Inheritance in Italy for Foreigners: Succession Rules and Wills

If you own a home, a bank account, or other assets in Italy, the way they pass on your death may not match the rules of your home country. Italian succession law protects close family more strictly than many foreigners expect, and a little planning now can spare your heirs months of difficulty later.

How Italian succession works, in outline

Italian inheritance law is built around the idea that the law, not only the person making a will, decides who must receive part of an estate. When someone dies, their estate (the asse ereditario) passes either under a valid will or, if there is none, under the rules of intestate succession set out in the Civil Code.

Two features tend to surprise people from common-law countries:

• Heirs generally inherit the estate as a whole, including any debts, rather than receiving specific, cleaned-up gifts.
• A fixed share of the estate is reserved by law for the closest family, and a will cannot freely override it.

Because heirs can inherit debts as well as assets, Italian law lets an heir accept with benefit of inventory (accettazione con beneficio d'inventario), which separates the estate's debts from the heir's own money. Whether this step makes sense depends on the estate, so it is worth taking specific advice.

Forced heirship: the reserved share

The feature you cannot ignore is forced heirship (successione necessaria). The law sets aside a protected portion of the estate, the reserved share (quota di legittima), for certain "forced heirs" (legittimari): the spouse, the children and, where there are no children, the parents or other ascendants. Only what is left over, the available portion (quota disponibile), can be given freely to anyone else.

The fractions depend on who survives. The Civil Code in force in October 2026 sets them as follows:

On top of the reserved share, Article 540 gives the surviving spouse the right to live in the house used as the family residence and to use its furnishings, where these belonged to the deceased or were owned jointly. For many foreign couples who own a holiday home in Italy, this right matters more than the fractions themselves.

Two practical points matter for foreigners:

• A will that ignores a forced heir is not automatically void, but a forced heir can usually bring a claim (an azione di riduzione) to recover their reserved share.
• Large lifetime gifts can be drawn back into the calculation, so giving assets away early does not always avoid the rules.

The table is a starting point: the calculation itself — what counts as the estate, how gifts are added back, how debts are deducted — is where disputes arise, so confirm the shares for your exact family situation with a qualified Italian lawyer before relying on them.

Who inherits if there is no will?

If there is no valid will, or the will does not dispose of everything, the Civil Code decides who inherits. The main cases look like this:

Foreign families are often surprised that, without a will, a surviving spouse may share the Italian home with the deceased's parents or siblings. If that is not what you want, a will — within the limits of the reserved shares — is the tool to change it.

Choosing your national law: the EU regulation

This is the part that gives many foreigners real flexibility. Under the EU Succession Regulation, often called Brussels IV (Regulation 650/2012), Article 21(1) makes the general rule the law of the State in which the deceased had their habitual residence at the time of death. So an expat habitually resident in Italy would, by default, tend to have Italian succession law applied to their worldwide estate.

The Regulation also allows a choice of law. Under Article 22(1), you may choose the law of the State whose nationality you hold at the time of making the choice or at the time of death, and that law then governs the succession as a whole. For example, a British or American citizen living in Italy may be able to choose their national law, which can change how Italian forced heirship applies to the estate.

Important limits to keep in mind

• The choice usually has to be made clearly, normally expressly in a will, and should be drafted with care.
• The Regulation deals with the civil rules of inheritance. It does not govern inheritance tax, which Italy applies separately.
• If you hold more than one nationality, or your "national law" itself refers the question back to Italy, the analysis gets technical. This is a common area for mistakes.

Because the choice of law can be powerful but easy to get wrong, it is one of the strongest reasons to have an Italian will reviewed professionally rather than copied from a template.

Wills that cover your Italian assets

You can deal with Italian property through a will made abroad or one made in Italy. A foreign will can be valid in Italy, but using it often means translating it, having it formally recognised, and routing it through a notary, which adds time and cost. Many foreigners with Italian assets therefore prefer a separate Italian will for those assets.

