Wills in Greece: Your Comprehensive Guide to Drafting, Validity & Revocation for Greek & Cypriot Citizens
A will in Greece is a formal legal act. The Greek Inheritance Law stipulates that a will must be written; failure to which results in the absolute nullity of the will. The purpose of these formal requirements is to ensure better conditions for the testator’s thoughtful consideration, greater confidentiality, and easier proof that a document is indeed a will. However, this also results in some drawbacks, such as making the drafting of wills more difficult and risking the invalidation of the testator’s intent due to formal errors, often due to ignorance.
Wills in Greece are considered equal in legal force and are divided into two main categories:
- Ordinary wills (holographic, public, and secret), which are governed by the general law of wills
- Extraordinary wills (e.g., “at sea,” “in military campaigns,” “under siege”), justified by exceptional circumstances.
Holographic Will in Greece
Alt title: A hand signing a holographic will
Alt Description: A holographic will in Greece must be entirely handwritten, dated, and signed by the testator.
The Greek holographic offers a few benefits, including few formalities, secrecy, no cost, and can be drafted anytime and anywhere. It also has some few drawbacks, such asproving authenticity, may be lost or altered, and often suffers from legal validity problems due to improper formalities or ambiguous wording. It also does not safeguard the testator’s free will from external influence.
Validity of a Holographic Will
For a holographic will in Greece to be valid, it must:
- Be entirely handwritten by the testator,
- Include the date (day, month, and year), and
- Bear the signature of the testator.
A holographic will a private document, which means the burden of proving its authenticity lies with the party invoking it. A will written mechanically (e.g., typed) is not considered handwritten and thus invalid. By requiring the will to be handwritteb, the law ensures ensures authenticity, confidentiality, and protection against undue influence.
If a will is partially written by hand and partially by machine, the non-handwritten part is invalid. The validity of the handwritten part is judged under Article 181 of the Greek Civil Code.
Regarding the date, it must be written by the testator and can be expressed in numbers or words. The date is crucial for establishing whether the testator had legal capacity and for resolving conflicts between wills by comparing dates. An incomplete date does not in itself make a will invalid, but a missing or irretrievable date renders it null.
The signature must also be handwritten, usually at the end of the text. It typically includes the first name, patronymic, and surname of the testator. It must conform to Article 1721(1)(a) of the Civil Code. Text not covered by the signature is not considered part of the will.
Public Will in Greece
Alt title: Notary and witnesses
Alt Description: A public will in Greece is drafted by a notary in the presence of witnesses, ensuring maximum legal certainty.
A public will is created when the testator declares their last will orally to a local notary public in the presence of either three witnesses or a second notary and one witness (Article 1724 Civil Code). The notary then drafts a notarized deed following the provisions of Articles 1725–1737 Civil Code.
A public will can also be made abroad before a Greek consul (consular will). Participants in the process include the notary and witnesses. Involvement of legally incapable persons usually invalidates the will. Witnesses must be known to the notary and are considered “supervisory persons” who ensure proper execution.
If a witness uses a false identity to conceal legal incapacity, the will becomes invalid. The second notary (acting as a witness) need not be locally competent. The testator must be legally capable and known to the notary or verified by the witnesses.
Creating a Greek public will procedure.
- Oath-taking by witnesses,
- Declaration of the testator’s will (in Greek),
- Drafting of the notarial act,
- Reading the act aloud, and
- Signatures by all involved parties.
Failure to administer the oath does not invalidate the will. However, the declaration must be oral, excluding those who cannot speak. It must take the form of a monologue, although Q&A is allowed.
The will must be drafted in Greek (a will in a foreign language is invalid). The testator’s declaration must be included, though an exact date is not mandatory if that can be determined from other undisputed elements.
If the will is drawn up in parts, each segment must be dated, and all parties present each time. The testator (and interpreter) only needs to be present when required, and no one else is required to be present.
The notarial deed is a mandatory form, and its omission renders the will null. The will must be read aloud in the presence of all parties, and any unacknowledged provision is invalid. In addition, the will must be signed by all present parties at the end and, if multi-paged, at the end of each page. A missing signature on any page nullifies that page’s contents.
The public will is an enforceable public document, and special rules apply if the testator is deaf or does not know Greek. Consequently, deaf-mutes cannot make a public will.
Secret Will in Greece
A secret will occurs when the testator hands a document to a notary with a declaration that it contains their last will. In response, the notary drafts a notarial act of deposit, with the secret will containingtwo documents:
- Deposited document (the will)
- Notarial act verifying the deposit.
