legal transfer

07/19/2010 - 17:50

hi not used the community for a long time, was wondering if anyone can help. i purchased a property about 10 years ago with two family members and now we are hoping to agree that i will take over full ownership of the property. there will be no payment and all we wish to do it to make a legal transfer into my name. does anyone know how easy / straightforward this is? are there any complicated considerations or worse financial/tax implications? i dont know where to start, perhaps back to our original notaio? appreciate any help or info thanks sarah

Topic

Property

Location

Fivizzano

Massa-Carrara Province

Tuscany

Comment

The only way to make a straightforward transfer is for your co-owners to donate the property to you. This has all the taxes and expenses of a normal sale, and must be stipulated in front of a notaio. Go back to your original notaio and ask him how much it will cost.

thanks ram sorry to be a pain, if they donate the property to me, how are taxes calculated. must the property be valued? thanks again

Dear Sarah, I just replied on the succession law topic page, then realise you had also posted here. It will involve signing another deed of transfer with a Notary Public, and then the property could be registered in your sole name. I see from your post here that you do not intend money to change hands but I would not advise this. The deed should preferably be in the form of a real sale or "vendita" (with evidence of money changing hands ie a copy of a bank transfer which would be attached to the deed of transfer) rather than a donation. A donation could lead to difficulties with reselling in the future as in Italy any donations made are challengeable by heirs after the death of the donor, so are best avoided. You will need a Notary to advise you on the costs, which will involve their fee (onorario) plus the registration taxes (imposte di registro) which are calculated on the catastal value of the property, plus advise you on the sale price of your brother's share to be declared in the deed. You will not need a market valuation of the property. The purchase price of your brother's half need not be for the real market value but it should be at least the amount they orginally paid for their share. Both you brother and sister will need to sign the deed of transfer, although they can give power of attorney for this if they cannot come to Italy. Hoping this is helpful let us know if you need any more information to help you make a decision. Charlotte Oliver

Dear Sarah, I just replied on the succession law topic page, then realise you had also posted here. It will involve signing another deed of transfer with a Notary Public. GThis does not have to be the ame Notary you used for the purchase. The property could be registered in your sole name. I see from your post here that you do not intend money to change hands but I would not advise this. The deed should preferably be in the form of a real sale or "vendita" (with evidence of money changing hands ie a copy of a bank transfer which would be attached to the deed of transfer) rather than a donation. A donation could lead to difficulties with reselling in the future as in Italy any donations made are challengeable by heirs after the death of the donor, so are best avoided. You will need a Notary to advise you on the costs, which will involve their fee (onorario) plus the registration taxes (imposte di registro) which are calculated on the catastal value of the property, plus advise you on the sale price of your brother's share to be declared in the deed. You will not need a market valuation of the property. The purchase price of your brother's half need not be for the real market value but it should be at least the amount they orginally paid for their share. Both you brother and sister will need to sign the deed of transfer, although they can give power of attorney for this if they cannot come to Italy. Hoping this is helpful let us know if you need any more information to help you make a decision. Charlotte Oliver

Charlotte - when you say that a donation can be challenged by heirs after the death of the donor - is there a time limit? eg - if the donor dies within 7 years of the donation, or is it possible to challenge a donation 20 years after the event? Thanks Ramsay

Ram I think when you mention the 7 year rule you must be thinking of the potentially exempt transfer rule in English inheritance tax legislation. Under Italian law donations made within, not only within 20 years but within the entire lifetime of the donor are potentially challengeable by the "eredi" after the death. This is the main reason why the UK government do not want to opt-in to the new regulation on EU succession and wills, as they feel there is a risk that British citizens may be unwittingly caught out by this rule. Sarah you would have to pay 10% on the catastal value of the two thirds share (although the catastal value may have been revised upwards since you originally purchased because of new rules on calculating this from the value actually registered for the property). So you cannot assume it will be exactly the amount that your siblings paid. Your husband can also purchase half of the property. Your brother and sister can sell and you and your husband can purchase shares in the proportion you decide, and this can all be written in one deed of sale. Complicated, but it can be done!

hi thanks for the advice, i have another couple of questions and apologies if i seem to be asking the obvious or if it sounds absurd. i am not a resident and so when we purchased the property we paid the higher level of tax, was it 10% - i think so. if we use the valuation based on what we paid originally, as its in three names and i am buying two of them out would i be liable for tax on two thirds of the original valuation? finally, i would now like to add my husbands name to the deeds, is that straightforward, i have his codice fiscale. thanks

Hi Charlotte, If you gave someone power of attorney to transfer property is there a time limit to do the transfer or is it open? thanks

You can choose whether to put a time limit or not, powers of attorneys can be drafted in many different ways. For example the power to end when the reason for the mandate have ben completed ie the transfer and all necessary relative procedures, or within a fixed time limit, or on formal revocation by you. Charlotte Oliver