Buying a home in Italy can be a dream come true for most people. However, owning property in a foreign country comes with its share of issues to be considered, the main one being the differing succession laws in the country of origin and the country of residence.

The new European Succession Law Regulation no. 650/2012 (or Brussels IV) that is going to come into force on August 17th, 2015 will be used to determine how the property will be inherited.

What it is and how it works

In essence, the regulation will overshadow all the differing legislations that govern inheritance in every nation so that they can all follow one rule. The affected countries are those under the EU umbrella, except UK, Denmark and Ireland. This law is aimed at avoiding conflicts of laws during cross-border inheritance. It was also meant to address the resultant globalization occasioned by the presence of free trade among the EU nations that lead to the movement and settlement of people in foreign countries. This succession regulation will only be applied if there is a death but will not be used on fiscal, administrative or custom matters.

One of the mandatory requirements of applying this regulation is the presence of a European Certificates of Succession. It will be issued to you by the authorities of the EU member state involved validating the issuance process. It will be acknowledged by all involved parties. The certificate is similar to a Grant of Probate that typically shows proof of the person entitled to the property of the estate. The document is aimed at strengthening the enforcement of the law so as to ensure effectiveness and urgency of settling a succession. A standard form of ECS will be available in twenty-three different languages for ease of implementation.

The good thing about the law is that nationals of the EU nations will be at liberty to choose the law that they would want to be applied in the succession of their property. The choice will be between inheritance laws of their home country or the laws that apply in their country of residence. They will also have an easier time drafting their wills in advance and successfully ensure that they protect the rights of their heirs, creditors and relatives who are bound to get a share of the inheritance. If a deceased had not decided which laws would apply to their property, the laws of where the person was habitually resident before their demise would apply to both the intestate and testate successions.

Notably also, the laws are not a reserve of the EU nationals only. Thus, people of Canadian or Australian nationality who own property in Italy could choose for the laws of their citizenship to apply. When it comes to the issue of drafting a will, there are circumstances that will warrant you to have several wills and in other cases, one will be sufficient. To know what will be expected of you, it will be prudent for you to consult an experienced lawyer.

Owning a property in a foreign land, such as Italy, is bound to become more manageable with the implementation of this new law.

[Featured image by fotopamas]