A will is a valuable legal document in virtually all countries, and Italy is no exception. Adults are encouraged to maintain updated wills as a part of the estate planning process, ensuring assets are handled as an individual desires rather than allowing estates to be divided as stipulated by law under Successione Legittima, or Intestate Succession.
However, in Italy, even wills are subject to government interference. Under Successione Necessaria, the assets included in an individual’s estate must be distributed in part to particular heirs by law. This concept can be particularly confusing to residents or citizens of other nations, like the United States, that do not impose significant restrictions as to how and to whom assets can be passed.
Defining Successione Necessaria
Successione Necessaria refers to legally forced heirship, by which certain family members are due a mandatory minimum statutory share of an estate, regardless of the interests of the deceased. These succession laws dictate that part of an individual’s assets must be held in reserve for these so-called forced heirs. Known as a reserved quota, this amount varies based on the living relatives of the deceased. Numerous categories of family members can be considered forced heirs, including:
- Spouses
- Children, including adopted children
- Ascendents, like parents or grandparents
Under Successione Legittima, siblings, or their children if siblings are deceased, can be included in the chain of succession. However, under Successione Necessaria, siblings have no rights to a minimum statutory portion of an estate.
Once the reserved quota is addressed, the available quota, or the amount remaining, can be used as the decedent sees fit. Note that the portion of the estate that must be reserved for forced heirs is a minimum, not a maximum; if a decedent must reserve a portion of his estate for his spouse and child, the remaining available estate may also be bequeathed to his spouse and child.
While these laws are often entirely acceptable – most individuals intend to pass their assets on to family members, regardless of the legal obligation to do so – they can be problematic at times. For example, even if a will is written to exclude a child from receiving assets, the law supersedes these wishes and requires a portion of the estate to go to the child.
The Rules of Forced Heirship
The ways in which an estate must be divided depend on a decedent’s marital status, offspring, and living ascendents as follows:
| Living Heirs | Reserved Quota | Available Quota |
| A spouse | One half to the spouse | One half |
| A spouse and one child | One third to the spouse, one third to the child | One third |
| A spouse and two or more children | One quarter to the spouse, one half allocated between children | One quarter |
| A spouse and ascendents | One half to the spouse, one quarter allocated among ascendants | One quarter |
| A spouse, ascendents, and siblings | One half to the spouse, one quarter allocated among ascendants, no mandatory quota for siblings | One quarter |
| A spouse and siblings | One half to the spouse, no mandatory quota for siblings | One half |
| No spouse and one child | One half to the child | One half |
| No spouse and two or more children | Two thirds allocated between children | One third |
| No spouse and ascendants | One third allocated among ascendants | Two Thirds |
| No spouse, ascendants, and siblings | One third allocated among ascendants, no mandatory quota for siblings | Two thirds |
| No spouse and siblings | No mandatory quota for siblings | Entire estate |
Exceptions to Successione Necessaria
While most wills in Italy are subject to Italian succession laws, wills drafted by nationals of other countries may be exempt due to Italy’s adoption of a concept known as unity of succession. This permits electio legis, a codicil that allows a will to be administrated under the laws of an individual’s country of citizenship rather than under Italian law. If, for example, a UK citizen owns property in Italy and writes a will that handles the distribution of this property, he can add this election into his will in order to utilize UK succession laws, not Italian succession laws.
Writing a will in accordance with Italian law can be very complicated and almost always necessitates the oversight of an Italian lawyer. If you would like to draft a will to protect your Italian assets, are eligible to receive assets under Italian succession laws, or have questions about succession in Italy, we are happy to help.
