Greek Probate Process for Foreigners

Greek probate does not work like the UK or US system. There is no single probate court that manages the entire estate. Instead, the process is split across several independent authorities — municipal registries, Magistrate's Courts, Courts of First Instance, notaries, and the tax authority — each handling a separate piece. Understanding the sequence is essential because documents from one authority are prerequisites for the next.

Step 1: Establish Your Heirship

Before anything else, Greek authorities need proof of your legal relationship to the deceased. This requires the Certificate of Next of Kin (Pistopiitikó Engytéron Syngenón), which lists all legal heirs according to Greek family law.

For Greek residents, this certificate is issued by the municipal registry of the deceased's permanent domicile or through the gov.gr portal. Processing takes three to ten business days.

The problem for foreigners: Non-resident expats and foreign heirs often have no municipal family record (Dimotológio) in Greece. In this case, you need a foreign equivalent — a birth certificate, marriage certificate, or family status certificate — translated by a certified Greek translator and authenticated with an Apostille stamp.

The keyword "family status certificate greece" refers to this exact document. It is the Greek equivalent of proving your family tree to authorities who have no record of you.

Step 2: Publish the Will (If One Exists)

If the deceased left a will, it must be formally published through the Greek court system:

• Notarial wills are published by the notary who holds the original
• Holographic (handwritten) wills must be presented to the Court of First Instance for formal publication
• Foreign wills require a Greek attorney to file a petition with the Court of First Instance to have the will recognized under Greek probate law

Under the 2026 reform (Law 5303/2026), all wills must be registered in the new electronic Wills Registry managed by national notarial associations.

Step 3: Collect the Court Certificates

Greek banks require three specific certificates before releasing any frozen funds:

1. Certificate of Non-Renunciation — from the Magistrate's Court, confirming no heir has formally renounced the inheritance. Issued in ten to thirty business days, costs approximately €5–€15 in court stamp fees.

2. Certificate of Non-Contesting of Inheritance Rights — from the Court of First Instance.

3. Certificate of Non-Publication of Other Wills — from the Court of First Instance, confirming no competing wills are on file.

Critical detail: These certificates expire for banking purposes. Major Greek banks enforce a strict four-month validity window — submit them to the bank more than four months after issuance, and they will be rejected, forcing you to restart the application.

Step 4: The Inheritance Certificate (Kleronomitirio)

The inheritance certificate (klironomitirio) is a court-issued document confirming who the legal heirs are, their respective shares, and their authority to act on the estate. It is the Greek equivalent of a Grant of Probate.

For straightforward intestate successions, the inheritance certificate is issued by the Magistrate's Court. For contested or complex estates, the Court of First Instance handles it.

The certificate is required by banks, the Hellenic Cadastre, and the tax authority as proof of the heir's legal standing.

Step 5: Execute the Notarial Acceptance Deed

If the estate includes real estate in Greece, the heirs must execute a formal Deed of Acceptance of Inheritance (Apodochí Klironomías) before a Greek notary public.

This is the legal act that transfers property ownership from the deceased to the heirs. The notary drafts the deed, verifies the supporting documentation, and registers it with the competent Land Registry or Hellenic Cadastre.

Notary fees are regulated at 0.8% to 1.2% of the property's municipal "objective value" (antikeimeniká axía) plus VAT. For a property with an objective value of €100,000, the notary fee runs approximately €800–€1,200 plus VAT.

Required before the notarial deed:

• All court certificates from Step 3
• Tax Clearance Certificate (Article 105) from AADE
• A validated civil engineer's boundary certificate (Topografikó) for each property
• Current Cadastre registration details

Missing the boundary certificate is a common failure point — executing the deed without it halts the land transfer entirely.

Step 6: Register with the Hellenic Cadastre

After the notarial deed is executed, a certified copy must be submitted to the local Land Registry (Ypothikofylakeío) or Hellenic Cadastre (Ktimatológio) to formally transfer the legal title.

The one-month deadline: Heirs must declare their inherited ownership within one month of the notarial deed being registered. Failure to register within active cadastral survey windows (three months for domestic residents, six months for those abroad) can result in administrative fines and, ultimately, permanent forfeiture of the land to the Greek state as "unclaimed" property.

Managing Probate Remotely

If you live outside Greece, you can manage the entire probate process through a Greek attorney using a Special Power of Attorney (Plirexoúsio) executed at a Greek consulate in your home country. This POA authorizes the attorney to file court applications, execute notarial deeds, manage tax filings, and handle bank releases on your behalf.

The POA must be specific to the tasks at hand — Greek authorities reject generic or broadly worded mandates.

The Greece Expat Death Administration Guide maps the complete probate sequence from death certificate through property transfer, with a step-by-step document chain showing exactly which authority issues what, in what order, and how long each step takes.

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