{"id":2370,"date":"2024-10-02T15:30:34","date_gmt":"2024-10-02T13:30:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.familylawboschetti.com\/?page_id=2370"},"modified":"2026-07-06T14:57:17","modified_gmt":"2026-07-06T12:57:17","slug":"how-to-find-a-will","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.familylawboschetti.com\/en\/will\/how-to-find-a-will\/","title":{"rendered":"How to find a will"},"content":{"rendered":"

How to find a will<\/h1>\n
The search for a will can be complex, especially for foreign citizens. It is possible to avail oneself of legal instruments to identify the document at competent notaries or archives. The verification of its existence is essential to assert one’s rights.<\/div>\n
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When a relative or a known person passes away, it can happen that one does not have information regarding the possible existence of a will or of their last wishes, therefore one legitimately wonders how to find a will for foreigners in Italy. This situation is fairly common, especially when families move apart for work reasons and do not maintain regular contacts. For this reason, it is normal to wonder how to discover whether a will exists, especially when one is convinced that one exists. Although this certainty may seem difficult to explain, it is fairly common that a person drafts a document with their last wishes, so it is natural to think that such a document exists. The real problem is to understand where it is kept.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

The search for a will can be made only after the death of the person who drafted it.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

This is because the will is a strictly personal act, always revocable and that has effects only after the death of its author. This means that whoever writes a will (the testator) is not obliged to inform anyone of its existence, not even the closest family members. Furthermore, the testator might decide to turn to a professional and entrust them with custody of the document until the moment of their death. In this case, the law imposes on those who keep the will (such as a notary, a lawyer or another professional) an obligation of confidentiality. Therefore, the search for a will can legitimately be carried out only after the death of the testator.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The search for the will<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n
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To find a public will, or a secret or holographic will deposited fiduciarily with a notary, Boschetti Studio Legale will contact the depositary notary directly for you (if their name is known) or, in case the notary has ceased their activity, will turn to the Archivio Notarile where their deeds have been transferred.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

In case the testator has not left indications on the name of the depositary notary of the will, how can one know if a person has made a will? It is possible to search for the notary through the territorially competent Consigli Notarili in the areas where the testator might have consulted a notary.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Another method to trace the will consists of consulting the “Registro Generale dei Testamenti”.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

This register allows verifying whether a deceased person has drafted a will in Italy or in one of the Countries that adhere to the Convenzione internazionale di Basilea<\/strong>, including France, Cyprus, Turkey, Belgium, the Netherlands, Portugal, Luxembourg, Spain, Estonia, Lithuania and Ukraine. The Register can be consulted at the Archivi Notarili Distrettuali, presenting the death certificate of the deceased, and allows knowing whether the person has left a will and where it is located.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

It is important to remember that the Registro Generale dei Testamenti provides information only on public, secret and holographic wills formally deposited with a notary (that is to say in the rare cases in which the testator has requested the notary to draft a “deed of deposit” for the holographic will).<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

The Register, instead, does not give information on holographic wills kept fiduciarily by a notary or by another person, nor on those that the testator has kept privately among their own documents.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Thanks to the experience of our Studio Legale for inheritance rights, we can also tell you that, due to the times necessary for the transmission and acquisition of data, the most recent deeds, such as the records of publication of holographic wills not formally deposited with public officials, might not be immediately visible in certificates requested shortly after the death of the testator.<\/p>\n

Therefore, to avoid having to request further certificates, Boschetti Studio Legale advises its assisted clients to wait at least three months from the death before making the request.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Legal advice on how to find a will for a foreigner in Italy<\/h2>\n
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Legal advice on how to find a will for foreigners in Italy requires a coordinated approach between Italian rules and private international law. The first step is to determine whether the will was drafted in Italy or by a person residing abroad.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

If the will was drafted in Italy, it might be necessary to turn to a notary or consult the Archivio Notarile Distrettuale, where public and secret wills are deposited.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

It is also useful to consult the Anagrafe Tributaria, which might contain information relating to the death and the succession.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

If the will was drafted abroad, or concerns foreign subjects residing in Italy, it is fundamental to consult a lawyer to verify whether there are international treaties or conventions between Italy and the country of origin of the deceased for the recognition of the will.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

In the absence of a will, the succession will be regulated by the applicable law, which might be Italian or that of the country of citizenship of the deceased, according to the criteria established by the Regolamento Europeo sulle Successioni (EU Reg. n. 650\/2012)<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Boschetti Studio Legale guides you through all phases of the search for the will, both in Italy and abroad, coordinating the verifications at the notarial archives, the competent authorities and, if necessary, starting the procedures for the international recognition of the will, thus ensuring effective management compliant with the law of the succession.<\/p>\n

Specialised legal advice with the lawyers of our team is crucial to consciously address the complex questions of private international law and ensure that the wishes of the deceased are respected.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Contact Us<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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How to trace a will?<\/h3>\n
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To trace a will, you can make a request to the Registro Generale dei Testamenti, which preserves information on holographic and notarial wills. You can also turn to the notary who drafted the will or with whom it was deposited. If you do not know the notary, you can ask information from the heirs or consult the notarial register.<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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How much does the search for a will cost?<\/h3>\n
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The cost for a search at the Registro Generale dei Testamenti is generally contained within a hundred euros, but there may be further expenses if an extract or an authentic copy of the will is requested. Costs may vary slightly based on the complexity of the search and on the professional rates of the notary.<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Where can the publication of a will be seen?<\/h3>\n
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The publication of a will takes place at the notary who holds it. After the death of the testator, the notary convenes the heirs and proceeds to the reading and publication. Subsequently, anyone who has a legitimate interest, such as the heirs, can obtain a copy at the notarial office or at the competent court.<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n

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How to find a will The search for a will can be complex, especially for foreign citizens. It is possible to avail oneself of legal instruments to identify the document at competent notaries or archives. The verification of its existence is essential to assert one’s rights. When a relative or a known person passes away, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":2352,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-2370","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.familylawboschetti.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2370","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.familylawboschetti.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.familylawboschetti.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.familylawboschetti.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.familylawboschetti.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2370"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.familylawboschetti.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2370\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2373,"href":"https:\/\/www.familylawboschetti.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2370\/revisions\/2373"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.familylawboschetti.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2352"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.familylawboschetti.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2370"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}