Succession and Inheritance Law in Italy : Financial Services

The Italian Law no.218 of the 31st of May 1995 regulates the field of inheritance law in the framework of international private law.

The succession rules are determined according to the national law of the deceased party at the moment of his/her death. The Italian rules on conflict of laws take into account the possibility that the national law of a deceased foreigner might defer to the law of another country. Such deferment will be effective only if the law of the third State accepts the deferment. Let?s take an example: if a British citizen before his/her death left some properties in Italy, the succession will be regulated by the British law. But following the British ?conflict law?, the law applicable to properties should be the ?lex rei sitae? (law of the country where the property is located), that is to say the Italian law. (http://www.detulliolawfirm.com/italian-inheritance-law.html)?

?The Italian legislator adopted the principle of ?unity of inheritance?. This principle differs substantially from the one adopted in common law countries, and is based on the separation between non-property assets and property assets: the law of the last domicile or last citizenship of the deceased party is applied to non-property assets, while the so called ?lex rei sitae? (law of the country where the property is located) is applied to property assets. According to this principle, if the hereditary asset includes properties located in different states, the succession of each single property could be regulated by the law of the country where the property is located.

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?The testator has the right to submit his succession to the law of the country where he resides. Such choice has to be formally expressed in a will and shall not be prejudicial to ?the rights that the Italian law provides for the so called ?legittimari?, or ?forced heirs?, (namely, the family members who have a statutory right to receive a fixed share of the property of the deceased even against the will) who are resident in Italy at the moment of death of the deceased. Please also consider that both married partners and separated partners have precisely the same rights, while the divorced partners cannot claim any kind of assets.

It is highly advisable to draft an Italian Will (http://www.detulliolawfirm.com/wills-and-probates.html) with the assistance of an Italian lawyer in order to limit the consequences of the ?legal succession?. As a matter of fact, in absence of a Will, the ?legal succession? will be applied, and in such cases the Italian law determines which relatives of the deceased have a right to succeed (primarily the spouse, the legitimate and natural children, and the ascendants). In case of lack of heirs, according to the Italian law, the hereditary assets present in Italy would be assigned to the Italian State.

De Tullio Law Firm is an international law firm specialized in Italian cross border real estate transactions, and Italian inheritance law. Along the years, it has gained a wide experience in such fields, by providing assistance with wills & probates, EU law, litigation, arbitration, taxes and corporate law.
De Tullio Law Firm is listed on the British and American embassies websites, and contributes as legal expert with several publications.

Source: http://www.thezman.net/2011/09/succession-and-inheritance-law-in-italy/

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