9643 Inheritance matters

[FONT=Calibri][SIZE=3]My mother recently died and left to us, her three daughters, her property in Italy. She has a will (made in the UK) in which she has expressed her wishes. My father survives her and inherits all her other goods etc. My sister who lives in Italy has been told we need to provide a "Certificato di famiglia storico" which means a certificate of our family history to prove how many children our mother had in her lifetime. I am not aware of any such document/certificate existing here. Does anyone know what may satisfy the requirement? I thought that if proof of a search of the General Registrar Records and records of any entries of births recorded for our mother during her lifetime, may satisfy the requirement? Can anyone guide me about what we need to do please.[/SIZE][/FONT]

Category
Legal

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Mon, 06/02/2008 - 07:24

Dear Anna,

You will need to prepare a sworn translation of your mother's will, which must then be published before a Notary Public in Italy. You will then need to complete a "dichiarazione di successione" listing the heirs to her property in her will, and which must be filed with the Agenzia delle Entrate within a year of her death, together with the published will and proof of payment of inheritance tax in respect of the property. You will need then to instruct a geometra to request the transfer of title of the property into your names.

It should not be necessary to produce evidence of her family members who survive her, or a Certificato di Stato di Famiglia. This would only be necessary if your mother was Italian, had died intestate, and there was a dispute over who should be her heirs in Italian intestacy law.

What was your mother's nationality?

Charlotte

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Tue, 06/03/2008 - 14:32

Thank you for your reply Charlotte, Mum was Italian but was resident in the UK. My father is British and we were all brought up in the UK. My eldest sister is now resident in Italy and has been there for 35 years, my other sister and I are resident in the UK. Any advice on how this may complictae matters. Another factor to consider is that the property in Italy is now under redevelopment (since September 2007) and is due for completion in October this year.

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Tue, 06/03/2008 - 16:58

The reason I asked about your mother's nationality, is to determine which law would apply to her succession, ie which of her family members is entitled to inherit her property. As she was Italian, Italian succession law would apply and your father would have a statutory right under Italian law to a quarter share of the property, but this is irrelevant if he chooses not to uphold this. Your father might be asked to sign a declaration renouncing his share.

On the other hand If your mother had chosen English law to apply and expressly written this into her will, which she was entitled to do as she was resident in the UK, only close family members of Italian nationaltiy who are resident in Italy could potentially challenge the will. Your father should not need to renounce as he has no right to a share under the will in English law.

This is a technical point which I hope does not confuse the issue. Your mother's nationality should not complicate the succession in any other way. To put it simply, if your family accepts the will and there is no dispute over shares, you will need to go ahead to contact a Notary Public and publish it in Italy, and the property can be transferred into the names of you and your sisters each having a 1/3 share.

Charlotte