[BUYING AND SELLING REAL ESTATE IN ITALY] 145
IV.
OTHER MAIN METHOD OF ACQUIRING PROPERTY Gift This is a typical act of gift which involves an increase in the assets of the donee (the one who receives the gift) with a corresponding patrimonial sacrifice of the donor (the one who transfers the asset). The law requires for the donor the " full capacity to dispose of his/her assets ". For the donee, by way of derogation from the general discipline on legal capacity, and similarly to the provisions for the will, the law states that the gift can also be made on behalf of the unborn, even if not yet conceived. The law also allows legal entities to gift if this capacity is recognized by their statutes or articles of association, and to receive them. The gift is a personal act that does not allow, therefore, representation, except for the possibility, for the donor alone, to release of a special power of attorney through which to give a third party the task of designating the donee from a category of subjects (natural or legal persons) or things indicated by the same. Mortis causa succession The real estate can be acquired by succession. Succession may be regulated by the will or, in the absence of the same, directly by law (so called “ successione testamentaria ” and “ successione legittima”). The phases that mark the succession are three: i) the first coincides with the opening of the succession, which is the first phase immediately following the death of the
person. The succession opens at the time of death, in the place of the last domicile of the deceased. ii) the second consists in the so-called denunciation of the inheritance, i.e., determining who owns the assets and to what extent, and whether on the basis of a will or according to law. iii) the third consists in the acceptance of the inheritance and the consequent attribution of assets to the heir/heirs. Usucaption The usucaption is an original way of acquiring the ownership of real estates through the continuous, uninterrupted and uncontested possession for a certain period of time. The ordinary term of usucaption requires 20 years to elapse, while the abbreviated one requires 10 years to elapse and occurs when possession of the real estate was purchased in good faith "by virtue of a title that is suitable for transferring ownership and that it has been duly transcribed". For the small rural property, the abbreviated term of usucaption is further reduced to 5 years from the date of the transcription of the title. The purchase by usucaption of the property requires a judicial assessment, having the purchaser to provide rigorous proof of continuous, uninterrupted and unobjected possession for the period required by law. FORMS OF OWNERSHIP The forms of ownership vary according to the needs of the interested person depending by a number of elements, such as taxation issues, estate planning, costs. The most common structures of ownership are single ownership, co-ownership,
V.
ILN Real Estate Group – Buying and Selling Real Estate Series
Made with FlippingBook Online newsletter