How to Accept or Renounce an Inheritance in Italy from Abroad

When a family member who was resident or died in Italy leaves an estate, the foreign heir faces a choice that Italian law does not allow to be deferred indefinitely: accept the inheritance — along with the deceased’s debts — or renounce it. The wrong decision can have significant financial consequences: an unwitting acceptance can make the heir personally liable for the estate’s debts with their own assets; a poorly handled renunciation can forfeit valuable assets the heir was entitled to receive.

Italian law gives the heir three options: outright acceptance (accettazione pura e semplice), renunciation of the inheritance (rinuncia all’eredità), and acceptance under benefit of inventory (accettazione con beneficio d’inventario) — an institution governed by Art. 490 c.c. that allows the heir to accept the inheritance while limiting liability for debts to the value of the assets received. Each option has precise formal requirements, deadlines to observe, and different legal consequences that the foreign heir must understand before deciding.

This guide explains how each option works, the deadlines within which to act, the procedures to follow from abroad, and the main pitfalls to avoid. For a general overview of the Italian succession system: Italian Inheritance Succession.

The Basic Principle: No One Is Required to Accept an Inheritance

Italian law protects the heir’s freedom of choice: no one can be compelled to accept an inheritance (Art. 470 c.c.). The person called to the inheritance — whether by operation of law or by will — has the right to accept or renounce, and that right must be exercised within the statutory time limits.

In Italy, the inheritance does not pass automatically to the heir at the moment of death. Technically, the heir is “called” to the inheritance but does not acquire it definitively until they accept. Between the death and the acceptance there is a period during which the estate assets are in a state of legal suspension — the so-called hereditas iacens. This matters in practice: certain acts performed during this period can produce automatic acceptance.

Outright Acceptance

With outright acceptance, the heir steps into all the rights and all the obligations of the deceased without limitation (Art. 470 c.c.): they acquire all the deceased’s assets but are also personally liable for the estate’s debts — even with their own personal assets (Art. 754 c.c.). If the debts exceed the value of the assets received, the heir makes up the difference from their own pocket. This is the principal risk of outright acceptance when an estate carries significant or unknown debts.

Express Acceptance

Express acceptance is perfected when the person called to the inheritance, in a notarial deed or a private written document, declares their acceptance or assumes the title of heir (Art. 475 c.c.). A notarial deed is not required: a private written document containing the declaration of acceptance is sufficient. The requirement of an instrument received by a notary or court registrar applies to acceptance under benefit of inventory (Art. 484 c.c.) and to renunciation (Art. 519 c.c.), not to express outright acceptance.

Tacit Acceptance

Tacit acceptance occurs when the heir performs an act that necessarily presupposes their intention to accept the inheritance and that they would have no right to perform except as heir (Art. 476 c.c.). This is the most common form of acceptance in practice — and the one that most frequently catches the foreign heir unawares.

Acts that constitute tacit acceptance include, among others:

• Selling, gifting, or mortgaging an estate asset.
• Collecting estate receivables or paying the deceased’s debts with one’s own money.
• Commencing or continuing litigation as heir.
• Entering into or renewing lease agreements in the deceased’s name.
• Effecting the cadastral transfer (voltura catastale) of estate properties into one’s own name.

Acts that do not constitute tacit acceptance include: filing the succession declaration and paying the related taxes, requesting registration of the will, and acts of mere conservation (paying utility bills to avoid disconnection, carrying out urgent repairs).

Recent case law has clarified a number of critical points that are particularly relevant to foreign heirs:

Cadastral transfer as tacit acceptance — Cass. civ. no. 12263/2026: the cadastral transfer of estate properties into the name of the person called to the inheritance constitutes tacit acceptance under Art. 476 c.c., as it is an act that necessarily presupposes the intention to accept. Trib. Ragusa no. 571/2026: the cadastral transfer is not referable to a merely conservative activity — it implies a qualified management of the estate asset and is incompatible with the intention to renounce.

Limit: cadastral transfer effected by a third party without authority — Trib. Roma no. 5993/2026: a cadastral transfer effected by another person called to the inheritance does not constitute tacit acceptance in the absence of proof that the absent heir granted a mandate or subsequently ratified the act. For the foreign heir: if a co-heir resident in Italy carries out cadastral operations without an express mandate, this does not constitute tacit acceptance on the part of the absent heir.

Succession declaration not sufficient — Trib. Taranto no. 761/2026 and Trib. Milano no. 1166/2025: the succession declaration, the payment of the related taxes, the request for registration of the will, and its transcription do not constitute tacit acceptance, being acts of predominantly fiscal character.