Common forms of will in Italy include:

• Holographic will (testamento olografo): under Article 602 of the Civil Code it must be written entirely, dated and signed by the testator's own hand, and the date must show the day, month and year. Simple and low-cost, but easy to invalidate through small errors — a typed text with a handwritten signature is not a holographic will.
• Public will (testamento pubblico): under Article 603 it is received by a notary (notaio) in the presence of two witnesses and kept on file. More robust and harder to challenge, and a practical choice if you do not write Italian.

If you make wills in more than one country, take care that they do not accidentally revoke or contradict each other. A clause in a later will can cancel an earlier one, sometimes unintentionally. Coordinating them, and stating clearly which assets each covers, is something a lawyer should check.

Accepting or refusing an inheritance

In Italy you do not become an heir automatically: the person called to the inheritance has to accept it. The key rules for foreign heirs are:

• Time limit to accept — under Article 480 the right to accept the inheritance prescribes in ten years from the opening of the succession.
• Acceptance with benefit of inventory — under Article 484 it is made by a declaration received by a notary or by the clerk of the court of the district where the succession opened. It keeps the estate's debts apart from your own assets.
• If you already hold estate assets — under Article 485 a person called to the inheritance who is in possession of estate assets must make the inventory within three months of the opening of the succession or of learning of it; if they do not, they are treated as having accepted outright, debts included.
• Refusing the inheritance — under Article 519 a renunciation is also made by a declaration received by a notary or by the court clerk. An informal letter or email is not enough.

The three-month rule is the trap: an heir who lives in the deceased's flat or uses the car while "deciding" can lose the protection of the inventory without realising it.

Settling an estate: the practical steps

Italy does not have a court-led "grant of probate" in the common-law sense. Instead, settling an estate is largely a notarial and tax-filing process. The central document is the declaration of succession (dichiarazione di successione), filed with the Italian tax authority (Agenzia delle Entrate).

In broad terms, heirs usually need to:

1. Obtain the death certificate and identify the heirs and assets.
2. Decide whether to accept the inheritance, and in what form.
3. File the declaration of succession within twelve months of the opening of the succession (Article 31 of Legislative Decree 346/1990).
4. Pay any inheritance tax and, for real estate, the related property taxes. For successions opened from 1 January 2025 the heirs self-assess the tax on the basis of the declaration (Article 33), and the Agenzia delle Entrate states that payment is due within 90 days of the filing deadline.
5. Update the land registry (voltura catastale) so that property is recorded in the heirs' names.

If heirs live in different Member States, the European Certificate of Succession created by Articles 62 and 63 of the Regulation lets heirs, legatees and executors prove their status in another EU country. It is optional and does not replace national documents, but it can save a second round of paperwork for a bank account or property held elsewhere in the EU.

How much is Italian inheritance tax?

Italian inheritance tax (imposta di successione) depends on the relationship to the deceased and on the net value each beneficiary receives. Article 7 of Legislative Decree 346/1990, as amended by Legislative Decree 139/2024, sets the following rates and allowances:

From 1 January 2027 these provisions move into a new consolidated text on indirect taxes, Legislative Decree 123/2025, whose Article 93 carries the same rates and allowances. Check whether any tax treaty between Italy and your home country affects double taxation, and remember that your home country may tax the same inheritance under its own rules.

Figures last verified October 2026 against the official texts on Normattiva and the Agenzia delle Entrate. Rates and allowances can change — confirm the position for the date of death with a lawyer or tax adviser.

Missing deadlines or filing the declaration incorrectly can lead to penalties and delays in accessing accounts or selling property, so most foreign families ask a notary or lawyer to handle the paperwork.

Getting it right

Italian succession blends fixed family protections, a useful EU choice-of-law option, and a paperwork-heavy settlement process, and the details shift with your nationality, residence, and family. Nothing here is legal advice, and the figures and rules described can change. Before you write or rely on a will covering Italian assets, it is worth speaking with a qualified Italian lawyer or notary who can apply the current rules to your own situation and help your heirs avoid unnecessary stress.

Frequently asked questions

Official sources

Rules, fees and thresholds change. Confirm anything in this guide with the official source before you act.

• Agenzia delle Entratetax authority
• Consiglio Nazionale Forensebar association — verify a lawyer

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