Attorneys in Greece – Lawyers in Athens & Thessaloniki

Inheritance Law

Inheritance Law in Greece

The area of inheritance law is one of the most significant and relevant legal areas of daily life because, due to the death of a person a gap immediately arises with respect to the pecuniary and other legal relationships which the deceased developed during his life.
As a result the need for legal clarification of the distribution of the assets, and other rights acquired during the lifetime of the deceased, among the living relatives, or other third parties arises immediately. The area of inheritance law is therefore primarily used for the protection and safeguarding of individual assets and the continuation of the assets, according to the will of the deceased, to the survivors.
The specific provisions, which regulate the relevant areas (e.g. successions, inheritance portion distribution, deadlines, and the procedures for acceptance, or renouncement, of inheritance), are directed by the legal inheritance regulations of the respective applicable national law. In particular in the case of international inheritance situations in which a citizen resides in another country during his/her lifetime, or possess assets there, the question regarding the applicable inheritance law takes on increased importance. This question was, in the meantime, uniformly regulated by the EU-wide applicable inheritance regulation which was applicable beginning on 17 August 2015, in which for those relevant inheritance situations, the inheritance law of the respective country in which the deceased had his/her last ordinary residence at the time of his/her death shall apply. (Art. 21 EU – ErbVO).
In the case of death numerous questions arise for the persons close to the deceased concerning the procedures to be followed which, to the extent that Greek inheritance law applies, are roughly outlined in the subsections below for purposes of simplification.
In particular, the deadlines for acceptance, or renouncement, of inheritance, as well as for the submission of tax declarations, should be observed. The discovery/determination of assets. Research for existing testamentary decisions (wills) of the deceased, their examination for legal effect and validity as well as the determination of the law of inheritance succession etc. The solicitor’s firm KPAG, KOSMIDIS & PARTNER are ready to provide support with detailed and comprehensive legal advice in all relevant questions, as well as support during execution of the necessary steps.
Here you can watch the process of a model consultation in a transnational inheritance case (Germany – Greece):