Entering proceedings as heir — Cass. civ. no. 3520/2025: entering legal proceedings in the capacity of heir (rather than merely as a legal representative) amounts to recognition of full ownership of the estate assets and constitutes tacit acceptance. The principle semel heres, semper heres applies: once the status of heir is acquired through tacit acceptance, a subsequent formal renunciation has no legal effect.

Collection of estate receivables — Trib. Milano no. 1166/2025: collecting pension instalments owed to the deceased constitutes tacit acceptance (an act of appropriation of an estate asset); the mere collection of bank cheques issued by third parties in connection with the estate does not constitute tacit acceptance, as it involves a third party’s disposition rather than an autonomous act of appropriation.

Renunciation of the Inheritance

Renunciation of the inheritance is the formal declaration by which the person called to the inheritance manifests their intention not to acquire it (Art. 519 c.c.). It is a unilateral act with retroactive effect: the person who renounces is treated as if they had never been called to the inheritance.

Form of Renunciation

Renunciation always requires written form: it must be made by a declaration received by a notary or the registrar of the Tribunal of the district where the succession was opened (Art. 519 c.c.). A simple letter or verbal declaration has no legal effect.

For the foreign heir based abroad, renunciation may be effected:

• Before the Italian consul in the country of residence: the Italian consulate has notarial powers and can receive the declaration, which is then transmitted to the competent Italian Tribunal.
• By means of a notarised and apostilled special power of attorney: the heir grants an Italian lawyer or notary the powers to make the declaration of renunciation on their behalf.
• In person in Italy: before a notary or the registrar of the competent Tribunal.

Effects of Renunciation and Revocability

Renunciation has retroactive effect: the person who renounces is treated as if they had never been called to the inheritance. Their share passes to the other co-heirs or to those next in line.

Renunciation is revocable until the right to accept the inheritance has become time-barred — that is, until ten years from the opening of the succession (Art. 480 c.c.) — provided the inheritance has not in the meantime been accepted by other persons called to it (Art. 525 c.c.). It is not sufficient that a shorter period has elapsed: the boundary is the ten-year prescription of the right to accept.

Renunciation to the Detriment of Creditors

Where the heir renounces the inheritance with the aim of prejudicing their personal creditors, those creditors may apply to the Tribunal for authorisation to accept the inheritance in the heir’s name and on their behalf, to the extent necessary to satisfy their claims (Art. 524 c.c.). The action is available not only in the case of a formal renunciation but also where the heir has lost the right to accept through the expiry of the short time limit under Art. 481 c.c.

Objective requirement — Trib. Lagonegro no. 328/2025: prejudice to creditors exists where the renunciation produces a quantitative or qualitative change in the debtor’s assets such as to give rise to greater uncertainty or difficulty in satisfying the claim.

Time limit — Trib. Firenze no. 1862/2025 (citing Cass. no. 25347/2023): the action under Art. 524 c.c. is inadmissible once the ten-year prescription of the right to accept under Art. 480 c.c. has run.

Acceptance Under Benefit of Inventory

Acceptance under benefit of inventory is the most prudent option where the estate’s debts are uncertain in their extent. The fundamental effect, governed by Art. 490 c.c., is the separation of assets: the estate assets remain distinct from the heir’s personal assets until the estate’s debts are settled. The heir is not liable with their own assets for estate debts that exceed the value of the inheritance.

A Progressively Constituted Legal Act

The benefit of inventory is not acquired by the declaration alone: it is a progressively constituted legal act whose constituent elements are both the declaration and the subsequent drawing up of the inventory. If the inventory is not completed within the prescribed time limits, the heir does not lose the benefit after the fact — they never acquired it in the first place, and automatically become an outright heir with unlimited liability.

Progressive constitution — Trib. Ferrara no. 492/2025: acceptance under benefit of inventory is a progressively constituted legal act of which both prescribed steps are constituent elements. The declaration alone confers the status of heir, but not the limitation of liability intra vires. An heir who fails to complete the inventory within the time limits is treated as an outright heir not because they have lost the benefit after the fact, but because they never acquired it.

When the Benefit of Inventory Is Advisable

• The extent of the estate’s debts is uncertain or potentially high (bank debts, tax liabilities, trade creditors, pending compensation claims).
• The deceased had business activities with liabilities not yet ascertained.
• Personal guarantees given by the deceased (suretyships) may be called upon.
• The estate includes real property encumbered by mortgages whose value has not yet been quantified.

