As a bilingual lawyer and Avvocato stabilito, I guide you through your succession planning – from taking stock of your assets to the choice of law through to the legally secure storage and registration of your will in both countries.
For German-Italian estate matters, structured planning is essential: the EU Succession Regulation, different forced heirship systems and the absence of a double taxation treaty make individual solutions necessary. This checklist gives you an overview of the key steps in legally sound estate planning with an Italian dimension.
Every estate plan begins with a complete inventory of assets – separated by country and asset class.
Practical tip: Prepare a structured asset summary and store it in a safe place – ideally together with the will.
The EU Succession Regulation determines which inheritance law applies to the entire estate. The general rule is the law of the deceased's last habitual residence.
The choice of applicable law should be made strategically: which law offers greater freedom of disposition? Which forced heirship system is more favourable for the planned distribution? Are executors or inheritance contracts desired?
The choice of form depends on the applicable law and the practical requirements of the estate plan.
Recommendation: Where there are cross-border assets, always have the will reviewed for compatibility with the foreign administration law – a formally valid German will may in practice be difficult to implement in Italy.
Both German and Italian law protect close relatives through inalienable minimum shares. These claims must be observed when drafting a will.
Practical tip: Before any property purchase, check the date of land register entry for any gifted property in the portfolio. In practice, specialist insurance policies are increasingly used to protect buyers and financing banks against the economic risk of a subsequent restitution action.
Who takes on the administration of the estate in the event of death – particularly in a country where the heirs may not be resident?
Practical tip: A notarial procura speciale in favour of a trusted lawyer or notarial representative resident in Italy can considerably accelerate the administration of the estate.
Since there is no double taxation agreement between Germany and Italy for inheritance taxes, proactive tax planning is particularly important.
A will is only useful if it can be found when the time comes. Both countries offer options for storage and registration.
Important: A later will generally revokes an earlier one. Where there are multiple wills (e.g. one for German assets, one for Italian assets), they must be consistent with each other and clearly delimited. A holographic will is revoked by destruction – merely withdrawing it from storage is not sufficient for this purpose.
Estate planning should be supplemented by provisions for the event that the person concerned is no longer able to make decisions during their lifetime.
Recommendation: Review powers of attorney and advance care directives regularly to ensure they are up to date, and store them appropriately in both countries. Inform the persons named of the content and location.
Want to structure your succession in a legally sound and tax-optimised way – with assets in Germany and Italy? I advise you individually on wills, choice of law, forced heirship and inheritance tax. Get in touch early.
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