By Christos ILIOPOULOS*
Due to the fact that millions of Greeks emigrated from Greece to other countries mainly during the second half of the 20th century, there are now many estates in Greece, where the heirs or beneficiaries are located in those other countries. People born in Greece, who lived most of their lives in other countries (USA, Canada, Australia etc.), pass away and in many occasions leave property in Greece. Their heirs live in Greece or all over the world. In order to inherit and obtain the ownership of the Greek assets, or their share of them, they must follow the process of the estates, inheritance and probate in Greece, depending on the particular details of each case.
Greek law determines that when a person dies without a Will and that person had the Greek citizenship, it is Greek inheritance law which governs who inherits what. There are alternatives to this, when it is the law of the country of death which is applicable. It must be noted that Greek – born persons who obtained the citizenship of another country during their lifetime, are still considered Greek by Greek law. Thus, a Greek – born who also became Australian, will be considered Greek by the Greek administration and courts, with regards to the estate located in Greece.
In Greek law, if a person dies without a Will (intestate), he/she is inherited 25% by the spouse and the 75% goes to the children (one or more, who share the 75%). If there are only children left (because the spouse had predeceased, or there was a divorce or the deceased was never married), the children receive equal shares of the estate. If there is only a spouse left and not children, the spouse gets 50% and the siblings or nieces and nephews of the deceased get the other 50%. There are more rules when other relatives are involved. In most cases, children and spouse cannot be left without a minimum share, even if they are left out in a Will.
One of the most important documents to be issued for an estate in Greece is the certificate of the next-of-kin. It is required not only when there is no Will, but even if a Will is probated. The next-of-kin certificate is issued by the municipality in Greece where the deceased was registered as a Greek citizen. If the decedent was not a Greek citizen, the lawyer who handles the estate will seek other documents which will substitute the next-of-kin certificate.
If the deceased was divorced in another country, it is usually required that the foreign divorce court decision, order or decree is legally recognized by a Greek court. That way, the foreign divorce will be recognized by the Greek legal order. For example, if the deceased left two children and no spouse, because the deceased was divorced in another country, if the divorce has not been registered with the municipality in Greece, in order for the next-of-kin certificate to be issued, the children or heirs will have to initiate a court petition before a court in Greece (most likely in Athens), to have the foreign divorce legally recognized in Greece.
To do so, we must obtain a certified copy of the foreign divorce decision in its most detailed and long form possible. A foreign court certificate will not do. It will also be required to obtain from the foreign court which issued the divorce decision another certificate, stating that the divorce has not been appealed or challenged and that it is final. This is usually called a non-appeal certificate. The foreign divorce court decision in its longest form possible and the foreign certificate of non-appeal must each have the Apostille stamp from the authorities of the foreign country. If that country is not participant to the Apostille Hague Convention, the two documents must have been certified by the Greek Consulate in that country or by that country’s Consulate in Greece. There are variations to the above documents, because each country in the world has its own legal system and format of court decisions and certificates.
If the foreign divorce court decision was issued in a European Union country, the court process in Greece to have it recognized may be avoided, depending on the year of issue of the foreign EU divorce.
*Christos ILIOPOULOS, attorney at the Supreme Court of Greece , LL.M. www.greekadvocate.eu, e-mail: [email protected]
