An elderly Italian man left apartments, other properties in the center of Florence and around 250,000 euros to his caregiver, her husband and son, but the will ended up being annulled in court. The case came to court after family members challenged the way the document had been created, with several neighbors giving testimony during the process.
According to , which cites the Italian newspaper La Nazione, the Florence Civil Court concluded that the man did not have sufficient capacity to fully understand the consequences of the act at the time he made the will. The decision also took into account the situation of psychological fragility and emotional dependence in which the elderly person found himself.
What led the court to annul the will
According to the same source, the elderly man suffered from intellectual disability since birth and became more vulnerable after his wife’s death. It was in this context that the caregiver, initially hired to help with daily tasks, gained an increasing presence in the man’s life.
During the process, several neighbors reported alleged episodes of physical violence and said that the elderly man himself had told them that he had been forced to make the will. Despite these suspicions, the criminal case ended up being archived, and it was in the civil case that the support administrators’ reports, the clinical elements and the statements collected gained greater weight.
Caregiver began to control the elderly person’s life
The caregiver had been hired in 2009 by the elderly man’s wife, but, over time, she ended up moving into the house with her family. According to family members, this presence was accompanied by a progressive withdrawal of the elderly person from his family circle.
The court found that the man’s emotional dependence on his carers worsened over time, leaving him in a position of particular vulnerability to those who would later benefit from the will.
Savings disappeared in a few years
Another point that raised suspicions was the evolution of bank accounts. According to family members cited by La Nazione, in less than three years the elderly man’s savings would have gone from around 113 thousand euros to approximately 23 thousand euros.
Although this part did not lead to a criminal conviction, it contributed to the context analyzed in the civil process, together with the reports and statements collected.
Court orders return of assets
Given the elements presented, the Civil Court of Florence decided to completely annul the will.
The decision obliges beneficiaries to return the assets received, including apartments, other properties and inherited values. Furthermore, the restitution includes the house where they lived and the beneficiaries will still have to pay more than R$12,000 in legal costs.
Disability was the turning point
For the court, the central element was the elderly person’s inability to understand the scope of his decisions at the time he made the will.
In Italian law, article 591 of the Civil Code provides that a will made by anyone who, even if not prohibited, proves to be incapable of understanding and wanting it at the time the document is made, can be challenged.
The emotional dependence on the caregiver and her family reinforced the conclusion that the man was not in a position to freely dispose of his assets.
In the end, the court found that the will expressed in the will could not produce effects, as it was not demonstrated that it had been formed freely and consciously.
And in Portugal?
In Portugal, a will can also be challenged if there is evidence that the person who made it did not have the capacity to understand the scope of the decision or did not act freely. The Civil Code provides that the testator must have the capacity to test and that the testamentary disposition can be annulled when it has been determined by error, fraud or coercion.
Furthermore, article 2,199 of the Civil Code provides for the annulment of a will made by anyone who, at the time of the act, was unable to understand the meaning of the declaration or did not have the free exercise of their will, even if for a transitory reason.
The existence of proximity to a caregiver is also not enough to invalidate the inheritance. It is necessary to demonstrate a lack of discernment, undue influence, coercion, intent or another legally relevant cause. There are, however, specific rules when it comes to doctors, nurses or priests who assisted the testator during the illness from which he or she died.
Finally, the will must also respect the rights of the legitimate heirs. In Portugal, the law protects the legal rights of the spouse, descendants and ascendants, which cannot be freely removed by will.
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