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A will apparently executed in 2012 by John Payne, leaving most of his estate to his son by his first marriage, has been overturned on the grounds that the attesting witnesses' evidence was unreliable. The England and Wales Court of Appeal instead admitted to probate an earlier will leaving everything to Payne's second wife, despite significant doubts about that will's execution and attestation, too. FATTO

Further comment has appeared on the England and Wales Family Court's decision to pierce the corporate veil in the financial remedy case of Akhmedova v Akhmedov (2018 EWFC 23 Fam). The judge considered it necessary to go against the long-standing legal principle, in response to Farkhad Akhmedov's 'continuing campaign to defeat his ex-wife by concealing his assets in a web of offshore companies', and issued orders to aid her enforcement of the judgment in the Isle of Man and Dubai FATTO

ESTATE DISPUTES: Some important judgments from last month

The Privy Council has handed down judgment in Investec Trust (Guernsey) v Glenalla Properties (2018 UKPC 7), in which the former trustees of the Tchenguiz Discretionary Trust had made loans of over GBP200 million to various BVI companies.

Trustees cannot simply brush aside beneficiaries' request for information

NETHERLANDS: Measures against 'letterbox companies' seek to improve country's reputation

INTERNATIONAL - UK: Foreign investors may be discouraged by capital gains tax on commercial property

INTERNATIONAL - AUSTRALIA: Consequences of using foreign trusts for capital gains

INTERNATIONAL - UK: Legislation this summer on register of foreign property-owners

INTERNATIONAL - FRANCE: Wealth property tax has significant effects for non-residents

The Japanese government's 2018 tax reform bill abolishes the recently introduced rule under which the heirs of a long-term resident foreigner who died outside Japan remain liable to Japanese inheritance tax (IHT) on estate assets anywhere in the world. The rule had threatened to derail the government's efforts to attract foreign talent to live and work in Japan, because it meant IHT liability could follow a foreign national for up to five years after leaving the country.

INTERNATIONAL - UK: Alarm over extension of property taxes to non-residents

IMPOSTA DI SUCCESSIONE E DONAZIONE - SPAIN: Andalusia increases inheritance tax exemption

INTERNATIONAL - FRANCE: Distribution tax refunds to be financed by new 'exceptional' corporation tax

INTERNATIONAL - JERSEY: Apple says relocation of Irish subsidiary does not reduce its tax liabilities

'Foundation company' vehicle established in Cayman Islands

INTERNATIONAL - UK, TRUSTS: online trusts register is delayed

INTERNATIONAL - HONG KONG: Multiple property stamp duty gap axed

VAT - Transfer of ownership of land in settlement of tax arrears

INTERNATIONAL - UK: Information Commissioner warns of privacy threat from public registers of trusts

INTERNATIONAL - INDIA: Highest court rules that three days per year is enough to create permanent establishment

US: Trump proposes territorial tax system

INTERNATIONAL - UK: Doubts cast on non-dom reforms' commencement date

INTERNATIONAL - Cayman Islands: Beneficial ownership regime ready for launch

INTERNATIONAL - Canadian notary must reimburse buyer stuck with non-resident seller's CGT bill

When a property conveyance takes place, the Italian tax laws stipulate the payment of certain taxes and charges which generally must be paid, at the time the notarial contract is stipulated, to the notary himself who thus undertakes the “irksome” task of tax collector. Such taxes are mostly payable by the purchaser. At the time of purchase, the system taxes the “wealth” indirectly manifested by the purchaser which consists of the price paid for the purchase of the property (so-called i

Con il termine Wealth Advisory si indica un servizio creato su misura dei clienti di una società fiduciaria. Un team di professionisti affianca i clienti per fornire loro una consulenza di tipo finanziario, fiscale, legale e societario. La consulenza fornita dal Wealth Advisory parte da un’attenta analisi preliminare della composizione del patrimonio, per studiare e sviluppare degli interventi che abbiano come finalità quella di allocarlo in maniera ottimale, tenendo conto delle esigenze precipu

Notaries provide the community with a complex service, they carry out a public function of the State within the framework of an independent profession. The notarial deed not only regulates transactions between parties, but it provides added value in at least three respects: - a contract signed before a notary is unchallengable and hence it avoids expensive and time-consuming litigation procedures; - it is enforceable and hence it can be used to recover credits and it constitutes pri

