Searching for Wills in Italy

There are three main forms of Will in Italy:

A Formal Will (Testamento Pubblico), drawn up by a Public Notary on the testator’s instructions. Witnessed and deposited with Public Notary until testator’s death.

A Holographic Will (Testamento Olografo), hand written, dated and signed by the testator. No witnesses required. May be deposited with a lawyer, Notary Public or kept by the testator until testator’s death.

A Sealed or Secret Will (Testamento Segreto), hand written by the testator, placed in a sealed envelope and deposited with a Public Notary until testator’s death.

All three types of Will must be written in Italian to comply with Italian civil code. To avoid potentially significant difficulties following death of a testator, we recommend engaging a lawyer to assist you with all formal legal requirements when making an Italian Will.

If it is deemed that someone had a Formal or Holographic Will, which was deposited with a Public Notary, a request with a death certificate attached can be submitted to the District Chamber of Notaries (Consiglio Notarile distrettuale), who will be forward a search request to all Public Notaries within a district.

It is also advisable to submit a request to the Notary Archives Registry Office, in charge of keeping the deeds and Wills deposited by the notaries who have ceased business. The General Will Registry Bureau (Registro Generale dei Testamenti), whose headquarters are at the Main Office of the Notary Archives (Ufficio Centrale degli Archivi Notarili) in Rome, can also be consulted.

The General Will Registry Bureau provides the possibility to find out if the deceased had a Will or not, whether in Italy or abroad. The request for the issuance of a decedent’s Will can also be submitted through the Bureau, to the relevant entity of a foreign country which has adhered to the International Basel Convention. Other than Italy, the countries which have signed the Basel Convention are: Belgium, Cyprus, Estonia, France, Lithuania, Luxembourg,

Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Turkey and Ukraine.

Interested parties may request a subscription certificate, in the name of the deceased, from the General Will Registry Bureau, as well as the reference to the district notary archive where the Will was deposited, in case the notary has ceased business.

The following records are held in the General Will Registry:

1. Formal Wills;

2. Sealed /Secret Wills;

3. Special Wills;

4. Holographic Wills which have been formally deposited with a Public Notary;

5. Memorandum of publication of Holographic Wills, whether or not deposited with a Public Notary;

6. Withdrawal of Holographic and Sealed / Secret Wills, which were formally deposited at a Public Notary’s office;

7. Suspension of previous arrangements caused by death, providing some had been made by means of a new Will.

Please note, any statement made in this article is intended to be a general practical introductory explanation only and not formal legal advice. This firm accepts no liability or any responsibility for any statement made.