This should not be confused with a holographic will stored with a notary, as the latter is treated under general rules of document deposit.
Apart from the testator, the notary, witnesses, and possibly an interpreter are required.
Steps in creating a secret will:
- Drafting the deposited document,
- Depositing it with the notary,
- Sealing the document (to prevent tampering),
- Making a notation on the document (name, date, and signature), and
- Drafting the notarial act of deposit.
The deposited document can be handwritten by the testator or typed by someone else. If handwritten by the testator, it becomes aholographic secret will(allographic).
The will may be in any language, and the date and place of drafting are not required. However, the testator must sign the document at the end. If typed or partly typed, each half-page must also be signed.
Failure to sign a half-page invalidates only that part. Then the deposit is made in person in the presence of three witnesses or a second notary and one witness. “Deposit” here implies full delivery of the document into the notary’s hands.
The testator is required to declare orally that the document contains their will, but the content need not be known to the testator. The sealing prevents the document from being opened without damage, and a lack of sealing invalidates the will.
If the seal is broken, it does not necessarily invalidate the will, unless it is proven that a document was substituted. The notation (signed by the testator, notary, and witnesses) is mandatory, with any omission rendering the will invalid.
The notarial act for a secret will is similar to that for a public will, but does not contain the declaration of will. The act’s date is considered the will’s date.
Declaration of Validity (Holographic Will)
Since a holographic will in Greece is a private document, the party invoking it must prove the authenticity of the handwriting, date, and signature. The validation of a holographic will is governed by Article 1776 of the Civil Code and Article 808(3) of the Greek Code of Civil Procedure.
Anyone with a legal interest may request the court to declare the will genuine. If the court finds probable cause that the handwriting and signature are authentic, then it will declare the will “valid.”
Once declared valid, the will is presumed genuine if its authenticity is not challenged in court within five years. This presumption is rebuttable, and anyone contesting the will’s authenticity bears the burden of proof.
Public and Secret Wills – Legal Weight
Alt Title: Lawyer Comparing Public and Secret Wills
Alt Description: A male lawyer in a suit sits at a desk, looking down at two documents labeled “PUBLIC WILL” and “SECRET WILL,” with a red pen in each hand, seemingly comparing the two.
A public willin Greece has the legal force of a public document. The burden of proving compliance with legal requirements lies with the person invoking it. A public will is an enforceable title.
In a secret will, the notarial act and the notation on the sealed document also have the legal weight of public documents. However, the deposited document’s legal status is debated:
- Some consider it a private document;
- The prevailing view is that it becomes part of a public document and has corresponding evidentiary value.
Publication of a Will in Greece
“Publication” refers to the official disclosure of the will’s content by a competent court (or Greek consular authority abroad). Publication is not a formal requirement for a will’s validity in Greece. As such, failure to publish does not affect its legal standing.
Publication of a will happens after the testator’s death or declaration of disappearance. It reveals the existence and contents of the will. These rules are of public order and cannot be waived.
All wills—valid, invalid, or revoked—must be published. The same applies to a revocation statement under Article 1763(2) Civil Code.
There is debate on whether a holographic will can be published without the original if it was drafted in an unusual location. Some argue it can be published with a certified copy or photo under Article 449 of the Code of Civil Procedure; others argue only a judicial declaration is possible.
The duty to submit a will for publication lies with the person in possession of the will:
- For public, secret, and extraordinary wills, this is the notary who holds the will.
- For holographic wills, it is whoever possesses the original.
Failure or refusal to submit the will may result in civil and criminal liability.
The competent court for submission is:
- For public/secret/extraordinary wills: the Single-Member Court of First Instance or Justice of the Peace in the notary’s district;
- For holographic wills: any Single-Member Court of First Instance in Greece or a Greek consular authority abroad.
The procedure includes reading the will and drafting a publication protocol with the full text. There is a registry of published wills at each court and consular authority. In Athens, there is a national registry aggregating all published wills, where one can verify existence and content.
Revocation of a Will in Greece
A will may be revokedin Greece by a subsequent will or by a statement before a notary, in the presence of three witnesses and per notarial document formalities.
A holographic will may be revoked if the testator destroys or modifies it with the intent to revoke. Mere alterations are not sufficient, as the intent must be clear.
A secret will is revoked if the testator retrieves the deposited document. This retrieval must be personal and is documented under the original notarial act.
A holographic will deposited for safekeeping may be retrieved per Article 1766 Civil Code, like a secret will. However, retrieval does not equal revocation.