Drafting a Will in Greece: Essential Guidance for Greek & Cypriot Expats
Alt Title: Greek Consulate Building Exterior
Alt Description: A professional photo of the exterior of a Greek Consulate building, with a Greek flag flying.
For Greek expatriates and Cypriot citizens living abroad, drafting of wills is usually done in the form of a public will through a notary. This is considered the safest method, and such wills are extremely difficult to challenge. The will can be either deposited for safekeeping or drawn up at local consular offices.
If you choose to write holographic wills (handwritten), special attention is required. It is highly recommended that you consult a reliable Greek legal expert to avoid making mistakes or omissions of critical elements such as signature, exact date, or absence of corrections that may risk the will being declared invalid.
It is important to note that, as of November 2013, Greek expatriates who have no intestate heirs and wish to leave their estate to third parties are required to draft a public will. Such holographic or secret wills are automatically deemed invalid, and the estate is passed to the state. However, if there are intestate heirs, all three types of wills are valid.
A detailed explanation is provided later in this guide regarding the publication and execution of wills abroad, including the full process until the property, whether movable or immovable, of the deceased is distributed to the heirs, even when no will exists.
Any testator in Greece may deposit a holographic will at a consular office of their country. However, an in-person appearance is required to present proper identification that proves your Greek nationality. Some of the documents you can provide include a valid Greek passport, a Greek national ID, or a birth certificate from a Greek municipality or community.
Alt title: Greek inheritancelegal processes, and paperwork.
Alt Description: Navigating the legal process of will publication and inheritance in Greece.
Once the will has been submitted, the responsible consular officer, acting as a notary, will prepare a formal deposit record. The holographic will must be dated and signed by the testator, and the date must clearly state the day, month, and year. The signature must unambiguously establish the identity of the testator.
It is also possible for a holographic or secret will to be deposited at the consular office. I such cases, the will must be sealed in an envelope, and the testator accompanied by three Greek witnesses who are not related to each other or to the testator.
Steps Heirs Must Take to Open and Publish a Will Filed at a Greek Consulate
Alt Title: A courthouse facade in Athens
Alt Description: The Athens Magistrate’s Court plays a central role in the publication of wills for Greek citizens and those with Greek assets.
Before a will in Greece can be opened, a death certificate of the deceased must be issued. Depending on where the testator passed away, the appropriate local authority or consulate will issue the certificate. If the death occurred abroad, the local Greek consulate will issue the death certificate.
If the deceased had permanent residence in the consular jurisdiction for at least five years, a certificate of the closest relatives is required to confirm the intestate heirs. This certificate is issued by the consulate, based on a sworn statement by three Greek citizens residing in the same jurisdiction, along with the deceased’s death certificate.
A will that has been drafted abroad (foreign-language wills) based on the inheritance laws of the country where the testator resided may be validly published in Greece. However, it must be translated into Greek and published at the Athens Magistrate’s Court (Eirinodikeio Athinon), which has a special department for foreign-language wills.