Issues pertaining to Greek inheritance come about because members of the diaspora are not aware of the intricate details of Greek inheritance law.
Under Greek law, a will may be invalid if any of the “mandatory heirs” is excluded from inheriting under the will and by other circumstances. Greek law designates heirs and inherited percentages, in the absence of a will; heirs are personally liable for debts of the estate; strict deadlines apply for the inheritance procedure.
It is important to note that, under Greek law, a will may be invalidated if any of the “mandatory heirs” is excluded from inheriting under the will. By law, the “mandatory heirs” include the descendants of the person making the will, the surviving spouse of that person or the parents thereof, in the event that there are no descendants and/or surviving spouse. A forced heir is entitled to receive one half of the share which he/she would have received if he/she were inheriting under the law, in the absence of a will.
It is also important to note that, according to Greek law, the decedent’s estate passes to the heir with all of that estate’s advantages and burdens. As a result, upon explicitly or implicitly accepting his/her inheritance, an heir becomes personally liable for the debts of the inherited estate. In order to avoid assuming an indebted estate, an heir may chose to renounce the inheritance by filing a related declaration before the court located in the area of the decedent’s place of domicile. The deadline for renouncing an inheritance is within four months of learning of the potential inheritance or within one year of learning of the potential inheritance (if either the decedent resided abroad or the heir learned of the potential inheritance while residing abroad).
When it comes to deadlines, a person who stands to inherit property in Greece should be aware that numerous significant deadlines are entailed. For example, an heir is obligated to file an Inheritance Tax Declaration within 6 months (for residents of Greece) or 12 months (for residents abroad) from the date of death or the date upon which a will was probated.
It is strongly recommended to engage with qualified attorneys and accountants as soon as an inheritance matter arises and prior to any related action or inaction. However, in the absence of a valid will, the laws of Greece stipulate specific heirs and the percentages inherited thereby based on the relationship of those heirs to the person whose estate is being inherited. The list of potential heirs includes the following: spouse and children; spouse, parents and siblings; spouse, grandparents, their children and grandchildren; spouse and great grandparents; spouse exclusively; and the Greek state.