Basic principles of Italian inheritance law

Italian inheritance law is based on the Roman Law tradition. It is based on the principle to give some protection to close members of the family, partially limiting the right of the testator to dispose of his/her own assets.”

Is defined as Testamentary Succession the assignment of the hereditary assets in compliance with the decisions of the testator as set in an Italian Will.

In absence of a Will the inheritance is devolved following the principles of the Legal Succession; in other means the Italian Civil Code indicates a number of individuals (legitimate heirs) who take over the assets of the deceased. Such heirs are the spouse of the deceased and the relatives identified by the law starting from the closer ones until the 6th degree of connection. In simple terms the Italian legislator, in absence of a Will, decided to privilege the family rather than other parties. In absence of relatives within the 6th degree of connection the inheritance is devolved to the Italian State.

The principles of testamentary and legal succession cross with the principle of “necessary succession”.

The Civil Code reserves to very close relatives (spouse, ascendants and descendents defined as “forced heirs”) a significant quota of the inheritance that the testator cannot prejudice with his Will. The legislator therefore decided to protect close family members preventing the testator from the possibility to exclude them completely from the inheritance.

When drafting his Italian Will the testator is free to dispose of a part of his asset defined as “disposable quota” (in contrast with the “reserved quota” assigned to the close relatives). In short the wish to the testator to assign his assets to strangers is accepted by the law but is partially restricted. Anyhow an Italian Will infringing the rights of the “forced heirs” is not necessarily invalid. Such Will is enforceable unless challenged in Court by the damaged “forced heirs” with a legal action called abatement of the inheritance.

Why is important drafting an Italian Will

It is generally recommended that foreign citizens who own Italian real estate assets draft an Italian Will. This will prevent significant difficulties that heirs might experience when transferring the ownership of Italian properties originally registered in the name of the testator.

According to the law foreign Wills must be authenticated by an Italian Public Notary before executing the probate.

Managing documents drafted in a foreign language and inspired to a different legislation in Italy can raise a number of difficulties. As a matter of fact the notary will not publish or legalize documents drafted in a foreign language unless duly translated in Italian. This will most likely involve the assistance of a qualified translator/interpreter whose costs could be substantially higher than drafting an Italian Will.

By drafting an Italian Will the testator will minimize the risk of conflicts among the heir at death also ensuring that Italian authorities have a clear and direct understanding of the legal framework.

In order to be eligible to draft an Italian Will the testator should be at least 18 years and of a sound mind. After the death of the testator the Will must be published with the support of a public notary. Subsequently the heirs will be in the position to proceed with the Italian Probate (Denuncia di Successione). This should be executed within one year since the death of the testator.

If you need further information concerning Italian inheritance law please feel free to contact our offices.