Where might my Great-grandfather's Will be lodged?

[Keith Sherwood]

Hi, Everyone,
My great-grandfather Giulio Del Rivo was an Italian born in Italy in 1872, but spent the whole of his life here in England from the age of 10 until he died in Ealing, London in 1946.  I have searched thoroughly through the entries in the Probate Registry in London without success for details of his will or his probate details.
Although the simple explanation would be that he left no will - I do find that hard to believe, however - could it be that a foreign national could have lodged a will in his own country, or at least elsewhere?
Even though his sons fought for Britain in WW11, Guilio was interned on the Isle of Wight in both World Wars as an alien; might this have affected his choice of where to register probate, or does it have to be done in the country the person dies in?
Perhaps some legal eagle on here could put me right...
Very best wishes,
Keith

[loo]

I'm no lawyer, but I did read something somewhere that might possibly help.
What you're after is the location of the probate.  It doesn't necessarily matter where he lived or died, although where he died is the most likely place for the will to be proved/probated.  I think the burden of getting the will proved is on the person who has custody of it and/or the executor, who may be one and the same. 
I read that it can depend on where property is held.  If, for example, he'd left his Tuscan villa to someone in an early will, then that might be probated in Italy.  etc.  It's possible, I read, that a person can have more than one will, for different "leavings".
I don't know if that helps, but that's all I know.
(Still hunting for my own internee.  To know where or when he died would be a big step forward!)

[AnneMc]

Hi Keith:
Do you look in the indexes for a fews years after he died. As some times if it takes a while to probate the will , it will be in the year that it was probated. An example my friends great uncle died in 1878 and his will was not probated till 1900. There were family members  that were hard to find  as they were in South America.


regards
Anne

canada

[Keith Sherwood]

Thanks very much for those suggestions, Loo and Anne,
I was advised at the time that a search forward by 5 years would probably be more than enough - which is what I did.  However, next time I get to Holborn I'll widen the search somewhat...
Keith