1) According to the law, if the deceased died intestate (without a Will), the assets are transmitted to the descendants or the surviving spouse following the principles set out within the Italian Civil Code.

2) According to a Will, which is typically the legal document drafted by the deceased in order to dispose of his assets after his/her death.

In broad terms the Will can be of two types:

a)Italian Will: It should be published and registered with the competent Italian authorities after the death of the testator.

b)Non Italian Will: The document should first be the object of a sworn translation in front of an Italian Court. A non Italian Will, especially if it lacks any explicit reference to the Italian assets, becomes subject to interpretation with the support of an Italian attorney. This is necessary in order to assess if such a Will can be applicable to the Italian assets or not. In the negative case, the succession of the Italian assets will follow the rules of the Italian Civil Code.

In both cases the Italian inheritance should be formally accepted. The acceptance can be tacit or explicit.

The tacit acceptance occurs when the heir, disposing of the Italian assets, clearly shows the intention to accept them.

The explicit acceptance should occur in a public deed signed in front of a notary public.

Probate

Within twelve months following the demise of the testator, the heirs should file the Italian probate with the competent authority, (Agenzia delle Entrate). The relevant branch of Agenzia delle Entrate will be determined by the last domicile of the deceased. In such a context, the heirs will be called to pay the taxation connected with the inheritance.

Such taxation will be determined by relationship of the deceased to the heirs and the total value of the assets involved in the succession.

After completion of the probate it will be possible to re-register the immovable assets in the name of the heirs.

An Italian attorney specialized in inheritance law can certainly help you manage the procedures mentioned above.

De Tullio Law Firm is an international legal practice specialized in Italian cross border real estate transactions and in Italian inheritance law. Over the years, De Tullio have gained extensive experience in this field, also contributing as legal experts with several publications and they are listed on the websites of the British and American Consulates.
http://www.detulliolawfirm.com/