Many people who choose to invest in property in Italy wonder whether or not they will require to take out an Italian will in order to leave their Italian property as inheritance. The simple answer to the question ‘do I need an Italian will?’ is ‘no’.

It is always helpful to have a will if you have a lot to leave behind, however it does not need to be written in Italian. The reasons for this are as follows:

The inheritance of property in Italy is regulated by the national inheritance law of the expired person, by default. This means that if an American person has a will (in English), leaving his Italian property to a specified party, then this will will be legal. This is not to say that a non-Italian can’t take out an Italian will – they can.

It is important to note however, that for UK nationals, the law would defer to the Italian Inheritance law. Italian Inheritance Law would then dictate that it is the responsibility of UK law, which results in the case going to and fro, which can obviously cause a lot of stress for the family and friends of the deceased and cause a big delay in the inheritance being paid out.

If you are moving or purchasing property in Italy then it would be worth considering your options carefully. It might be that you wish to take out an Italian will, but you will need to give it lot’s of thought.

For details of property for sale in Italy, visit the Italian listings on Rightmove Overseas. One way to save money when buying in Italy is to use a currency specialist when transferring your pounds into Euros to complete the purchase of your property. For more information on this, contact Smart Currency Exchange.

To understand the full step-by-step process to buying a property in Italy, collect The Overseas Guides Company’s ‘Italy Property Buying Guide’