Area · Individuals and assets
Succession & estate
Planning the transfer of assets in good time avoids conflict and surprises. Clear advice on wills, inheritance and gifts, out of court.
What we do
Decide in good time
Succession planning
Understanding how to organise the transfer of assets consciously, weighing the options and their effects.
Wills
Advice on the content and limits of a will (forced-heirship shares — legittima, legacies): what can be arranged and how.
Division of estates
Out-of-court support for division among heirs: analysis of the situation, agreements and deeds, to avoid conflict.
Gifts and transfers
Advice on gifts and family asset transfers, with attention to the balance among those involved.
Our work is strictly out-of-court: advice, opinions and documents. We don’t handle inheritance litigation or representation in court; for those we refer you to qualified professionals.
Acts reserved to the notary (public will, title deeds, the declaration of succession where within their remit) remain within their remit: we support you upstream, on strategy and documents.
- A relative has died leaving assets in Italy and you live abroad: you need to understand who inherits what under Italian law — and whether to accept, accept with benefit of inventory, or renounce — before deadlines and costs start running.
- You are drafting a will and own a house or other assets in Italy: you want to know which country's law will govern your estate, and whether choosing the law of your nationality under the EU Succession Regulation changes what you can decide.
- You would like to leave more to one child, a partner or someone who cared for you, but you have heard about Italian forced heirship: you need the actual numbers — the reserved shares and the portion you are free to dispose of.
- You and the other heirs — some in Italy, some abroad — co-own an inherited property, such as the parents' house, and want a written division agreement before distance and misunderstandings harden into a dispute.
- You are planning a lifetime gift of Italian property or money to a child and want to understand its effects on the other heirs and on the future succession — hotchpot (collazione) and clawback (azione di riduzione) are not details — before going to the notary.
A written framework to decide on: an opinion calculating the reserved shares (legittima) and the disposable portion under Italian law, a clear note on which country's law applies to your cross-border estate under Regulation (EU) 650/2012, a template and instructions for a valid holographic will, the draft agreement between co-heirs for the division, and a checklist that draws the line between what we handle and what belongs to the notary and the tax adviser.
How it works
The path, in three steps
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Family and estate, mapped
We reconstruct the situation together: who the current or future heirs are, what the estate includes in Italy and abroad, which gifts have already been made, where you are habitually resident and what you want to achieve. The essential documents and one confidential conversation — in English, remotely — are enough to start.
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The rules, applied to your case
You receive a written opinion that translates the rules into your situation: which law governs the succession under Regulation (EU) 650/2012 — habitual residence by default, or the law of your nationality if validly chosen — the reserved shares and disposable portion, the effect of past gifts, and the workable options with the advantages and drawbacks of each. Figures and legal references, not vague formulas.
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The documents to decide with
Depending on your choice, we prepare the instrument: a scheme and instructions for a holographic will that holds up, the draft division agreement between co-heirs, or the ordered file to bring to the Italian notary — with a power of attorney where you cannot travel — whenever a public deed is required.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
- I live abroad — which country's law governs the succession?
- For successions opened from 17 August 2015, Regulation (EU) 650/2012 applies in Italy: by default, the law of the deceased's last habitual residence governs the entire estate, wherever the assets are. You may instead choose the law of your nationality in your will (Article 22 of the Regulation). The Regulation also created the European Certificate of Succession, which lets heirs prove their status across participating EU countries. Whether the choice is worth making — for example, to soften the impact of Italian forced heirship — is exactly what our opinion assesses.
- Do I have to travel to Italy, and do I need a notary?
- The advisory work runs entirely remotely, in English. Some acts, however, do require the Italian notary: a public will, deeds transferring Italian real estate, and other public deeds. A renunciation of inheritance must be declared before a notary or the clerk of the competent court (Article 519 of the Civil Code). If you cannot travel, most of these acts can be done through a power of attorney, legalised or apostilled in your country — we prepare the file so the notary appointment is a formality, not an ordeal.
- What is Italian forced heirship, and can I disinherit someone?
- Italian law reserves untouchable shares of the estate — the legittima — to the spouse, the children and, where there are no children, the ascendants (Articles 536 and following of the Civil Code). Dispositions that encroach on those shares are exposed to a clawback action (azione di riduzione) after the succession opens; you cannot simply disinherit a forced heir. You can, however, direct the disposable portion, which is often larger than people assume — our opinion calculates exactly what you are free to decide, and whether choosing another applicable law changes the picture.
- What about the Italian succession declaration and inheritance tax?
- The declaration of succession is a tax filing, due as a rule within twelve months of the opening of the succession (Legislative Decree 346/1990); heirs abroad often underestimate how quickly that year passes. Preparing and filing it is work for a commercialista (tax adviser) or the notary — not for us, and we say so plainly. What we provide is the legal map that filing is built on: who inherits, in what shares, under which agreements between co-heirs — and a referral to the right professional for the tax side.
- The heirs are already in conflict — can you represent us in court?
- No: the practice is a legal consultancy and works strictly out-of-court. We can, however, do what often defuses the dispute: a neutral written opinion that puts each heir's shares and rights in black and white, and the draft of a division agreement to negotiate on — with a written quote for fee and timing before we start. If the conflict does end up before a judge, we refer you to a qualified Italian lawyer, who inherits an ordered file instead of a blank page.
Contact
An estate to protect, an inheritance to manage?
Tell us about the family situation: we’ll tell you how we can help you decide with peace of mind.
First reply within one business day. The first contact is free and carries no obligation.