Inheritance and Gifts: Attorney in Naples

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• Intestate succession: how the estate is divided among spouse, children, parents and siblings
• How to renounce an inheritance: where you sign and what happens afterwards
• Succession declaration: deadlines, exemptions and taxes
• Forced heirship share: who is entitled to it, how it is calculated, how to defend it

Inheritance and gifts attorney in Naples

Practice area · Attorney Renato Giuseppe Fiorentino · Published October 23, 2025 · Updated October 15, 2026 · 15 min read

We handle matters concerning inheritance, division of assets, gifts and wills, offering complete assistance in planning and managing family and property relationships. The approach aims to prevent conflicts and to protect the rights of every heir or beneficiary.

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Inheritance and gifts: how to plan a succession in time

Planning your succession early can avoid disputes among your children. It is never too late to decide what to do with your estate when you die. As is well known, in the Italian legal system an inheritance passes either by law (intestate succession) or by will (testamentary succession). It passes by law when the deceased has left no will.

Planning a testamentary succession in time can allow the testator to see certain wishes fulfilled and can allow the heirs to avoid long and costly lawsuits aimed (in many cases) at establishing whether the provisions of the will are valid and whether the forced heirship share (quota di legittima) has been infringed. If the testator has left all of their assets to only some of the co-heirs who are forced heirs, the other forced heirs, known as “pretermitted” heirs, may challenge the will’s provision that infringes the forced share and may ask for the reduction of those provisions (gifts and testamentary provisions) that infringe their reserved share. The action for reduction, provided for by Article 553 and following of the Italian Civil Code, is the remedy given to forced co-heirs to protect their right to the forced heirship share.

Can a will be challenged?

General information, not legal advice. For your case: book a consultation.

House to the children in exchange for care: what happens?

General information, not legal advice. For your case: book a consultation.

Tools for planning a succession

The tools that can be used to plan and organize a succession are many. The choice depends on the composition of the estate. Succession planning can be done first of all by drawing up a public will, and then by using institutions that either operate after death or anticipate the succession, such as the gift, the trust, the fiduciary arrangement (negozio fiduciario) and the family pact (patto di famiglia).

A public will is a deed received by a notary by which the testator disposes of all or part of their assets for the time after their death. The will can be secret and kept at the notary’s office, and the notary will see to its publication when the death of the testator becomes known.

A gift is a contract by which the donor, solely and exclusively out of a spirit of generosity, enriches the donee by giving them a right. A gift is an act exclusively without consideration, used to give an asset to relatives and/or friends without receiving or demanding anything in return.

The trust is a legal institution that originated in England and the United States and has been used in Italy for over ten years, including in the succession context. With a trust, a person called the settlor (the owner of the assets) transfers all or part of their assets to the trustee, who will administer them in the interest of one or more beneficiaries designated by the settlor. By placing assets in trust, the settlor loses physical and legal possession of the assets and loses any right over them. Besides its succession function, the trust is often used to ensure the segregation of assets which, once transferred to the trustee, can no longer be reached by the settlor’s creditors. A trust can be set up in Italy by any citizen or foreigner.

The family pact (patto di famiglia) is a legal institution introduced in 2006, by which the owner of a business transfers all or part of their assets (business, business unit, shareholdings) and not only these, to all or some of the heirs, in anticipation of succession, to ensure the continuity of the management of the business and avoid family disputes. The heirs who are assigned the business under the family pact are required to ensure business continuity and will not pay any gift tax if they continue the activity for at least 5 years. The heirs who are not assigned the business will be entitled to a payment calculated on the value of the assets assigned under the family pact, which may also be paid with special shares and minority holdings with particular rights.

Gift of future assets: nullity

A dispositive gift of assets belonging to someone else, by which the donor intends to produce an immediate transfer effect, is void in light of the overall rules on gifts. Although there is no express prohibition, Article 769 of the Italian Civil Code requires, in a gift with immediate real effects, the present nature of the divestment, which implies that the donor disposes of “a right of their own”. Moreover, Article 771, paragraph 1, of the Italian Civil Code, in providing that a gift of future assets is void, expresses the need, common to liberalities concerning things belonging to others, to limit the donor’s acts of prodigality. This protective purpose requires going beyond the literal interpretation of Article 771, so as to include in its prohibition every future asset, both in an objective and in a merely subjective sense.

Inheritance and gifts

We offer legal assistance and advice on inheritance and gifts.

• We assist and advise clients in transferring and/or assigning assets and/or businesses to future heirs to avoid later inheritance conflicts, and in resolving problems related to inheritance and gifts.
• We help heirs search for and identify inherited assets in Italy, making use of investigation firms.
• We assist heirs in inheritance lawsuits to be brought in Italy before the competent courts.

