Giandomenico De Tullio's Documents
The Italian Law no.218 (31st May 1995) regulates the field of inheritance law in the framework of international private law.
The succession regulations are set out according to the national law of the deceased at the moment of his/her death. According to this principle, if the hereditary asset includes properties located in different states, the succession of each single property can be regulated by the law of the country where the property is located.
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According to Italian law, inheritance can be transmitted in 2 ways:
1) According to the law: in absence of a Will, the properties are transmitted according to the principles set out by the Italian Civil Code.
2) According to a Will: the typical legal document drafted by a person in order to dispose of his/her assets after death.
Any Will must be published by an Italian Notary Public, and registered with the competent Italian authorities. In case of a non Italian Will, this should primary be the object of a sworn translation in front of an Italian Court
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Italian inheritance law is based on the Roman Law tradition, and it aims at protecting close members of the family, partially limiting the right of the testator to dispose of his/her own assets. The succession can take place according to the "Testamentary provisions" (transfer of hereditary assets in compliance with the decisions of the testator, as set out in an Italian Will) or the "Legal Succession" (provisions set out in the Italian Civil Code). The principles of testamentary and legal succession cross the principle of “necessary succession”.
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It is generally suggested that foreign citizens who own Italian assets draft an Italian Will and Probate. This will avoid significant difficulties that heirs might encounter when transferring the ownership of Italian properties originally registered in the name of the testator.
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