When a person dies leaving heirs who live in different countries, the estate does not divide itself. Until the division takes place, the coheirs remain connected through a shared ownership arrangement which, if not properly managed, risks paralysing everything: a house that cannot be sold, a bank account that no one can access and decisions that remain unresolved. Here is how succession works when the heirs live far apart and how to prevent distance from bringing the entire process to a standstill.
Heirs living in different countries: the most common problems
Three siblings, one living in Italy, one in Germany and one in Canada. When their father dies, they become coowners of the family home and a bank account, but between time zones, languages and different priorities, even obtaining a simple signature becomes difficult. This is the far from uncommon situation faced by those managing a succession with heirs living in different countries: the estate is in Italy, but the people who must make decisions are scattered around the world.
The most common problems arise less from the law itself and more from coordination. The first is physical distance: collecting documents, signatures and consent from three continents requires time and an organised method. The second is conflicting expectations: those living abroad often want to sell their share quickly, while the person who remained in Italy may feel attached to the family home and wish to keep it. The third, and most insidious, is inaction: it is enough for one heir not to respond, to delay or to lose interest for the entire process to stop.
There is also a genuinely international element where the coheirs have different nationalities or residences and each of them views the succession through the perspective of their own legal system. This can lead to misunderstandings about who is entitled to what, which rules apply and how the process should proceed.
In our experience, the real enemy in these successions is not open conflict, although that may occur, but delay: months turning into years while the estate remains frozen and continues to generate costs and tension. Identifying the potential obstacles in good time is the first step towards avoiding becoming trapped by distance.
International coownership of an estate and the obstacles it creates
To understand why everything may come to a standstill, it is necessary to examine what happens when the succession opens. From that moment, the heirs do not each receive a defined part of the estate. Instead, they become joint owners of the entire estate in ideal shares. This is the coownership of the estate, the stage during which the assets belong to all the coheirs together until the division is completed.
This joint ownership is the source of the obstacles. Important decisions concerning jointly owned assets, such as selling or otherwise disposing of the house, require the consent of all the coheirs. It is enough for one of them to disagree, or simply to become unreachable, for the transaction to come to a halt. Ordinary administration follows less rigid rules, but the general principle remains that no one may act alone in relation to the whole asset. When the coheirs live thousands of kilometres apart, this mechanism, designed to protect each of them, can easily become a trap of inaction.
International coownership of an estate adds another layer because it is necessary to determine which law governs the situation. If the succession is governed by Italian law, generally because the deceased had their habitual residence in Italy, the Italian rules on coownership and division apply to all the coheirs, regardless of where they live.
There is, however, a way out guaranteed by law to anyone who feels trapped in this situation: every coheir may always request the division of the estate. No one is required to remain in coownership against their will. Knowing that this option is always available changes the perspective. The real issue is not whether the coownership can be dissolved, but how to do so as quickly and with as little conflict as possible.
Division of an estate when coheirs live abroad: how to proceed
Once it has been established that the coownership may be dissolved, it is necessary to understand how. The division of an estate when coheirs live abroad follows essentially the same stages as any other division, with a few additional precautions required by the distance.
The starting point is the reconstruction of the estate: which assets form part of it, which debts affect it and what value should be assigned to each asset. On this basis, the shares due to each coheir are determined according to the law governing the succession, and the portions to be allocated are created. If there is real estate in Italy, its allocation must then be registered in the Italian property registers, because the asset is located there and the registration produces its effects there.
The most straightforward route is an amicable division, through which the coheirs agree on how to distribute the assets, generally by means of a deed executed before a notary. Where no agreement can be reached, judicial division becomes necessary and the matter is entrusted to the court. If the Italian courts have jurisdiction over the succession, the proceedings will be conducted by an Italian court under Italian procedural rules.
For coheirs living abroad, the good news is that they do not need to return to Italy for every stage. By granting a power of attorney to a professional in Italy, they may participate in the division, sign the deed and manage the necessary formalities remotely. This is where the Law Firm’s working method becomes particularly important. We rely on a network of notaries and correspondent lawyers abroad, enabling distant coheirs to grant valid powers of attorney and follow the division without travelling, while coordinating the two legal systems involved.
