The English Grant of Probate and Italian Assets: A Dual-Track Guide

|:---| | Grant of Probate | Deceased left a valid will naming an executor | The named executor | | Letters of Administration (with will annexed) | Deceased left a will but did not name an executor, or executor unable/unwilling to act | Persons entitled under Non-Contentious Probate Rules | | Letters of Administration | Deceased died intestate | Persons entitled under intestacy rules | | Grant pursuant to Colonial Probates Act 1892 | Deceased had estate in a Commonwealth jurisdiction | Sealing of the Commonwealth grant |

The Ancillary Grant

If the deceased was domiciled abroad (e.g., in Italy), the English Grant is an ancillary grant. The application is made in the Principal Registry or a District Probate Registry. The applicant must produce:

The English court will generally follow the domiciliary appointment. If the Italian Notary has identified the spouse and children as heirs under the Italian Civil Code, the English court will ordinarily appoint those same individuals as administrators of the English estate.

The IHT Dimension

English Inheritance Tax applies to assets situated in England, regardless of the deceased's domicile (with exceptions for excluded property). The personal representative is personally liable for the tax, which must be paid before or shortly after the Grant is issued. For non-UK-domiciled deceased, the IHT exposure is limited to English-situated assets — but this can include English bank accounts, English shares, and any English real property.

Track 2: The Italian Procedure

Step 1: The Dichiarazione di Successione

Within 12 months of the death, the heirs must file a Dichiarazione di Successione (Declaration of Succession) with the Agenzia delle Entrate. This is a combined document that serves as both an inventory of the Italian estate and the calculation of the Italian inheritance tax liability.

The declaration identifies:

Since January 2019, the declaration is filed exclusively in electronic form through the Agenzia delle Entrate online portal.

Step 2: The Voltura Catastale

If the estate includes Italian real property, a Voltura Catastale (Cadastral Registration) must be filed with the Agenzia delle Entrate — Catasto within 30 days of the Dichiarazione di Successione. This updates the cadastral records to reflect the transfer of ownership to the heirs. Without the Voltura, the property remains registered in the deceased's name, and no further transactions (sale, mortgage, renovation permits) can be processed.

Step 3: Publication of the Foreign Will

If the deceased left a foreign will (e.g., an English or US will), it must be formally "published" in Italy through a Notarial procedure. The Italian Notary:

Verifies that the will is is a valid testamentary instrument under the law governing its execution
Examines the Apostille and sworn translation
Verifies that the will does not contravene the Italian mandatory rules, unless a valid choice of law has been made under Brussels IV
Issues a notarial deed recording the publication

This step is separate from the Dichiarazione di Successione and is required before the foreign will can produce effects in the Italian land registry.

Step 4: The Atto di Notorietà

For intestate successions, or where the heirs need formal recognition, the Italian Notary prepares an Atto di Notorietà (Deed of Notoriety). This is a sworn statement, supported by witnesses, that identifies the heirs and their respective shares under the applicable succession law. It is the Italian functional equivalent of the English Grant.

The ECS Alternative

If the deceased was habitually resident in an EU member state, the heirs may obtain a European Certificate of Succession (ECS) from the competent authority in that state. The ECS is formally recognised throughout the EU and can be used to unlock Italian bank accounts and register title transfers. However, the ECS is not available for UK-domiciled deceased (the UK is not a party to Brussels IV), making the Notarial Publication procedure the only viable path.

The Coordination Challenge

The two tracks must be managed in parallel, and the coordination between them creates several operational frictions:

Timing Mismatch

The English Grant can take 8–16 weeks. The Italian Dichiarazione di Successione has a 12-month filing deadline but the administrative processing can take several months. The two timelines rarely align. Italian banks may freeze accounts pending the completion of both tracks, creating liquidity difficulties for heirs who need funds for funeral expenses, tax payments, or property maintenance.

Tax Coordination

The estate may be subject to both English Inheritance Tax (IHT) and Italian Inheritance Tax (Imposta di Successione). The Italy-UK Double Taxation Convention (Estate Duty) is an antiquated instrument that may not cover all modern asset class scenarios. Professional coordination is required to identify potential double taxation exposure and claim any available relief.