Since 12 September 2002, the Consiglio Nazionale del Notariato has been registered in the public list of certifiers of digital signatures held by AIPA, as the certification authority for Italian notaries. The digital signatures of Italian notaries may be verified on the site http://ca.notariato.it. Based on the rules and the certification authority's operations manual, CNN certifies notaries' digital signatures in the exercise of their functions and so guarantees to third parties not only

The vendor has the right to receive the full amount of the agreed price from the purchaser at the time the sale contract is settled. Frequently the vendor has already received an advance payment on that price, generally as a deposit: in that case he will have the right to receive the difference to make up the full agreed price. The vendor has the option to allow the purchaser a deferral of payment, with or without interest. It is up to the discretion of the vendor (based on the trust h

Mention must be made of the distinction between real rates and nominal rates. The nominal rate is the percentage of interest that formally appears in the contract and which regulates the home loan operation. In reality, however, the effective cost of the loan is inevitably conditioned by a whole series of other factors: first of all, by various expense items  (survey, review and closure expenses; collection or encashment expenses; third-party agency costs; tax and insurance expenses; othe

As from 1 January 2006, it has been possible to meet the taxation requirements on some real estate transfers at the land registry's valuation, regardless of the price agreed and shown in the contract. The rule that first introduced the price-value concept was Article 1, Paragraph 497 of Law no. 266 of 23 December 2005 (2006 Budget); there were two subsequent amendments: Article 35, Paragraph 21 of Legislative Decree no. 223 of 4 July 2006, converted with modifications into Law no. 248 of

The rate of interest is usually set in percentage terms; it may be fixed, which means it is the same for the whole duration of the loan, or variable, which means it is determined with reference to changing parameters that are set by objective, impartial criteria. For example, Euribor is an average quotation for variable rates calculated using objective criteria in the EU financial markets; while I.R.S. (interest instalments swap) is the financial reference parameter for establishing the cost

Following marriage, unless an explicit declaration to the contrary is made at the time of the ceremony, spouses find themselves in a shared property arrangement, this being the automatic legal regime in force in our system since 20/9/1975. This means that any purchase made by a spouse during the marriage is subject to legal community (or, simply put, is common property) with the other. The law excludes (to take a few of the more important cases) only assets acquired by donation or inherit

One of the essential elements in the negotiation of a home loan is the delay allowed for  repayment of the capital, i.e. the duration. In general terms, one may say that the longer the duration of a home loan the lower the amount of each repayment instalment, which gives the borrower more breathing space; all this, however, means paying overall a larger amount in  interest, precisely because the capital is repaid more slowly. The practice also is that a longer duration

The purchaser's main obligation is obviously to pay the agreed price to the vendor at the time the sale contract is completed. Where an advance payment has been made as a deposit, the difference must be paid to make up the full agreed price. It is legitimate for the purchaser to request a deferment of payment, but it is not his right to insist upon it, it being left to the discretion of the vendor whether or not to grant this: the purchaser's obligation to pay the price in full derives fr

The purchase of a home is always an important step in our lives. Just as the sale of a property also carries significant overtones: from investment decisions, to the reordering of assets, to the need for generational change. Whether it be the purchase or the sale of a property, it is not something to be taken lightly. Indeed, these are extremely complex operations that are full of pitfalls and that cannot be undertaken without the advice of an expert. Are you aware of the rights and oblig

A property conveyance gives rise to a series of rights and obligations for both parties. For a number of the rights of one of the contracting parties, there are corresponding and equal obligations of the other party, so that the vendor and the purchaser find themselves involved in an interactive web of expectations to be met and duties to be performed. While some of these rights/obligations, such as the payment/receipt of the purchase price and the delivery/receipt of the property, are

The new law that is discussed below, and in particular the duty to take out a surety bond, applies to all types of real estate negotiations and hence it applies to purchases, exchanges, divisions, allotments by cooperative companies …, also and in particular to all forms of agreement that are made before the purchase and actual delivery of the property, such as preliminary agreements, promises to sell, leasing contracts, unilateral promises, advance payments, …. (article 1, paragraph 1, lett

