Greek law rules all inheritance and tax claims regarding immovable property in Greece, even though the deceased was not a Greek citizen and even if the will was made under foreign law.
- A will made in Greece must be probated in Greece. But a will signed abroad must be probated in the country where it was signed and then it must be registered at the Greek court in Athens, as the capital of the country.
It is advisable that wills made abroadby Greek citizens should be deposited at a Greek consular authority or to the registrar of a court of first instance.
After the probation, the documents should be transferred immediately to the registrar of the Court of first instance of Athens.
In order to probate a will, the following documets are needed:
- 1-a death certificate officially translated into Greek
- 2-a copy of the will officially translated into Greek
- 3- a certificate from the registrar stating that the will has been probated in the foreign country
A person residing abroad may only claim their inheritance at the Athens courts. If the owner of a Greek property dies abroad, regardless of his nationality, the heirs must take all the necessary actions through the Athens courts.
It is advisable to hire a qualified attorney in order to conclude the procedure. In that case the heir should provide the attorney any existing will and a detailed family tree, in order to determine who can claim a share of the property according to Greek law.
According to Greek law, the children and the spouse inherit the legacy, regardless of the conditions imposed by a will. If the deceased has not left a will, the heritage is divided among them and in other case, among his closest relatives. If the deceased was not Greek, the legacy will be divided according to the law of their country of citizenship.
It is important to know that inheritance tax is imposed on every beneficiary. The relevant inheritance tax declaration should be submitted by each beneficiary within six months from the date of death or from the date of the will's probation. However, this period is one year from the date of probation if the beneficiaries reside outside of Greece. Foreign citizens are subject to the same tax rates as Greek citizens.
The following documents are required when submitting an inheritance tax declaration, to the relevant tax authority:
1-death certificate
- 2-a certified copy of the will in Greek
- 3-certification on the closest relatives of the deceased
- 4-certification of the Secretary of Judges of a court of first instance that the will was not publicised previously
- 5-legal authorisation if represented by an attorney (POA)
- 6-documents proving the date of the beginning of tax obligation
- 7-legal proof of any debts that the deceased had in order to deduct from the inheritance
The declaration must be submitted to the relevant Tax Authority of the area where the deceased resided, or to the Foreign Residents Tax office if the deceased resided abroad.