The Procedure

1. Declaration before a notary or court registrar (Art. 484 c.c.): the heir formally declares their intention to accept under benefit of inventory. The declaration must be entered in the Succession Register.
2. Drawing up the inventory: within three months of the declaration, the heir must have a complete inventory of the estate’s assets and debts drawn up by a notary. Fraudulent omission of assets from the inventory results in forfeiture of the benefit (Art. 494 c.c.) and unlimited liability. The burden of proving that the inventory was completed within the prescribed time limits rests on the heir, not the creditor.
3. Settlement of the estate: after the inventory, the heir settles the estate’s debts using the estate assets, in the order prescribed by law, before retaining any surplus assets for themselves.

Possession of estate assets under Art. 485 c.c. — Trib. Teramo no. 29/2026: possession of estate assets does not need to extend to the entire estate — possession of a single asset, with awareness of its estate origin, is sufficient. Signing a release document for seized estate assets and thereby acquiring possession of them constitutes relevant possession for the purposes of Art. 485 c.c.

Residence and IMU exemption as indicators of possession — Trib. Pordenone no. 497/2024: permanent residence in an estate property with enjoyment of the prima casa IMU exemption constitutes possession of estate assets incompatible with the benefit of inventory, and amounts to tacit acceptance under Art. 485 c.c. A particularly relevant point for the foreign heir whose family member continues to reside in the Italian property.

Burden of proof — Trib. Potenza no. 2681/2025: the burden of proving that the inventory was completed within the time limits under Arts. 485 and 487 c.c. rests on the heir claiming the benefit, not on the creditor.

The Minor or Legally Incapacitated Heir

A minor or a person under legal guardianship (interdetto) cannot acquire the status of outright heir: they may only accept the inheritance in the form of acceptance under benefit of inventory (Art. 484 c.c.). A cadastral transfer or the transcription of the succession declaration have no effect on the acquisition of heir status by an incapacitated person.

Incapacitated heir — C. App. Torino no. 199/2025: a person under guardianship, like a minor, cannot acquire the status of outright heir and may only accept the inheritance under the benefit of inventory. C. App. Napoli no. 2060/2026: co-possession arising from cohabitation at the deceased’s last residence is relevant as possession under Art. 485 c.c. also for a minor co-heir who was living there.

Deadlines for Accepting or Renouncing

The Ordinary Ten-Year Period

The right to accept the inheritance is extinguished by prescription after ten years from the opening of the succession (the date of death), under Art. 480 c.c. Once this period has elapsed, the right to accept is permanently lost.

The Formal Notice to Accept or Renounce (Actio Interrogatoria)

Any interested party may apply to the Tribunal to set the heir a short period within which to make their choice (Art. 481 c.c.), not exceeding three months. If the heir has neither accepted nor renounced by the deadline, they lose the right to accept and are treated as having renounced. The period is forfeiture in nature, and the burden of proving that acts of acceptance were performed within the period rests on the heir who has been served with the notice.

Case law has established important limits on the scope of this procedure:

Inapplicability to the heir in possession of estate assets — C. App. Milano no. 335/2025: the actio interrogatoria under Art. 481 c.c. may only be brought against a person called to the inheritance who is not in possession of the estate assets. Where the person called is in possession of the assets, the rules of Art. 485 c.c. apply exclusively, and the expiry of the period set by the court under Art. 481 c.c. has no legal effect.

Effect where tacit acceptance has already occurred — Trib. Prato no. 51/2026: the expiry of the period under Art. 481 c.c. results in loss of the right to accept only if the heir has not already previously acquired heir status. Where the heir has already accepted tacitly (for example by signing a purchase offer for an estate property), a subsequent actio interrogatoria and the running of its period are without effect.

The Deadline for Benefit of Inventory

Where the heir is already in possession of the estate assets at the time the succession opens, they must declare their intention to accept under benefit of inventory within three months of the opening of the succession and complete the inventory within the following forty days (Art. 485 c.c.). Failure to meet these deadlines results in the heir being treated as an outright heir.

The Succession Declaration: A Separate Obligation

It is important not to confuse the acceptance of the inheritance with the succession declaration (dichiarazione di successione) — two entirely distinct acts. The succession declaration is a mandatory tax filing that must be submitted to the Italian Revenue Agency within 12 months of the opening of the succession (Art. 31, Legislative Decree no. 346/1990), regardless of whether the heir accepts or renounces.

Filing the succession declaration does not constitute acceptance of the inheritance. Confusing the two — or failing to file the declaration because one intends to renounce — is a common mistake with both fiscal and legal consequences.

