Auction at the heir’s: when a public auction, when an internal auction?
The legal heirs may freely agree on the division of the inheritance, unless otherwise provided. If the heirs cannot agree on the division and the testator has not established any rules either, the division shall be made in accordance with the statutory rules.
According to these rules, the inheritance items should – whenever possible – be distributed in kind among the heirs, since all heirs have the same claim to the items of the inheritance. If an inheritance item has no place in a lot, e.g. because its value considerably exceeds the amount of an inheritance share, it is to be sold and the proceeds divided. The sale of the inheritance property may be auctioned off at the request of an heir. If the heirs cannot agree on whether the auction is to be held internally or publicly, the authority decides. If none of the heirs wants to take over the inheritance, only the public auction comes into question. If not all of the heirs or only one of several heirs have the necessary means to purchase the inheritance, only the public auction is possible. (Source: BGE 5A_984/2021 of 17.5.2022)