Any person over the age of 18 and of sound mind is entitled to make a will in Greece to secure the transfer of their assets. Greece has a system of "forced" heirship, meaning that a person can not determine entirely freely who gets what.
If a person dies without a will, his assets will be divided among the leaving relatives, according to Greek law.
Any will that involves a property in Greece has to follow Greek law, regardless of whether the person is Greek or not and whether he lived in Greece or not.
Types of Will in Greece
There are three types of will in Greece:
- Holographic Will
- Mystic (secret) Will
- Public Will
Holographic Will
This is the simplest kind of will and should be handwritten by the testator in the language of his preference. The will must be dated and signed by the testator and it is free of any legal formalities.
The testator can hand it to a public notary, or a lawyer, or to any other person where it can be kept safely and delivered after his death.
Mystic Will
A mystic, or secret will is handwritten or typed by the testator or another person and bears the signature of the testator. The testator must hand it to a public notary or a lawyer in the presence of three witnesses, making an oral declaration that the document is his Final Will and Testament. The document should be sealed in the presence of the testator and of the witnesses and kept until his death.
Public Will
The testator declares verbally his last will before a public notary and in the presence of three witnesses, or a second notary and one witness. The content of the will should be kept secret until the death of the testator. If the testator does not speak Greek fluently an interpreter can be used.
It is important to take into consideration that wills may be cancelled or modified at any time by the testator. In that case the new will automatically cancels the previous one.