Nicola Saccardo speaks to Spear's on cross-border divorce and succession in Italy
min readWith nearly 4,000 HNW individuals having relocated to Italy between 2020 and 2023, Nicola Saccardo, Head of the Italian practice at Charles Russell Speechlys, spoke to Spear's about the growing demand for cross-border family law advice and why forum choice has become a defining strategic question for international couples.
Nicola explained that while both English law and Italy's comunione legale can result in a 50:50 split on divorce, with Italy's division being "largely automatic", whereas English courts retain broad discretion to reallocate wealth in pursuit of fairness. He also warned that Italy's forced heirship rules can come as a "profound shock" to families from common law jurisdictions, with an English will potentially being overridden where Italy becomes the testator's habitual residence.
Read the full article on Spear’s.
