Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in Italy

Dear M.

Your question can be answered in different ways, according to Italian law.

By following legal provisions, if your uncle died without leaving any Will, the properties will be transmitted to his descendents or the surviving spouse according to the principles of the Italian Civil Code.

If your uncle drafted a Will, the deceased has already disposed of his assets after his death, stating who can inherit them. Then the Will can be of two types:

a) Italian Will: It should be published and registered with the competent Italian authorities after the death of the testator. Should such Will infringe the rights of the so called �forced heirs� (which are defined as all person who cannot be deprived of the portion of the decedent�s estate reserved under law, so the spouse, ascendants and descendents), those people can actually challenge the Will before the Court.

b) Non Italian Will: the document should first be the object of a sworn translation in front of an Italian Court. A non Italian Will, especially if it lacks any explicit reference to the Italian assets, becomes subject to interpretation with the support of an Italian attorney. This is necessary in order to assess if such a Will can be applicable to the Italian assets or not, and if it is compatible with the Italian legal system. In the negative case, the succession of the Italian assets will follow the rules of the Italian Civil Code.

In both cases the Will must be published with the assistance of a Notary Public, and the Italian inheritance should be formally accepted. The acceptance can be tacit or explicit. The tacit acceptance occurs when the heir, disposing of the Italian assets, clearly shows the intention to accept them. The explicit acceptance should occur in a public deed signed in front of a notary public.

Within twelve months following the demise of the testator, the heirs should file the Italian probate with the competent authority (Agenzia delle Entrate).

If you need further assistance, feel free to contact me.

Regards

De Tullio Law Firm

Please note, any statement made in this article is intended to be a general practical introductory explanation only and not advice. This firm accepts no liability or any responsibility for any statement made.