Forced Heirship in Italy: What Expats Can't Ignore

Most English speakers assume they can leave their assets to whoever they choose. In Italy, they can't. Italian law reserves a mandatory portion of every estate — the legittima — for specific family members, regardless of what any will says. For expats living in Italy, this creates a direct collision between their estate planning assumptions and Italian legal reality.

How the Legittima Works

Italy's Civil Code designates certain relatives as legittimari (forced heirs): the surviving spouse, children (including adopted children), and — if there are no children — the deceased's parents. These individuals are legally guaranteed a fixed share of the estate that cannot be reduced by a will, a trust, or lifetime gifts.

The reserved shares depend on who survives:

The "freely disposable" share is the only portion the deceased could direct through a will. Everything else goes to the forced heirs automatically.

What Happens If a Will Violates Forced Heirship

If a will distributes Italian assets in a way that shortchanges forced heirs, the affected heirs don't just get upset — they get a legal remedy. They can file an azione di riduzione (action for reduction) in Italian courts within 10 years of the succession opening. If successful, the court recalculates the estate distribution to restore the mandatory shares, potentially clawing back assets already distributed to other beneficiaries.

The Supreme Court's 2025 Decision 1632 reinforced that forced heirship constitutes Italian ordine pubblico (public policy). Foreign wills, trusts, and estate structures that attempt to circumvent these rules for Italian-situated assets can be challenged and overridden.

The Brussels IV Escape Route

EU Regulation 650/2012 (Brussels IV) provides a way out. Under Article 22, anyone can elect the law of their nationality — rather than the law of their habitual residence — to govern their entire succession.

For American, British, Australian, and Canadian citizens, this is transformative. These common law jurisdictions grant near-absolute testamentary freedom. By including a Brussels IV choice-of-law clause in their will, a US citizen habitually resident in Italy can choose US law for their succession, bypassing Italian forced heirship entirely — even for Italian real estate.

The clause must be explicit. Simply having a will drafted under US or UK law is not enough. The will must contain specific language: "I elect the law of [nationality] to govern my entire succession pursuant to Article 22 of EU Regulation 650/2012."

Important limitations:

Anti-abuse provisions. If Italian courts determine that the choice of law was made solely to deprive Italian forced heirs of their rights — and the deceased had deep ties to Italy with minimal connection to their nationality — the court may apply the "manifestly closer connection" exception under Article 21(2) and default back to Italian law. This is rare but not theoretical.

Civil unions get spouse rights. Partners in a registered civil union (unione civile) receive identical forced heirship protection to married spouses. Unmarried de facto partners receive nothing — no reserved share, no housing right beyond 2-5 years, and an 8% tax rate with zero exemption on any assets they do receive through the disposable share.

Dual citizens. Individuals with multiple citizenships can choose the law of any nationality they hold. A dual US-Italian citizen could choose US law to maximize testamentary freedom.

What This Means for Estate Planning

If you're an English-speaking expat living in Italy, the practical advice is straightforward:

1. Get a will that's valid in Italy. Italian law recognizes holographic wills (entirely handwritten, dated, and signed) and notarial wills. A will drafted by a US or UK lawyer is not automatically recognized.

2. Include the Brussels IV clause. If you want testamentary freedom, the choice-of-law election must be in the will. Without it, Italian forced heirship applies by default.

3. Understand what's at stake. Forced heirship isn't just about who gets what — it also affects who controls the succession process. Forced heirs have standing to challenge transactions, freeze assets, and contest distributions.

4. Review regularly. Life changes — marriage, divorce, new children — alter the forced heirship quotas. A will that was legally sound five years ago may now violate mandatory shares.

The Italy expat death guide includes the exact Brussels IV clause wording in both English and Italian, a forced heirship calculator for every family composition, and step-by-step guidance for coordinating Italian and home-country estate planning.

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