10601 so confused over inheritance

I am so sorry, I have read every thread about inheritance but am still very confused. My husband and I bought a property 2 years ago and paid 1/2 each and it is in joint names. We plan to move there permanently and have obtained our residenzia to make this easier. We will still have a property in England "in case". I have no children and we do not have children together but my husband has two children (in their early twenties) from his first marriage. If my husband died before me would his two children inherit 50% of his "share" of the property (ie 25% of the property of a whole with 50% of his "half" going to me with my 50% of the property as a whole)? I ask as I wish my "share" to go to my lovely nephew when I croak it or I may well come back to England as I do not know if life would be bearable in Italy without my husband and I would want to know that I had the ability to sell the property in Italy if I wished with my stepchildren getting their share in money. I am concerned if they inherit 50% of the entire property they may be able to prevent me selling the property if I so wished - I am afraid there is an ex-wife in here who may exert pressure upon the children although she has no claim herself financially and I would feel happier knowing I would own 75% of the property as a whole. Also would making a Will each make any difference (thinking of the intestacy rules in England where I would automatically inherit from my husband to a certain amount) and if so would it need to be Italian or English. Sorry this is so confusing but it is causing me sleepless nights, can someone advise me? With many thanks

Category
Legal

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Mon, 10/06/2008 - 19:18

I'm sure someone will be able to point you towards some good information, but first you need to explain the following.

Are you UK born? Is your husband UK born? Is your husband's ex-wife UK born? Are his children UK born? Are the children living in Italy or the UK?

Depending on the answers to these questions you may be able - by writing a UK will - to be treated for inheritance matters under UK succession law (which it sounds to me would suit you better).

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Mon, 10/06/2008 - 19:30

Hi there Charles, we are all uk born. The ex-wife has no claim at all but will influence the children/young adults if she can!! The children will not be living in Italy but my husband and I will be, uk citizens with Italian residencia. Thanks for taking the time to answer, appreciate any advice we can get.......

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Tue, 10/07/2008 - 03:37

Hi Cedric

I suggest you contact Charlotte Oliver on this forum or at her office in Rome.
[email]C.Oliver@studiopaoletti.com[/email] She is an English Solicitor with English and Italian legal trainng.
We had a similar situation and with her help have 'written English wills under Italian conditions'. Hope this helps.

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Tue, 10/07/2008 - 06:04

According to my notaio the answer is to make a will in the UK. Leave a holographic will with your Italian notaio which says that as a British national you wish all your beni to be disposed of under the laws of your country of nationality - ie your British will - then you can do what you like. The thing not to do is not make a wil otherwise you automatically fall under Italian succession law.

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Tue, 10/07/2008 - 08:21

Our sitiuation is straight forward but we wanted to find out about making an Italian will and possibly cancelling our English one. My OH and I have 50-50 share of our Italian property, (the only thing we own) and we have a son in the UK. I contacted Charlotte the other day and got this reply...
I would strongly recommend that a will made in Italy is in the form of a “public will” which is signed before a Notary Public, who lodges the will in a central registry and pays the relevant taxes. The will is kept at the office of the Notary for safekeeping. The Notary’s fee is in the region of 1,000 Euro per will. Although this fee is much higher than the cost of making a will in the UK, you should bear in mind that if not paid now, it would be payable in any event by your heirs should they need to publish a different form of will in Italy after your death to transfer your property into their name.

I am able if you wish to recommend an English speaking Notary in Rome to draw up the public will. If you would like me to advise you further I can also offer you a consultation on wills and succession law and can help liaise with the Notary as regards any conflict with English law. I would charge in the region of 500 Euro plus VAT for this.

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Tue, 10/07/2008 - 10:55

[quote=Noble;98637].......I would strongly recommend that a will made in Italy .................The Notary’s fee is in the region of 1,000 Euro per will. ................[/quote]

I was thinking of getting around the 'Will' problem by giving my kids my Italian property before I die

Assuming that it is possible to do so - how easy/cheap is it to do?

.

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Wed, 10/08/2008 - 07:48

Dear Cedric

It is higly advisable to make a will rather than leaving your properties to be decided by the rules of intestacy law, and even more so in relation to the Italian property. Only by making a will can you and your partner determine the shares each heir should receive of each of your assets. Each of you can only dispose of your "half" of the property, therefore your husband could choose how much of his 50% to leave to his children. Whatever share they inherit they could still block a sale by you if they wished to. Your husband may wish to consider leaving his children a larger part of the UK property instead, to compensate them and leave you free to inherit his entire share of the Italian home.

I know that this area can be a minefield particularly for foreigners in Italy who own property here. The most important thing for you to bear in mind is that even if you die in Italy having lived here for many years, your succession is dealt with by the law of your nationality ie English law. This means that where an Italian would not be free to leave his entire estate to a nephew as other family members may be entitled to a "statutory share", an English person is entitled to do so under the principle of freedom of disposition.

I would advise a separate will in the UK regarding your English property and a will in Italy made in one of the three forms allowed by Italian law, which should preferably be a "public will" signed in front of a Notary and kept in their studio. Making a will under Italian "conditions" is recommend to smooth the transfer of title in the Italian property to your beneficiaries.

If you are having sleepless nights you should really seek professional advice as cross-border successions are complex. You should not rely on advice on this forum based on the information you have given, even from me! There may be other relevant factors you havent mentioned, an advisor really needs to know the "big picture, values of the property, family circumstances etc.

Charlotte Oliver

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Wed, 11/05/2008 - 19:43

Hi Everyone!!! I am so happy that I have found this forum. Very informative!!! I have a question about inheritance and I am hoping maybe someone can give me some kind of advice. My in laws are Canadian citizens who have Italian residency in Sicily. They bought an apartment last year and fully renovated it. They have gone back this year and are in the process of buying another property which will have a closing date in about two weeks. My in laws want to put my husbands name on this property. Their reasoning for this is because if something happens to them it will be easier for my husband to sell the property if he wishes too and avoids paying taxes when he does sell ([I]this did not make sense to me[/I]). I am a little nervous about this since we live in Canada and know nothing about italian law. What if my in laws renovate not to code standards? Would my husband be in trouble by the Italian law if someone were to make a complaint? They also say that it will help them save on taxes because they already own an apartment and when you own more than one property aparently the gov't charges you a tax (*shrugs shoulders*). Is this true? Would anyone know? I have explained to them that why do they not just make a will so that they can have peace of mind that the properties in Italy will go to the rightful heirs. Their response was that it doesn't work like that in Italy. How can that be possible :eerr:. I don't believe them. Would Canadian Law overide the Italian law since they are Canadian citizens? I would appreciate any kind of enlightenment here :smile: .