ITALY Law and Practice Contributed by: Paolo Ludovici and Andrea Mirabella, Gatti, Pavesi, Bianchi, Ludovici
It is possible for a preference for a person to serve as guardian to be indicated in a deed or Will. In this case, the courts usually take this into account by preferen - tially choosing a person in the same family circle as the beneficiary of the measure. 8.3 Elder Law Law No 104 of 5 February 1992 provides for a com - prehensive framework for assistance, social integra - tion and rights of persons with disabilities. Legislative Decree No 29 of 15 March 2024 concerns policies in support of elderly persons, with the aim of promoting their dignity, autonomy, social inclusion, active ageing, and the prevention of frailty. Among other things, Legislative Decree No 29/2024 provides for: • the promotion of the use of preventive healthcare and telemedicine tools in the provision of care services to maintain the best living conditions of the elderly person at home, with priority reference to the very elderly person with at least one chronic condition; • the access to palliative care guaranteed to all non-autonomous elderly individuals with a chronic, evolving disease for which there are no therapies or, if they exist, which are inadequate or ineffective for the purpose of stabilising the disease or signifi - cantly prolonging life; and • the recognition for two years (from January 2025 to December 2026) of a “universal benefit” for the severely dependent over-80s. This includes a care allowance worth EUR850, in addition to the EUR531.76 of the support allowance, for a total of about EUR1,380 per month. From a tax point of view, a deduction from personal income tax at the rate of 19% is provided for expens - es incurred for personal care attendants in cases of non-autonomy of the disabled person in performing acts of daily living. The deduction is calculated on an amount of expenditure not exceeding EUR2,100 and is payable only when the taxpayer’s total income does not exceed EUR40,000. Law No 219 of 22 December 2017 introduced the instrument of a Living Will ( testamento biologico ),
allowing individuals to express their wishes regarding medical treatments and end-of-life care in the event that they become unable to communicate their deci - sions. It would be possible to appoint a healthcare proxy to take decisions according to the instructions outlined in the Living Will. 9. Planning for Non-Traditional Families 9.1 Children Children born out of wedlock (if recognised) and adopted have the same rights, including for inherit - ance purposes, as children born to married couples. No share of the inheritance is due to an unrecognised child, but he/she may file a court action to obtain rec - ognition even after the death of the alleged parent. As to posthumously conceived children, in order to obtain recognition of paternity or maternity, a legal claim has to be brought before the Civil Court. Italian law allows a person to have paternity (or maternity) declared by judgment, even if the alleged father (or mother) is already deceased. In Italy, surrogate pregnancy constitutes a prohibited medical practice, punishable by imprisonment and a fine. In Italy, the legal recognition of children of same-sex couples remains an evolving area. Current national legislation recognises only the biological parent as the legal parent, thereby excluding the non-biological parent from automatic legal rights and obligations. However, recent rulings by the Constitutional Court – particularly Judgment No 68 of 22 May 2025 – have declared the prohibition on registering children of same-sex couples unconstitutional, thereby paving the way for recognition of the non-biological parent. 9.2 Same-Sex Marriage Law No 76 of 20 May 2016 (“Cirinnà Law”), which came into force on 5 June 2016, regulates same-sex civil unions, recognising almost all the rights granted to married couples (eg, marital and inheritance rights), with some exceptions, the most relevant of which is
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