An elderly woman who lived alone leaves 700,000 euros to her caregiver and the relatives lose the inheritance after ten years of litigation

It is not the first time that an inheritance ends up in court due to the decision of an elderly person to leave their assets to someone outside the family. This time it happened in the Italian province of Lucca, where a 78-year-old retiree, widowed and childless, named her caregiver in her will as the universal heir of all her assets. The woman, whom the deceased affectionately called “my girl”, has finally received around 700,000 euros, although she had to wait ten years to be able to do so, after overcoming a long judicial process.

According to what they publish Il Tirreno and the Corriere Fiorentinothe story began in February 2014, when the old woman died leaving among her papers a holographic will dated December 2013. In it, she wrote in her own handwriting that she wanted to leave all her assets to the woman who had taken care of her since 2009. “My bimba, you are the only one who has cared about me. I want you to have everything,” she wrote in a note attached to the will, as recorded in court documents.

The assets consisted mainly of 673,000 euros in postal bonds, in addition to other small savings. Before dying, the woman had already transferred bare ownership of two homes to other relatives, which did not prevent them from reacting with indignation upon learning of the final decision.

A sister and niece of the deceased filed a complaint accusing the caregiver of having falsified the will. Through private expert reports, they alleged that the elderly woman “was not in a position to understand and love” when she wrote it. “She was a sick woman, she didn’t know what she was signing,” her lawyers argued, also requesting the preventive seizure of all assets.

“He took advantage of her fragility,” the family said; “I only followed his will,” the caregiver responded.

The accusations led to criminal proceedings for ‘circonvenzione d’incapace’, a figure in the Italian Penal Code that punishes anyone who takes advantage of a vulnerable person. In the first instance, the Lucca Court ruled in favor of the family, considering that there were “sufficient indications” of manipulation.

However, the caregiver’s defense insisted that the elderly woman “acted freely and with full conscience,” presenting medical reports that attested to her lucidity. “I never pressured anyone. She told me every day: ‘You are my family now,'” the woman declared during the trial.

In 2022, the Court of Appeal of Lucca definitively acquitted her “because the fact does not exist.” The judges stressed that there was no evidence of manipulation and that the will had been drawn up with all legal guarantees.

Even so, the relatives did not give up. They took civil action to try to annul the inheritance, alleging that the will “was not valid.” But also in that procedure the courts ruled in favor of the caregiver, recognizing that she was the only legitimate heir and condemning the plaintiffs to pay 40,000 euros in legal costs.

More than 10 years of litigation and a debate that is still open

After a ten-year court battle, the caregiver has finally been able to access the inheritance of 700,000 euros. “Justice has finally been done. She loved me like a daughter,” the woman commented after hearing the final ruling.

Now, the case makes us see the validity of wills granted to caregivers and the legal protection of older people. In this sense, experts in inheritance law explain that “there is no rule that prohibits leaving assets to the person who has taken care of the testator”, as long as it is proven that the decision was free.

“It is a classic conflict between blood and affection,” said a jurist consulted by Il Tirreno. “There are more and more older people without direct descendants who choose the person who accompanied them until the end, and that makes many families uncomfortable.”