Consensual or judicial division: which should be chosen?
Which of the two routes is preferable? Where it is possible, consensual division is almost always the better option. It is quicker, less expensive and, above all, helps preserve family relationships by preventing the succession from becoming a lasting source of conflict. It does, however, require one essential condition: the agreement of all the coheirs, both on how the assets should be divided and on their value. If even one coheir disagrees or cannot be contacted, this route is no longer available.
Judicial division is intended precisely for such cases: where there is no agreement, where a coheir abroad refuses to cooperate or cannot be involved, or where the values of the assets are disputed. The law always keeps this route open so that no one remains trapped by another person’s unwillingness or inaction. The cost is greater in terms of time and expense, as well as the fact that decisions which the parties were unable to make themselves are left to the court.
The international element is particularly relevant when choosing between the two routes. A judicial division ordered by an Italian court produces a decision intended to be effective beyond Italy’s borders, and within the European Union it circulates through recognition mechanisms specifically designed for cross border successions. This makes applying to the court less risky where the assets or the heirs are located in several countries.
In practice, it is advisable to make a serious attempt to reach a consensual solution while preparing for judicial proceedings if no agreement is reached within a reasonable period. Conducting negotiations from the outset with the knowledge that court proceedings remain available is often what persuades even a reluctant coheir to participate constructively.
How to reach an agreement between heirs living far apart
If the consensual route is the best option, it is worth understanding how to build an agreement when the heirs are scattered around the world. The first essential element is shared information. Conflicts often arise not from bad faith, but because each person is working with different figures. Presenting everyone with the same clear picture, including a complete list of the assets, debts and values, removes much of the suspicion.
The second element is managing different expectations. Those living abroad often want liquidity, while the person who remained in Italy wants to keep the house. These positions are more compatible than they may initially appear. Solutions such as allocating the property to one coheir and providing a financial equalisation payment to the others allow each person to obtain what matters most to them. Putting concrete options on the table, rather than discussing matters in the abstract, helps bring the positions closer together.
Method is also important. A competent third party who gathers the proposals, records them in writing and acts as an intermediary between the coheirs prevents distance and the tone of family messages from derailing the negotiations. The objectivity and clarity of an organised process are particularly valuable in these situations and cannot be guaranteed by goodwill alone.
In our experience, many successions that appeared destined for conflict have ended with an agreement simply because someone structured the dialogue instead of leaving it to informal family telephone calls. Reaching an agreement between heirs living far apart is not a matter of luck. It is the result of a method and of someone managing that method while keeping the focus on the outcome.
The role of the lawyer in a succession involving heirs in different countries
At this point, a natural question arises: is a lawyer really necessary to divide an inheritance between siblings? Where all the coheirs agree and live in the same city, sometimes the answer is no. When distance and several legal systems are involved, however, legal assistance takes on a different significance and becomes the factor that determines whether the case is completed or continues for years.
The lawyer’s role in a succession involving heirs in different countries is first and foremost one of coordination. This means determining which law governs the succession and which court would have jurisdiction, reconstructing and correctly valuing the estate and choosing the appropriate route between amicable and judicial division. In practical terms, it also means preparing the powers of attorney that allow coheirs abroad to participate without returning to Italy, coordinating notaries and professionals in the various countries and ensuring that the allocation of assets in Italy is properly registered.
There is also a less visible but decisive function: acting as a competent mediator, capable of balancing different interests and sensitivities and transforming a potential dispute into an agreement. This work combines law, method and a considerable degree of balance.
If you and your coheirs are managing an inheritance in Italy while living in different countries, the Family Law Boschetti team assists you from beginning to end, coordinating the legal systems involved and conducting the division with the expertise and discretion required in such a sensitive matter, so that distance ceases to be an obstacle and the estate can begin moving again.