After long years of waiting, the decree-law that introduces greater protection for the purchasers of houses that are in the process of being built has finally been published in the Official Gazette (6 July 2005, n° 155).  The measures introduced under this new law will have a major impact: indeed, according to estimates made by trade associations, since 1995 more than 200,000 Italian families have been involved in thousands of bankruptcies of construction firms. Decree Law n° 122 of 20 Ju

When someone dies it is advisable to immediately obtain information on the transfer of the succession, that is, it has to be ascertained whether the succession – in the case in point – will be regulated by the law (since the deceased person has not left a will) or else, wholly or in part, by a will.Death is a grave and important event, on the basis of which different provisions of the law may take effect, besides the will of the deceased;  in order to avoid even important unforeseen consequences

Foreign documents are those issued abroad by a foreign authority, even if they are in the Italian language, which in order to be used in Italy require legalization or an apostille.In this sense, a document prepared by an Italian consulate or ambassador abroad is not “foreign”, even if the parties are foreign. If it is written in a foreign language, the foreign document must also be accompanied by its “translation”.More precisely, the obligation to legalize a foreign document is currently stipula

Sales must be subject to stamp duty (so sales subject to VAT are excluded) and the purchasers must be physical persons who are not acting in the interests of a commercial, artistic or professional business activity. So the price-value system also applies to sales made by companies, businesses or entities, so long as the purchasers are "physical persons" and the transaction is subject to stamp duty (not VAT). In other words, in addition to all sales where both parties are “private”, the price-val

Law no. 52 of 1996 introduced rules into the Italian legal system to protect the consumer in his contractual relations with professionals. In order to rationalize regulations which have been complicated by a long sequence of amendments, a Consumer Code was recently published (Legislative Decree no. 206 of 6 September 2005), which contains a thorough reworking of most of the consumer-protection rules. Article 3 of the Consumer Code defines a "consumer" as a physical individual who acts

The Consiglio Nazionale del Notariato (C.N.N.) is the professional order of notaries. It is made up of 20 notaries directly elected by all practising notaries in three-yearly elections. There is a limit of two consecutive mandates. The three members of the Audit Committee are elected according to the same procedure.The 20 elected councillors, after they are installed in office, nominate a President, a Vice President, a Secretary and an Executive Committee. The tasks of the Consiglio Na

The law completes the range of measures introduced to protect the purchaser by extending to the purchaser the right to parcel out the loan and the mortgage on the building being built, and the prohibition on selling before the division of the loan into quotas, or before discharge of the mortgage or foreclosure where these are not taken over by the new purchaser (Articles 7 and 8). The purchaser of a house to be used as his/her home has the right of pre-emption in case of an auction (Art.

In order to grant a home loan, the bank requires a guarantee: by definition, the most common of these is the mortgage. A mortgage gives the bank the right to be repaid from the proceeds of any forced sale of the asset offered as collateral, with priority over other creditors. A mortgage has better legal standing if it is a first mortgage, i.e. if there are no higher-priority mortgages: a "land credit" guarantee generally requires a first mortgage. A mortgage is established over the

The “formal” lodging of a deed with a notary, whether required by law (Article 33 of Presidential Decree 445/2000; Article 106 of the Notary Law) or requested by an individual, is intended first of all to impose a control on the legitimacy of the document lodged (i.e. a check that its contents do not contravene mandatory legal rules) and also to ensure its conservation over time.Checks on the contents of foreign documents, however, must be made with reference to so-called international public or

As has been seen above, in order to determine the type of tax and the amount and means of payment of the sums due for duties on the purchase of a so-called primary residence, one must first of all take into account the nature of the vendor. When the vendor is the company that built (or renovated) the property and four years have not elapsed since completion, the conveyance is subject to VAT that the purchaser must pay directly to the company and not to the notary, along with the payment o

A joint-stock company must be set up through a public deed which must clearly indicate who the parties to the contract are. Such parties may be individuals but also legal entities (as for instance other joint-stock companies, partnerships, cooperatives or other bodies).The Memorandum of Association must indicate the Municipality in which the company has its registered office, which is where it operates, and the name of the company which must contain the wording “"società per azioni" or "s.p.

