Italian succession law and the reserved share

The circle of protected heirs

Italian succession law belongs to the Roman and French tradition of forced heirship. The Civil Code of 1942 reserves a share of the estate for certain close relatives, the legittimari, of which the testator cannot deprive them by will or by lifetime gifts. Art. 536 Codice civile names the protected persons: "il coniuge, i figli, gli ascendenti". Adopted children are treated like children. The descendants of a child who predeceased the testator take the child's place with the same rights.¹ The wording of the provision was adjusted by Legislative Decree No 154 of 28 December 2013, which completed the equal treatment of children born within and outside marriage. Since the law on civil unions of 2016 the surviving partner of a registered civil union has the same reserved rights as a spouse.² Siblings, nephews and nieces have no reserved share, although they inherit on intestacy if there are no closer relatives.

The reserved share is a fraction of the whole estate that depends on the composition of the family. Art. 537 provides that a single child is entitled to one half of the estate and that two or more children together are entitled to two thirds, divided equally among them. Art. 540 reserves one half for a spouse who is the only protected heir. Art. 542 regulates the common case in which a spouse and children survive: with one child, each takes one third, while with two or more children the children together take one half and the spouse one quarter.³ The surviving spouse also receives, in addition to the reserved share, the right to live in the family home and to use its furnishings if these belonged to the deceased or to both spouses. This right of habitation is a statutory legacy that the spouse acquires on the death without any act of acceptance.⁴ Surviving protected heirs Reserved share Disposable share One child only 1/2 1/2 Two or more children 2/3 1/3 Spouse only 1/2 1/2 Spouse and one child 1/3 each 1/3 Spouse and two or more children 1/4 spouse, 1/2 1/4 children Ascendants only 1/3 2/3

Table: Reserved shares under Art. 537–544 Codice civile.⁵

Calculation, reduction and restitution

The reserved share protects the heirs against both testamentary dispositions and lifetime gifts. To calculate it, Italian law adds the value of all gifts made by the deceased during his or her lifetime to the net estate left at death (the riunione fittizia under Art. 556 Codice civile). If the dispositions exceed the disposable share, the protected heir can bring an action for reduction (azione di riduzione), which reduces first the testamentary dispositions and then the gifts, beginning with the most recent. The action is subject to a limitation period of ten years from the opening of the succession.⁶ Until 2025 the protected heir could, in certain circumstances, claim restitution of gifted real estate from a third party who had acquired it from the donee. A reform of 2005 excluded that action once twenty years had passed since the registration of the gift, unless the spouse or a relative in the direct line of the donor had registered an objection (opposizione) in the meantime. Law No 182 of 2 December 2025 removed this exposure of third parties with effect from 18 December 2025. Under the new wording of Art. 563 Codice civile the reduction of a gift does not affect third parties to whom the donee has transferred the gifted real estate. The donee must instead compensate the protected heirs in money to the extent needed to make up their reserved shares, and a person who received the property from an insolvent donee free of charge is liable up to the benefit obtained. The new rules apply to successions opened after the reform came into force. For earlier successions the former regime continues only where an action for reduction or an objection was notified and registered within six months of that date.⁷ The practical consequences are considerable. A gift of real estate from parents to one child can be challenged by the other children after the parents' death if it encroaches on their reserved shares. For decades Italian banks were therefore cautious in financing purchases of property that had been acquired by gift (provenienza donativa), and notaries examined the history of a title for gifts made within the previous twenty years. Since the reform of 2025 the risk lies mainly with the donee, whose obligation to pay compensation in money has replaced the claim against the purchaser. A gift of shares in a family company to the successor, which is the natural instrument for transferring a business, carries the same risk. The family member who receives the company may later have to compensate siblings in cash at the value of the company at the time of the death. Because of the successor's own work, that value may be much higher than at the time of the gift. Rules on the bringing into account of lifetime gifts among co-heirs (collazione, Art. 737 ff. Codice civile) add a further layer of equalization.⁸

Notes

1. Codice civile, Art. 536, text at Brocardi.it, https://www.brocardi.it/codice-civile/libro-secondo/titolo-i/capo-x/sezione-i/art536.html (consulted 5 October 2026), with reference to the amendment by D.Lgs. 28 dicembre 2013, n. 154. ↩
2. Legge 20 maggio 2016, n. 76 (Regolamentazione delle unioni civili tra persone dello stesso sesso), Art. 1, para. 21, as noted at Brocardi.it on Art. 536 Codice civile (above): the provisions on legittimari apply to the partner of a civil union. ↩
3. Codice civile, Arts 537, 540 and 542, texts at Brocardi.it, https://www.brocardi.it/codice-civile/libro-secondo/titolo-i/capo-x/sezione-i/art537.html and art542.html (consulted 5 October 2026). ↩
4. Brocardi.it, commentary on Art. 540 Codice civile, https://www.brocardi.it/codice-civile/libro-secondo/titolo-i/capo-x/sezione-i/art540.html (consulted 5 October 2026): the right of habitation operates as a legato ex lege. ↩
5. Arts 537, 540 and 542 as above. Ascendants only: Art. 538 Codice civile ("a favore di questi è riservato un terzo del patrimonio"), https://www.brocardi.it/codice-civile/libro-secondo/titolo-i/capo-x/ sezione-i/art538.html; spouse and ascendants (spouse one half, ascendants one quarter): Art. 544 Codice civile, https://www.brocardi.it/codice-civile/libro-secondo/titolo-i/capo-x/sezione-i/ art544.html (both consulted 5 October 2026). ↩
6. Teleborsa, "Guida al passaggio generazionale: come impostare il patrimonio di famiglia in ottica di successione", 2 July 2026, https://www.teleborsa.it/Guide/2026/07/02/guida-al-passaggio-generazionale-come-impostare-il-patrimonio-di-famiglia-in-ottica-di-successione-1.html (consulted 5 October 2026). Codice civile, Art. 556 (riunione fittizia), text at Brocardi.it, https://www.brocardi.it/codice-civile/libro-secondo/titolo-i/capo-x/sezione-ii/art556.html (consulted 5 October 2026). ↩
7. Codice civile, Art. 563 as replaced by Legge 2 dicembre 2025, n. 182, Art. 44, in force 18 December 2025, with notes on the earlier version introduced by Decreto-legge 14 marzo 2005, n. 35, converted by Legge 14 maggio 2005, n. 80, and on the transitional rule in Art. 44(2), Brocardi.it, https://www.brocardi.it/codice-civile/libro-secondo/titolo-i/capo-x/sezione-ii/art563.html; Art. 561 as amended by the same law, https://www.brocardi.it/codice-civile/libro-secondo/titolo-i/capo-x/sezione-ii/art561.html (both consulted 5 October 2026). Teleborsa (above): after the reform "la posizione del terzo acquirente è molto più protetta". ↩
8. Codice civile, Art. 737, Brocardi.it, https://www.brocardi.it/codice-civile/libro-secondo/titolo-iv/capo-ii/art737.html (consulted 5 October 2026): the bringing into account applies to children, their descendants and the spouse unless the deceased has dispensed from it, and the dispensation is effective only within the limits of the disposable share. ↩

For general information only. This article does not constitute legal or tax advice, does not replace advice on an individual case and creates no lawyer-client relationship. It reflects the legal position as of October 2026.