The reserved share

Italian succession law reserves part of the estate to certain close relatives. Assessing infringement requires reconstruction of the relevant estate by combining the net estate with lifetime donations under Article 556 of the Civil Code.

Protection therefore begins with a comprehensive patrimonial reconstruction rather than the will alone.

Reduction proceedings

Where testamentary dispositions or donations exceed the disposable share, the forced heir may seek reduction under the statutory order and conditions. Pleading, proof of gifts and correct calculation of the estate are central.

Reduction and collation are distinct mechanisms serving different purposes.

The new balance after the reform

Law No. 182/2025 changed the rules governing assets originating from donations, generally strengthening the position of third-party purchasers. The forced heir’s protection therefore increasingly focuses on economic recourse against the donee.

This reduces the uncertainty that historically affected many properties with a donation in their chain of title.

Insolvency and indirect gifts

Greater transactional stability does not remove patrimonial risk: the donee’s solvency becomes more important. In specific circumstances the new regime also considers advantages received by subsequent gratuitous transferees.

Indirect gifts must also be reconstructed where they affect the relevant estate even without taking the formal shape of a donation.

Evidence and planning

Bank records, notarial deeds, property ownership, corporate interests and family transfers may all be needed to reconstruct the estate. Conflict prevention requires anticipating the succession effects of lifetime planning.

After the reform, protection of forced heirs and security of acquisitions are not necessarily competing goals: the system increasingly separates the asset from the economic reinstatement claim.