To accept or renounce an inheritance it is necessary to sign a specific declaration before a qualified officer, and then register it with the “Cancelleria della Volontaria Giurisdizione” of the Italian Court in whose jurisdiction the succession has been opened.
The declaration must be signed and registered within 10 years from the day of the deceased’s death.
Qualified officers to witness the signing of the declaration are:
- Officers of the “Cancelleria della Volontaria Giurisdizione” of the Italian Court where it will then be registered;
- Notaries public in Italy;
- Some Italian Consular Officers;
- Notaries public in the UK. In this case, however, the notary’s deed will have to be legalised by apostille by the UK’s Legalisation Office to make it valid in Italy. A non-exhaustive list of notaries known to this Consulate is available here.
HOW TO BOOK THE SERVICE WITH THIS CONSULATE
Italian citizens who wish to sign a declaration of acceptance or waiver of the inheritance at this Consulate General must request an appointment by writing to notarile.londra@esteri.it, including all following details:
- Name, surname, date and place of birth, full address of residence and tax code of the person who intends to accept/renounce the inheritance (heir);
- Name, surname, date and place of birth, date and place of death, last address of residence and tax code of the deceased person.
NB: If the acceptance or waiver of the inheritance concerns a minor Italian citizen, it will be necessary to obtain prior authorisation from the Guardianship Judge.
At the appointment, the person who will sing the declaration, will have to provide:
- Their valid Italian ID (passport, ID card);
- Their tax code;
- A copy of the Italian death certificate of the deceased person.
The signed declaration will then have to be registered, the “Cancelleria della Volontaria Giurisdizione” of the Italian Court in whose jurisdiction the succession has been opened.
The interested parties will need to verify autonomously, on the website of the relevant Court for their case, the existing registration procedure.
SERVICE FEES
The cost of the service is double what indicated in art. 26 of the Consular Fees Table. Please note that payments can only be made by British debit card (no contactless, no Applepay, no credit cards, no Italian cards).