To protect heirs defined as legitimate, Italian law provides for the reduction action mechanism: what it is and what it entails.
The Italian legal system, regarding successions and donations, also provides for reduction action. This is an action that protects the rights of some heirs to obtain the reinstatement of the legitimate following testamentary provisions or donations in life which would have resulted in an injury to the quotas reserved for them.Inheritance, watch out for reduction action: you could end up with less money than expected (Notizie.com)
This mechanism cannot always be applied, but is expected in certain situations and it can only be requested by legitimate heirs to whom a share of the deceased’s inheritance is reserved, which is protected by Italian law and cannot be modified in any way, not even through a donation or a will.
Wills and donations, what the reduction action is and who can start it
According to the provisions of the Italian Civil Code, a portion of the estate of a deceased person is recognized in favor of certain individuals. This is known as the “legitimate quota” and is intended for the heirs, defined as “legitimate”, i.e. the closest relatives, such as the spouse, children, parents or grandparents, and the siblings of the of whose.
Wills and donations, what is the reduction action and who can start it (Notizie.com)
The legitimate share cannot be modified in any way, even during the lifetime of the interested party, perhaps through a will or a donation. To give an example, a subject, who had two children from a previous marriage, he cannot decide to allocate everything to his new partner through a will. The person can, in fact, freely dispose only of the so-called “available” part of his assets which varies based on the degrees of kinship.
To protect the legitimate party, the law provides for the so-called “reduction action” which can be applied in certain situations. Specifically, by initiating this legal mechanism, the legitimate heir can request the reduction of the testamentary provisions or donations made by the deceased person, if these have damaged the legitimate share of the assets.
As can be understood, the reduction action can only be initiated if a will or a donation during life has exceeded the available quota, thus affecting the legitimate quota. In this way, if the Court decides to accept the proceedings, the provisions will be reduced so as to comply with the provisions of the law. Therefore, whoever has benefited from the excess part will be forced to return it, this will then be divided proportionally to the legitimate heirs.
To start the mechanism, before the prescription intervenes, you have 10 years from the date of opening of the succession.