Powers of Attorney

If the personal representative in England needs to manage Italian affairs (or vice versa), they will require a Procura Speciale — a specific Power of Attorney drafted in compliance with Italian formalities (Article 1392 of the Civil Code). The English Grant alone does not confer authority to act in Italy. The Italian Atto di Notorietà alone does not confer authority to act in England.

Document Legalisation

Every document that crosses the border — the English Grant, the Italian Dichiarazione, the foreign will, the death certificate — must undergo Apostille legalisation and sworn translation before it can be used in the other jurisdiction. This process is time-consuming and must be factored into the overall timeline.

Worked Example: The Dual-Track in Practice

Facts: Maria, an Italian citizen domiciled in England, dies holding:

Track 1 — England:

Maria's executor applies for an English Grant of Probate in the Principal Registry (or a District Registry).
The executor files an IHT400 reporting the London bank account and the Chelsea flat as English-situated assets. Italian assets are excluded from English IHT as they are situated abroad and Maria was not UK-domiciled for IHT purposes (unless she had been resident in the UK for >15 of the preceding 20 years under the deemed domicile rules).
The Grant is issued. The executor presents it to Barclays to release the funds and to HM Land Registry to transfer the Chelsea flat.

Track 2 — Italy:

Maria's heirs (identified by Italian law — spouse and children, subject to the mandatory shares if no Brussels IV choice was made) instruct an Italian Notary to publish the English will.
The executor files the Dichiarazione di Successione with the Agenzia delle Entrate, reporting the Florence apartment and the Banca CR Firenze deposit.
The Voltura Catastale is filed to transfer the Florence apartment to the heirs.
The heirs present the published will and the succession declaration to Banca CR Firenze to release the deposit.
If the executor needs to manage the Italian assets directly, a Procura Speciale is prepared.

Neither track recognises the other. The English Grant cannot be used in Italy. The Italian Dichiarazione cannot be used in England. Each track must be completed independently, with its own timeline, its own tax filings, and its own administrative requirements.

The Historical Gap: No Treaty Framework

It is important to understand why this dual-track system exists. The 1973 Hague Convention on the International Administration of Estates was designed to create a unified international instrument for estate administration — a single grant that would be recognised across borders. The UK signed this Convention but never ratified it. It is in force in only three countries: Portugal, Slovakia, and the Czech Republic.

There is therefore no treaty governing the mutual recognition of Grants of Probate or Letters of Administration between the UK and Italy. The result is the parallel system described above: each country requires its own local authority to be established, each country administers assets within its territory under its own law, and each country's administrative instruments are invisible to the other.

Professional Legal Considerations

The dual-track system demands early coordination between English and Italian legal advisors. Practitioners should establish a unified timeline at the outset, identifying the critical dependencies between the two tracks (e.g., the Italian Notary may require a copy of the English Grant before publishing the foreign will; the English executor may need Italian tax clearances before distributing the English estate).

The most frequent errors in dual-track administration arise from the assumption that one track will inform or simplify the other. They do not. Each track is self-contained and must be managed as a standalone proceeding.

Ask the Succession Desk about Dual-Track Probate

Authority Notes

The dual-track principle is derived from Rules 153–160 of Dicey, Morris & Collins on the Conflict of Laws (15th Edition), Chapter 27. Rule 159 (foreign grants have no operation in England) is the doctrinal foundation. The Italian PIL confirmation is found in Articles 64–66 of Law 218/1995 (automatic recognition of foreign judgments — but an English Grant of Probate is an administrative instrument, not a "judgment" within Art. 64). The successional conflict of laws was previously governed by Art. 46 of Law 218/1995 (nationality at death), now superseded by Brussels IV. The non-ratification of the 1973 Hague Convention on International Administration of Estates is noted at footnote 1 of Chapter 27.

[!TIP] Authoritative Links: For more on the Italian track, see our note on Dealing with a Death in Italy 2026 or The European Certificate of Succession 2026. For the classification of assets between the two tracks, see Movable or Immovable? The Hidden Classification.