Social allowance: sums claimed from an heir many years later are irrecoverable

The interval between payment of a social assistance benefit and notification of an overpayment can be relevant to legitimate expectations. In judgment No. 1588 of 7 November 2024, the Tribunal of Velletri considered an INPS demand against a beneficiary’s heir concerning payments made more than ten years earlier.

INPS claimed €5,344.35 for the period from 1 January 2012 to 30 November 2013, alleging that the income limits for the Italian social allowance had been exceeded. Its decision was issued on 11 December 2023 and communicated to the heir on 11 January 2024, after the beneficiary’s death.

The Tribunal referred to the specific principles governing social assistance overpayments. These require consideration of the purpose of the payments, the recipient’s responsibility for them and any legitimate reliance deserving protection. Recovery was not treated as an automatic consequence of failure to satisfy the income condition.

The judge attached weight to the fact that the demand became known after the beneficiary’s death and many years after payment. Both beneficiary and heir were found to have acted in good faith and legitimately relied on being entitled to retain the sums.

The claim succeeded, the €5,344.35 was declared irrecoverable and INPS was ordered to pay costs. A limitation defence had also been advanced in the alternative, but the favourable decision rested on good faith and legitimate expectations. It should therefore not be presented as a ruling based on limitation or as a general exemption of heirs from repayment demands.

View the court decision (PDF) ↗

https://studiolegalecelentano.com/en/news/good-faith-and-a-repayment-demand-addressed-to-an-heir