Greece is moving ahead with the largest overhaul of its inheritance framework since 1946, following the presentation of a new draft bill to Cabinet on November 27 by Minister of Justice George Floridis and Deputy Minister Ioannis Bougas.
A subsequent detailed presentation took place at the Ministry of Justice on 2 December 2025, led by Professor Apostolos Georgiadis — the distinguished academic who chaired the expert committee responsible for drafting the reform.
Legal experts have described the proposal as the most extensive reform in eight decades, with significant implications not only for families in Greece but also for the global Greek diaspora, including the large communities in Australia, Canada and the United States.
According to international lawyer Panagiotis Alexandros Rozakis, the reforms modernise Greece’s approach to wills, estates and inheritance rights, align the law with contemporary family realities, and address chronic legal uncertainties that have affected thousands of Greeks living abroad.
Combined with recent procedural changes under Law 5221/2025, the package promises faster, clearer and more practical outcomes for cross-border families managing property and inheritance matters.
Protecting the true will of the deceased
A central pillar of the reform is ensuring that the testator’s real intentions are respected.
Handwritten wills
Handwritten wills will now undergo stricter scrutiny. Importantly, the absence of a date will no longer automatically invalidate a will unless another flaw exists – a change emphasised by Professor Georgiadis as essential for preventing unfair outcomes caused by minor technicalities.
In line with recent procedural updates, notaries will have exclusive authority to publish and validate handwritten wills – a step that removes inconsistent court practices and brings uniformity to the process.
Additionally, handwritten wills that appoint a distant relative or a non-relative will require formal validation (“κήρυξη κυρίας”), a safeguard intended to ensure authenticity in more complex family scenarios. Notaries will now handle this validation exclusively, reflecting the broader shift of succession procedures away from the courts and into streamlined administrative channels.
Recent procedural reforms also introduced the requirement for notaries to upload wills to an electronic platform (https://diathikes.gr/) and allowed inheritance certificates to be issued by lawyers as well as justices of the peace – measures that digitise the system and speed up cross-border cases.
Two new inheritance-planning tools
For the first time, Greece will introduce mechanisms commonly used in other European systems:
- Inheritance Contract “Cause of Death”:
A binding agreement made by a person with their future heirs or even a non-relative. This tool permits a testator – while still alive – to determine the allocation of real, movable, or even intangible assets (such as copyrights, patents, books and artistic works).
- Contract for Waiver of Future Inheritance Rights
Allows an heir to renounce future rights in exchange for agreed terms or compensation. This contract enables families to plan around future property transfers with clarity, preventing disputes before they arise.
Rozakis notes that these tools give families – especially those living abroad – the ability to plan estates with certainty and avoid conflict. They also align Greek estate-planning practices with long-established models in both civil-law and common-law jurisdictions.
Updated rules for intestate succession
The draft bill strengthens the position of the surviving spouse or civil-union partner. Under the proposed changes, the spouse’s compulsory share rises to 33.3%, with the remaining 66.7% distributed among the children – an increase of 8.3% compared with current law.
Professor Georgiadis described this adjustment as a correction of social imbalance, noting that the surviving spouse often requires greater protection than adult children.
The reform also resolves long-debated issues relating to consensual divorce, dissolution of civil partnerships, and – for the first time – grants limited inheritance rights to long-term unmarried partners under strict conditions. These partners will be recognised within the fifth degree of succession, acknowledging modern family structures while maintaining safeguards against abuse.
Transforming the forced share (“νόμιμη μοίρα”)
One of the most significant changes is the shift of the forced share from a real right in property to a monetary claim. This means statutory heirs will no longer automatically become co-owners of specific real estate but will instead be entitled to the value of their share in cash.
For example, if a testator leaves a property to only one child, the omitted child will no longer become a co-owner of the home but may claim the monetary value of their lawful share.
The aim is to prevent the fragmentation of properties – a major issue that has left many Greek homes, farms and blocks tied up in legal limbo. By moving to monetary compensation, the new system is expected to reduce disputes, streamline property transactions and preserve the value of family assets.
The grounds for disinheritance are also modernised, with “ingratitude” toward the deceased clarified as a key factor.
Protecting heirs from the deceased’s debts
One of the most widely welcomed reforms is the complete separation of the deceased’s liabilities from the heirs’ personal assets. Debts will be paid only from the estate, eliminating the risk that heirs – particularly those abroad – might unknowingly inherit tax or banking liabilities.
Rozakis says this reform alone will drastically reduce the number of renunciations (“αποποιήσεις”), which have risen sharply in recent years due to fear of hidden debts.
Resolving long-standing ambiguities
The draft bill brings clarity to issues that have burdened courts for decades, including:
- deadlines for renunciation by persons lacking legal capacity
- inheritance rights of half-siblings
- conflicting interpretations across jurisdictions
These clarifications aim to provide greater certainty for families navigating emotionally challenging and legally complex situations.
Abolishing outdated legal provisions
Several outdated and rarely applied legal provisions will be abolished altogether, including:
- contracts for the distribution of assets by an ascendant (“νέμηση ανιόντος”)
- disposal of an inheritance
- extraordinary wills
The removal of these obsolete tools simplifies the legal framework and eliminates concepts that no longer reflect contemporary social and legal reality.
Why this matters for Greeks abroad
For diaspora families, this reform marks a once-in-a-generation change. The new framework aims to:
- simplify cross-border inheritance procedures
- reduce delays and cost
- prevent property fragmentation
- provide modern estate-planning tools
- protect heirs from unexpected debt
- allow remote management of estates through legal representatives
Rozakis emphasises that these changes, in combination with recent digitalisation measures, will allow many inheritance processes to be completed without heirs needing to travel to Greece.
What diaspora members should consider once the law passes
Greeks abroad will be encouraged to:
- review existing wills in light of the new rules
- verify property titles in the Hellenic Cadastre
- assess whether inheritance contracts may suit their circumstances
- prepare for the shift to monetary forced shares
- seek legal advice for cross-border estate planning
As Rozakis notes, this is “a historic moment for Greek law” – a rare opportunity to modernise an 80-year-old system and bring greater fairness, certainty and functionality to families in Greece and around the world.
Need legal help in Greece?
Contact Panagiotis A. Rozakis | Attorney at Law
p.rozakis@dvlf.gr | +30 698 092 8817 | +30 2103390080
