Inherited Funds

Where a person resident in Australia is inheriting a sum deposited either on a Italian bank account and/or a saving account and/or invested in financial instruments, certain documents shall be prepared, both in Australia and Italy, to be filed with the authorities of the latter country to finalise the transfer of those funds to the beneficiary.

1. Documents to be prepared in Australia

To set out the payment process, the following documents are required:

• the deceased's death certificate;

• the Grant of Probate with annexed will (if there is one) issued by the Australian Supreme Court .

These documents must be translated into Italian and legalised by Apostille issued by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade – DFAT.

They must then be lodged with a notary in Italy so that the process for transferring the property to the beneficiaries can begin.

2. Documents to be prepared in Italy

If the inherited sum is higher than €100,000 or, if it is lower but the beneficiary is neither the spouse nor a deceased's child, tax obligations must be fulfilled by submitting the inheritance succession.

That is done electronically through an authorised person.

To complete this step, you must provide the tax office with:

• the heirs' identity documents and Italian tax code;

• the statement of the funds/financial instruments issued by the bank.

The inheritance tax (where due) shall be paid within 90 days by succession declaration lodgement.

3. Liaising with the Credit Institution

Once the tax obligations have been fulfilled, a formal request for the payment of the sum deposited with the bank must be submitted to the deceased's credit institution.

The latter would then advise on the documents required to release the funds.

These are the documents generally required by credit institutions. Please, bear in mind that this procedure may vary from bank to bank:

• proof of Identity card and beneficiary tax codes;

• statement in lieu of notarized deed indicating the beneficiaries entitled to the funds deposited with the bank;

• true and certified copy of the minutes of the will deposited with the notary;

• true and certified copy of the succession declaration, or exemption declaration, if applicable;

• indemnity statement and payment receipt discharging the bank.

If the beneficiary is unable to travel to Italy to complete all the above-mentioned formalities, he or she may delegate a trusted professional to act on his or her behalf by issuing a special power of attorney.