For further detail on succession declarations without an Italian tax code: Declaration of Succession in Italy Without a Tax Code.

Specific Considerations for the Foreign Heir

The Applicable Law

EU Regulation No. 650/2012 determines which national law governs the succession: in principle, the law of the state in which the deceased had their habitual residence at the time of death applies. Where Italian law applies, the rules set out in this guide are fully operative.

For further detail on international successions: Short Guide on International Succession Outside the EU.

Managing the Italian Property Before Making a Decision

A foreign heir who has Italian property in the estate and has not yet decided whether to accept or renounce must pay close attention to their conduct, in light of the case law on tacit acceptance.

It is advisable to avoid: collecting rent, entering into new lease agreements, selling personal property from the home, paying the deceased’s debts with one’s own money, effecting the cadastral transfer, or continuing to reside in the property while claiming the prima casa IMU exemption.

Acts of mere conservation are permitted: paying utility bills to avoid disconnection, carrying out urgent repairs, safeguarding the assets. If a co-heir resident in Italy carries out cadastral operations without your express authority, this does not constitute tacit acceptance on your part (Trib. Roma no. 5993/2026).

For a full guide to property taxation in Italy: Taxes and Property Duties in Italy: What You Need to Know.

Forced Heirship and Its Relationship with Acceptance

The clawback action for the protection of the reserved share (legittima) is a right that is independent of the acceptance of the inheritance: a forced heir may renounce the inheritance and still retain their right to the reserved portion as a personal claim against the estate. Renouncing the inheritance does not automatically mean renouncing one’s rights as a forced heir.

For a full treatment of Italian forced heirship and the clawback action: Forced Heirship in Italy: What Foreign Heirs Must Know.

Frequently Asked Questions

I have received a communication from the notary asking whether I accept or renounce. What should I do?

The notary’s communication does not in itself create an immediate obligation. The ordinary period is ten years. However, if you have been served with a formal notice to accept (actio interrogatoria under Art. 481 c.c.), the Tribunal may reduce the period to three months. Before responding, carry out a thorough review of the estate’s assets and liabilities: accepting without knowing the deceased’s debts can be very risky.

Can I renounce the inheritance from abroad without coming to Italy?

Yes. Renunciation may be effected before the Italian consul in your country of residence (the consulate has notarial powers), or by means of a notarised and apostilled special power of attorney granted to an Italian lawyer or notary. It is not possible to renounce by a simple letter or verbal declaration.

I paid the utility bills for the deceased’s apartment in Italy. Have I tacitly accepted the inheritance?

In general, no. Paying utility bills to avoid disconnection — an act of mere conservation — does not constitute tacit acceptance. Note, however: if a family member effected the cadastral transfer of the property into your name without your express authority, this does not constitute tacit acceptance on your part (Trib. Roma no. 5993/2026). The distinction between conservative and dispositive acts is often subtle: if in doubt, consult a lawyer before taking any action.

The deceased had debts. Is it better to accept under benefit of inventory or to renounce?

It depends on the extent of the debts relative to the estate’s assets. If the debts clearly exceed the value of the assets, renunciation is the safest choice. If the assets are greater but the precise extent of the debts is uncertain, the benefit of inventory allows acceptance without putting your personal assets at risk. Remember that the benefit is only acquired if the inventory is also completed within the time limits: the declaration alone is not sufficient to limit liability (Trib. Ferrara no. 492/2025).

I am a testamentary heir but I do not know the extent of the deceased’s debts. How can I find out?

Several tools are available: a mortgage register search (visura ipotecaria) on the deceased’s properties, a company registry search (visura camerale) for any businesses of the deceased, a request for bank account statements from credit institutions (through the Tribunal or under a notarial authorisation), and a review of the deceased’s tax returns for recent years. An Italian lawyer can assist with this review before you formalise your decision.

Conclusion

The choice between outright acceptance, renunciation, and acceptance under benefit of inventory is one of the most important decisions a foreign heir must make. There is no single right answer: it depends on the composition of the estate’s assets and liabilities, the heir’s personal circumstances, and the law applicable to the succession.

What is certain is that this choice should not be made hastily or without adequate knowledge of the deceased’s financial position. The principal risk is performing acts that amount to unwitting tacit acceptance — from the cadastral transfer to the collection of estate receivables — or renouncing an inheritance that later proves more valuable than expected.

For assistance in assessing the Italian inheritance situation and choosing the most appropriate course of action, Studio Legale Giorgianni is available. Further information is available in the Italian Inheritance Lawyer section and on our Italian Lawyer hub page.