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Italian Succession process timing and Probate. Inheritance Services in Italy
Under Italian inheritance Law of succession, a person may dispose of his property and Estate in Italy for the time after death either by Will (Testamento) or alternatively, the estate will be passed to the heirs under the provisions of statutory rules.
Italian inheritance laws offer some degree of protection to family members, limiting the right of the testator to dispose of his own assets.
Legal Succession in Italy
Where a person dies without a valid Will, Italian law states who is going to inherit and how much (Successione legittima). The Italian inheritance is devolved following the principles of the Italian Civil Code, which indicates which individuals (legitimate heirs) are entitled to inherit 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 absence of relatives within the 6th degree of connection the inheritance is devolved to the Italian State.
Inheritance by Italian Will and rules of forced heirship
Where a person dies leaving a valid Will, our lawyers in the Italian Probate Team will need to ascertain the validity of such Will, secondly deal with the formalities to be complied with and will calculated the taxes to be paid (property transfer taxes and inheritance taxes, depending on the degree of connection with the deceased). As a final stage, we will ensure that the Will is implemented and the relevant assets are legally transferred to the beneficiaries, which can be classified as heirs or legatees.
The principles of testamentary and legal succession cross with the principle of “forced heirship”: the Italian 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 Italian legal system protects close family members – regardless of whether they are Italians or where they reside, preventing the testator from the possibility to exclude them completely from the inheritance.
The rules of forced heirship in the Italian Civil Code reserve the following entitlements to close family members:
Beneficiaries | Minimum Statutory Share |
Only one child and no spouse: | 50% of the Estate is reserved to the child |
Two or more children no spouse: | 66% reserved to the children in equal shares |
Parents but no spouse and no children | 33% of the Estate to the Parents |
Only a surviving spouse | 50% of the Estate is reserved to the spouse |
A surviving spouse and a child: | 33% to the spouse and 33% to the child |
A surviving spouse and children: | 25% to the spouse and 50% to the children |
Surviving spouse and Parents but no child | 50% is reserved the spouse and 25% to the Parents |
For more information, read the following article: How to obtain Italian Grant of Probate under Italian inheritance
If you require further information or assistance, please complete the on-line enquiry form here