Any change, even only a purely formal change, in the clauses of the by-laws of a company is considered to be an amendment to the by-laws.  As a rule this competence belongs to the extraordinary shareholders’ meeting and the relevant decision must be written in the minutes by a notary public and then registered with the Register of Companies.The decision must be taken by a majority vote, any clause in the bylaws setting forth that unanimity is required to change the Memorandum of Association

If the parties wish to join forces by setting up a partnership, they can do this also by setting up a limited partnership (hereafter referred to as an s.a.s.).In general, the s.a.s. is governed by rules that govern the general partnership (for which in turn, reference is made to the rules laid down for informal partnerships), except for the specific provisions which will be examined below.Such a partnership is characterised by the presence of two categories of partners:- unlimited partners,

The limited liability company is intended for smaller companies than joint-stock companies, and the equity participation in the company has a personal connotation which is absent in the s.p.a.  In fact, it has a limited number of shareholders who are not personally responsible for the social security liabilities, even if they have acted in the name and on behalf of the company.The legislation in place as of 1 January 2004 has had a major impact on the limited liability company, which is an e

In early 2003 the Italian legislator issued a law decree (n° 6 of 17 January 2003) which thoroughly reformed companies limited by shares.  The declared aim was to simplify, where appropriate, and enrich, wherever possible, the rules governing such companies, with a view to increasing their competitiveness on both domestic and international markets.Many changes were made and the following results have been achieved:  a better, though still not complete, co-ordination between the rules governi

In general, the winding up and liquidation of an s.a.s. is governed by the rules set forth for general partnerships, to which the reader is referred (please refer to the related paragraph).However, besides the causes of dissolution that are the same for an s.n.c., there is another cause that is exclusive of the s.a.s., namely when there is only one category of partners left.In fact, it is envisaged that the s.a.s. is to be dissolved when only limited partners or only unlimited partners remai

Limited partners are excluded, in principle, from managing the company.However, they may negotiate or conclude individual deals on behalf of the company, providing they have received a specific proxy or authorisation empowering them to do so.Each limited partner is responsible for social security liabilities in a degree that is proportionate to the contribution they made to the company. Accordingly he/she does not assume any other risks, except that of losing the value of the capital he/she

The rules applying to limited partnerships are similar in many respects to those that apply to informal partnerships (please refer to the related paragraph).In addition, as regards subjective changes arising from the transfer of a partner’s capital share, a distinction needs to be made between the unlimited partner’s share and that of the limited partner.If one of the unlimited partners decides to transfer his/her capital share he may undoubtedly do so through a conveyance deed; however, unl

Limited partnerships with share capital is a modified form of a company with share capital in which permanent directors manage the company who have unlimited liability, also contingent liability, for  social security liabilities. The provisions that are specific for this type of company are reduced to a few which concern above all the management of the company by the unlimited partners.    The peculiar characteristic of this type of company consists in the co-existence of two different group

Take the case in which the company has lost capital. What is the company allowed to do?In this connection the law envisages that, in case of losses, the company cannot distribute profits among the partners until the capital has been reduced or replenished by the corresponding amount.However, unlike what happens for companies with share capital, there is no obligation to reduce the capital whatever the amount of the losses incurred, even if the latter are such as to wipe out the  entire capit

The corporate assets are the company’s assets and liabilities.  Initially they are made up of the contributions offered or promised by the partners.  During its life-time the corporate assets undergo changes depending on the business activities carried out. The assets and liabilities are audited regularly through the drawing up of the annual balance sheet.The net worth is the positive difference between assets and liabilities.The corporate assets also have the function of providing the compa

In order to do business often huge investments are required and often a single person may not have that amount of financial means. Doing business through a company enables several people to invest and work together so that each individual may then enjoy the benefits of the activity carried out proportionately to the amount of work done and to the quota of investments made.A participation (share or quota) of the capital of the company is assigned to the partner in return for the assets he has

The relationship between a partner and the company ends automatically when the partner dies. Within six months from his death, the surviving partners have the duty of returning the share held by the dead partner to his heirs. The surviving partners are not obliged to accept that the heirs of the deceased member should succeed him by taking his place in the company.The surviving partners have two options they can choose from. They may either decide:- to wind up the company in advance;- to car