds nor certificates of inheritance.
Is the data secure?
It depends on the tool used. According to Silex, the data is hosted in Switzerland with Infomaniak, kept separate for each organisation and not used to train the models.
