Collation of donations made by the deceased in their lifetime
In the course of dividing up an estate, a process of inheritance restructuring known as collation may be requested by one of the participants. Collation adjusts the inheritance of certain descendants (forced heirs) based on the benefits received from the deceased in his or her lifetime.
Italian law considers these types of donations to be a sort of advance on the inheritance. If a legitimate heir believes that he or she has been left less than what is legally entitled to such an heir (forced heirs), the estate must be restructured, adding gifts or contributions made in life to the overall estate. This adjusted amount is used to compensate the injured party.
The courts are often very strict in this area, requiring heirs who bring such cases forward to provide not only a list of gifts given but also the value of each good, which often necessitates the intervention of experts to evaluate the assets.
Legal precedent also stipulates that an estate division claim put forth by an heir may also imply a need for collation, even if the heir has not explicitly requested it, provided that the goods donated by the testator were indicated in detail by the injured party (Italian Court of Cassation no. 22097/15).