A guide from Giambrone Law to Italian Wills

According to Giambrone Law (http://www.yell.com/b/Giambrone+Law-Legal+Services-London-SE108JA-6431912/), there are three different ways in which an Italian will can be made legally valid. These first is a will which is personally handwritten by the Testator (the person making the will), and is dated and signed. Under Italian Law, a handwritten will does not need to be witnessed; there are no attestation clauses. This document does not have to be written in Italian. Although the requirements are very basic, Giambrone Law says that it is still advisable for those writing such a will to have it checked by a solicitor, to ensure that all substantive and formal legal requirements have been met.

The second type of legally valid will is a Formal Will; a document that has been drafted by an professional Italian notary, as per the instructions given by the Testator. This document, Giambrone Law says, must be read to the Testator upon completion, to ensure that it is compliant with the Testator’s wishes. The Testator then has to sign the will with a witness present, after which the document is lodged with the notary. Although a Formal Will provides the Testator with some reassurance, in that the document will not be disregarded or lost, Giambrone Law points out that it does involve fees, and its contents must be disposed to the witnesses, and there is of course a risk that they may not keep the information confidential.

The third option is a Secret Will. This is a will which is drafted by the Testator, and subsequently placed inside of an envelope, which is then given to a notary. The fees for using the notary are relatively low, and the contents of the document will be undisclosed until the Testator dies, at which point the envelope will be opened by the notary.

One of the main issues with wills in Italy, Giambrone Law says, is that under Italian law, members of the Testator’s immediate family are automatically entitled to minimum shares of their estate. Because of this, even when one of the three aforementioned wills has been read, there may still be problems with determining how the estate should be divided, as a balance will need to be struck between complying with the law, as well as the wishes of the Testator.