In-depth pages on inheritance

• Dividing an inheritance
• Forced heirship share
• Accepting an inheritance
• Protection of assets
• Gifts in Naples
• International successions
• All guides on inheritance and gifts

Do you have a similar case? Write to or call the firm

Inheritance and division: what to check first. Tell us your situation in two lines: we will tell you which documents are needed and which routes are possible. Before engagement you receive a written quote.

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In-depth guides

There are 52 guides on this subject in the Italian-language guide library (for example on agreements between siblings to divide an inherited house, the action for reduction and benefit of inventory, an inherited house with a mortgage, digital inheritance, the death of a partner in an Italian limited company, implied acceptance, challenging a will and gifts). See the legal guides.

Can’t find your case, or do you have a document to show us?

Every situation has to be examined carefully on the documents. Book an appointment at the office or by video call. Before engagement you receive a written quote.

Frequently asked questions about inheritance and gifts

By when must the succession declaration be filed?

As a rule within twelve months of the date of death. The declaration has tax effects; acceptance of the inheritance follows its own rules and must be assessed separately.

How long can an inheritance be accepted?

The right to accept expires after ten years from the opening of the succession. However, anyone who is in possession of the inherited assets must make an inventory within three months: after that period they are considered an unconditional heir, with liability for the debts as well.

What is the forced heirship share?

It is the part of the estate that the law reserves to the spouse, the children and, if there are no children, the ascendants. A will or gift that infringes it is not void, but it can be reduced with the action for reduction.

Can a gift be revoked?

Only in the cases provided by law, such as the ingratitude of the donee or the birth of children after the gift. If the gift infringes the forced share, the forced heirs may ask for reduction within the time limits set by law.

General information: every situation must be assessed on the documents of the specific case. For your case, write to or call us.

How it works

• First meeting: we see who the heirs are, whether there is a will and what the estate includes.
• Documents: we tell you what is needed and how to obtain it (certificates, property deeds, bank statements).
• Formalities: succession declaration, cadastral transfers and, if needed, acceptance of the inheritance.
• If the heirs do not agree, an agreement is sought first. A lawsuit is the last resort.

Timing depends on the issue and on the other people involved. At the first meeting we give you a cautious estimate.

How the fee is set

• The fee depends on the value of the matter, how complex it is and the work it requires.
• Before engagement you receive a written quote. Out-of-pocket expenses (for example searches, service of documents, contributions) are shown separately.
• If the route changes, for example from an agreement to a lawsuit, you receive a new quote before going further.

What next

• Say you want a consultation: the form on the booking page, WhatsApp or phone. We call you back by the next working day.
• We arrange the first meeting at one of the offices or by video call.
• Before engagement you receive a written quote.

Further reading

• Quota di legittima and action for reduction
• Acceptance with benefit of inventory and action for reduction
• Inheritance division lawsuit: a simple guide
• Inheritance lawyer in Naples and Campania
• A holographic will found in Fuorigrotta: what to do after finding it
• An inherited holiday home in Capri: who can use it and who pays the expenses
• A handwritten will found in Procida: is it valid?

Related articles

• Bank accounts and deposits in Switzerland of a deceased relative: what the heir does
• German Pflichtteil and Italian forced share: which share belongs to the children
• Inheritance of an Italian resident in Germany: Erbschein and European Certificate of Succession
• Italians in Germany: legal guide
• Succession of an Italian resident in Switzerland with assets in Italy
• Italians in Switzerland: legal guide
• Selling the bare ownership of a house: price, risks and what happens on the death of the usufructuary
• Fiduciary registration of assets and shares: how it works, what it is for and what the risks are

All guides by topic

The Italian-language guide library is organized by topic: intestate succession and the death of a parent, wills, the forced heirship share, acceptance of the inheritance, division of the inheritance, succession declaration and the deceased’s bank accounts, and gifts. See the legal guides.

Offices

Naples, Piazza Giovanni Bovio 22, 80133 (main office); Naples, Via Monte di Dio 14, 80132; Rome, Via Giorgio Ribotta 21, 00144; Bari, Corso Giuseppe Mazzini 61, 70123.

General information: every situation must be assessed on the documents of the specific case.

Author: Attorney Renato Giuseppe Fiorentino, Naples Bar. Updated on October 18, 2026.
Text prepared with the help of artificial intelligence tools, under the responsibility of Attorney Renato Giuseppe Fiorentino. General information, not legal advice.