Kinship

Kinship describes family ties based on descent, legal parentage or adoption. Swiss law distinguishes direct line relationships, such as parent and child, from collateral relationships, such as siblings or cousins, and may count degrees for specific consequences. Kinship is central to inheritance, maintenance duties, parental authority, child protection, impediments to marriage and conflicts of interest. Modern family law separates biological facts from legal parentage where necessary, for example in adoption, reproductive medicine or recognition of parent-child relationships established abroad.