In Italia There is a period of 10 years to claim an inheritance and after this decade has passed without anyone showing up, it is considered to be a «vacant estate«. It is estimated that there are 8 billion euros no heirs and that this lavish figure will grow exponentially in the coming years.
The estimates were made by the Evaluation Laboratory of the Giordano Dell’Amore Foundation, which has already carried out consecutive studies for the Cariplo Foundation, a prominent philanthropic institution based in Milan, with the aim of probing the current state of the estates without heirs.
They are all publicly accessible and available at your website. The reports had immediate repercussions in the Italian media, with articles in the Corriere della Sera e The Morning.
In principle, an inheritance without heirs is one that lacks legitimate or testamentary heirs. It can occur when a person dies without leaving relatives with the right to inheritance o without having made a will; or when potential heirs they give up their rights; or they do not exercise them within the established legal period.
When there is no will or legitimate heirs: the case of Modena
Judge Daniela Di Girolamo of the Modena Civil Court declared vacant the inheritance of a man who died in the province of Reggio Emilia in March 2009. The deceased’s real estate, located in the province of Modena, now passes definitively at the hands of the state.
The man had no children, spouse or known relatives. For years, no one claimed his inheritance and no heir was identified. Their real estate remained without beneficiaries and insolvent for more than a decade.
The deceased’s estate was temporarily administered by a state-appointed conservator, who acted as custodian until his role was revoked due to the expiration of the succession period.
«The declaration of inactivity of the inheritance ceased due to the prescription of the right to receive the inheritance by all those who had the right to it,» said Judge Di Girolamo.
The applied rule is related to article 586 of the Italian Civil Code, which resolves the potential problem derived from the absence of heirs to prevent the assets of the deceased person from being left in a state of abandonment due to lacking a legitimate owner.
«Estates without heirs»: how they are regulated in Italy
The dissemination of this case is part of a much broader phenomenon. In the absence of a will and relatives up to the sixth degreein Italy the inheritance passes to the State.
The phenomenon of «estates without heirs», also known as «vacant estates» was the subject of numerous reflections and studies.
Under the presumption that assets cannot be left without an owner and the Italian legal system provides for a specific procedure to manage them and prevent them from falling into a state of abandonment.
It is largely due to the demographic change that the European country has been experiencing for several decades: a significant increase in the percentage of older people in the total population; a progressive increase in families without children; and the low prevalence of wills among Italians.
This context translates into a increase in non-delegated assetswhich could represent a potential source of wealth and a financing method for certain social causes in the future.
Non-profit organizations promote that assets belonging to people without relatives or legitimate heirs be used for works and activities to benefit the common good.
In Italy the value of inheritances at risk of being left without heirs is estimated at 8,000 million euros, but it is estimated that this figure could increase to 20.8 billion in 2030 and reach 88.1 billion in 2040.
This estimate excludes those families with heirs who could still decide to donate a part for the good of the communities. By writing a will, assets can be bequeathed to charitable organizations, which is known as «solidary legacies», but this is not a common trend among the Italian population either.
The difference between «vacant inheritance» and «dormant inheritance»
Based on Italian jurisprudence, the concepts of latent inheritance and vacant inheritance are often confused. A latent inheritance implies a temporary situation, that is, there are potential heirs, but no one has accepted or recognized the inheritance yet.
When the inheritance is dormant, the court can appoint an administrator to manage the assets until someone comes forward. On the other hand, an inheritance becomes vacant when it is definitively established after making the necessary legal verifications, which there are no heirs.
An estate may also be considered vacant when the right to accept succession has already expired. At that moment the possibility opens up for the assets to become property of the State.
This transition is not immediate: the right to receive the inheritance normally expires ten years after the opening of the successionwhich coincides with the death of the person.
