Italy · Planning ahead
Planning ahead for succession in Italy
Four fixed-fee written opinions for people living in Italy — or holding Italian assets — who want to understand their position before anything happens. Each one reviewed and signed personally by Colin Carroll.
1 · Who inherits if I die in Italy?
The planning-ahead version of our Inheritance Entitlement opinion — the same analysis we produce after a death, applied to your situation while you can still act. You receive: which law governs your estate (Brussels IV), forced-heirship exposure under the legittima — which in Italy protects the surviving spouse as strongly as the children, including the right to remain in the family home — heir mapping with fractions, matrimonial-regime confirmation, a habitual-residence assessment, and recommendations.
Pricing: Standard €950 · Cross-Border €1,400 · Complex €2,050. Change-event reassessment €495.
2 · Should I make an Italian will?
We draft Italian wills coordinated with your existing planning, not in competition with it. Italy accepts the testamento olografo — entirely handwritten, dated and signed — and the testamento pubblico before a notary; either way, on death the will must be formally published before an Italian notary (the pubblicazione) before it can operate — a step we plan for in the drafting. Included: advice on which law governs, a correctly worded Brussels IV Article 22 choice-of-law election — which, done properly, genuinely displaces the legittima — coordination with your existing will, and a bilingual draft ready for execution.
The Four-Step Will Test: (1) who inherits right now; (2) your preferences mapped against the legal constraints; (3) the will draft, every clause explained; (4) the analysis re-run with your new will — before and after, side by side.
Combined fee: from €1,500 + VAT. (Notary fees, where a testamento pubblico is chosen, are paid directly to the notary.)
3 · What does my marriage mean for inheritance?
Your matrimonial property regime decides what is already your spouse’s before inheritance even begins. Italy’s default is comunione dei beni (community of property), though many couples elect separazione — and couples who married abroad often don’t know which regime follows them. A written opinion identifies the regime, classifies your assets, and sets out what happens on death. Essential for mixed-nationality couples, second marriages, and anyone who married abroad.
Pricing: Standard €950 · Cross-Border €1,400.
4 · Your UK trust in Europe — does it still work?
European countries treat UK trusts very differently — Italy recognises them; Portugal tolerates them (no trust law, but distributions are taxed); France taxes them heavily; Spain looks through them. This Cross-Border Structure Advisory covers whether your structure works where you live, what it costs you, and the local alternatives. We don’t set up trusts, act as trustees, or advise on how your structure is taxed.
Pricing (ex-VAT): Add-on €800 (PT/ES) / €1,000 (FR/IT) · Standalone €1,200 (PT/ES) / €1,500 (FR/IT) · Multi-jurisdiction €2,000 (PT/ES) / €2,500 (FR/IT).
Who prepares your work
Your work is signed personally by Colin Carroll — a dual-qualified solicitor, admitted in both England and Ireland, who has lived and worked on the European continent for twenty-five years. Today he is the registered, insured lawyer with the Ordem dos Advogados (the Portuguese Bar) and the bars of Spain, Italy and France, under EU Directive 98/5/EC, with professional-indemnity insurance in each country of practice.
Related guides
Is there inheritance tax in Italy? The actual numbers
Italy’s inheritance tax is one of Europe’s gentlest for close family — 4% only above €1,000,000 per heir — but Italian real estate carries fixed transfer taxes of 3% of its cadastral value, and nothing is released until the succession declaration is filed. General information, not tax advice.
Read the guide →
Which country’s law decides who inherits — and can I choose my own?
How the EU Succession Regulation (650/2012) decides the governing law, and how a choice-of-law clause works — and what it can’t do.
Read the guide →
Can I choose English law for my Portuguese or Spanish estate? (Brussels IV)
Under the EU Succession Regulation (Brussels IV) a British or Irish national can elect the law of their nationality in their will instead of the forced-heirship rules of Portugal, Spain, Italy or France — English law gives full freedom; Irish law protects a spouse’s share. It decides who inherits — not the tax.
Read the guide →