Deceased Estate Waiver

The Case

It may happen that a person living in Australia is the beneficiary of an Italian estate where the deceased's debts are higher than the assets' value.

Let's see what options the Italian law provides to a beneficiary living abroad.

The Waiver

Under the Italian law, upon the inheritance acceptance the beneficiary would be liable of all the debts left by the estate. This means that the person accepting the inheritance shall also pay the deceased's debts, even if they exceed the value of the assets received.

To avoid that risk, the Italian law allows the beneficiary to waive to the inheritance. If so, the beneficiary would not be liable for the debts left by the deceased but, at the same time, would not be entitled to any asset.

Where the person renouncing to the estate is an Italian citizen living in Australia, the waiver can be made either:

• before the Italian Consular Officer; or

• before an Australian Notary Public.

In the latter case, the deed must be written in Italian or, if written in English, translated into Italian and legalised by Apostille (issued by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade – DFAT).

Once the waiver declaration has been made, it must be filed in Italy with the Court of the deceased's last residence, along with the documents proving both the deceased death and that the person who waived to the estate is indeed a beneficiary of the deceased estate.

Registration tax, stamp duty, and court fees must also be paid.

If the person waving to the estate is unable to travel to Italy to complete this court procedure, he or she can appoint a trusted professional to act on his or her behalf by issuing either a specific form of authority or power of attorney.