I remember being told that property and possessions in Greece could only be legally put into a Greek will written in Greek, and (I think) drawn up in Greece) to be valid.
An English will could only deal with property and possessions in UK and had to be in English.
There are plenty of bilingual lawyers in Corfu Towen who could help. With the EU the laws may have changed also.
If it is legal to draw up a Greek will in UK I suggest you call the ambassy in Holland Park, because if they exist they must have a list.
Message posted by Lavinia on 26 June 2009 at 11:16pm - IP Logged
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I honestly wouldn't bother with the Greek Embassy in Holland Park as they are not only unhelpful and inefficient but also very rude. I would suggest you spoke with an English speaking lawyer in Corfu - much less stressful.
Message posted by Linda2 on 26 June 2009 at 11:58pm - IP Logged
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I've just made a Will in Greece - it is a simple procedure and vital if you own property there. I am told that Greek Law assumes that you will leave 3/4 of your property to your children and only 1/4 to your Spouse. If that does not fulfill your wishes then you must make a Will in Greece. I was advised that the least trouble-free and least expensive method was to make an entirely new Will there stating your wishes. Some people say to make a Will which, in essence, just adopts your British Will. This is OK but to obtain Probate you have to have had your British Will proved and then obtain a translation to attach to your Greek Will and then have the Greek Will proved in the Greek Courts as well. A much more lengthy and expensive procedure. I know a very good Notary and if anyone needs to know I will PM them.
Message posted by Lavinia on 27 June 2009 at 12:15am - IP Logged
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With all due respect Linda, I believe that if a valid Uk will together with a valid Greek will (if they are identical) serve the same purpose as each, in they own way, are legitimate. The only problem will occur is when the contents of the two wills differ. If they are the same there should be no problem whatsoever. It is very simple to draw up both wills and to attach a copy of each to each. I believe it is not necessary for translations as if they are identical the Greek Will will be in Greek and the British Will will be in English and the contents of each will be identical.
Message posted by Linda2 on 27 June 2009 at 1:38am - IP Logged
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Lavinia, I think you may have misunderstood my post. I said it is perfectly OK to make a Will in Greece which 'adopts' your British Will. However, it is more expensive and more time consuming to prove a Will in Greece in that way.
If, as you seem to be suggesting, you make an identical Will in Greece - which is what I have done - then there is no need to attach a copy of the Greek Will because it will stand on it's own as a valid Will for your Greek property. That is how it was explained to me anyway by both my lawyer and the Notary.
For the benefit of the original poster and anyone else interested, please obtain your own advice from a Greek Notary Public.
Message posted by Bill on 27 June 2009 at 9:19am - IP Logged
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Quote: Originally posted by 0151builderboy on 26 June 2009
Does anyone know of a Greek notary based in the UK who could make a Will which would be legal in Greece?
Terry, I have pm'd you with some info that may help. You might not be able to use the pm system if you haven't posted on the forum very much, but you should be able to read my message.
Bill
Message posted by Terry and Julia on 27 June 2009 at 10:28am - IP Logged
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We recently asked about making a Greek will and our solicitor was perfectly happy to do so but he said that it was completely unnecessary. As has been said, all it does is speed things up.
Incidentally, we went up to the Greek Embassy the other week. I had heard comments about how unhelpful etc they were but we were pleasantly surprised. The translator, a lovely woman who I will recommend if anyone needs one, seemed very well-known there which may have helped, but the man who dealt with our Power of Attorney could not have been nicer.
If anyone does have to go, try to get an appointment in the morning as by the time we left at lunchtime it was getting quite busy.
Message posted by Graham T-A on 27 June 2009 at 10:36am - IP Logged
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Same with us Julia. Our Greek solicitor told us that our english will would be valid in Greece but would need translating so could take a few days longer than normal.
Message posted by Thea on 27 June 2009 at 10:57am - IP Logged
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Anything you own in the UK is covered by UK inheritancy laws and therefore everything you own there should be in your UK Will. Everything you own in Greece is covered by Greek inheritancy laws and should be in your Greek will. If you own properties etc in both countries the laws of that country apply.
Message posted by Graham T-A on 27 June 2009 at 11:12am - IP Logged
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Not what I have in writing from my greek solicitor. He assures us that my property in Greece will be covered by my UK will which will be accepted under Greek law once translated. He said that this is now covered by european law. I know several other people who have received the same advice from different solicitors.
Message posted by J&L on 27 June 2009 at 12:09pm - IP Logged
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Quote: Originally posted by Graham T-A on 27 June 2009
Not what I have in writing from my greek solicitor. He assures us that my property in Greece will be covered by my UK will which will be accepted under Greek law once translated. He said that this is now covered by european law. I know several other people who have received the same advice from different solicitors.
The advice I received was from my solicitors here and in the UK. I now have English will drawn up by solicitor there and a Greek will which has been drawn up by my solicitor here and then notarised. Each will covers what I own in the respective country.
Message posted by Elliemay on 27 June 2009 at 3:55pm - IP Logged
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Have to agree with Graham,
We too, were told by our Greek solicitor that an English will would also cover our property in Corfu.
Message posted by sueandchris on 27 June 2009 at 4:18pm - IP Logged
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sueandchris
Linda please could you email me with the name of the notary you used to make your will on Corfu. I know it will make it easier if it is done this way
Sue
Message posted by J&L on 27 June 2009 at 4:25pm - IP Logged
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Does this help?:-
"the inheritance laws of the foreigner shall be applied by the court to dispose of the estate, since issues arising from inheritance are effectively governed by the law of the deceased’s nationality, and are distinct from the legal requirements regarding the technicalities of transfer of property ownership in Greek jurisdictions.
Consequently, a foreigner is able to dispose of his/her property in Greece after death without the restrictions (e.g. forced heirship) that apply to Greek citizens, provided that this is acceptable under his/her national law.
The only case where Greek rules of inheritance should apply automatically to the estate of a deceased foreigner is if he/she also had dual Greek citizenship."
I've also been given the same advice that Graham mentions, although I guess that the route Thea's taken would be equally legitimate.
Just to quire the issue even further though...
Someone said much earlier on in this thread, and quite correctly, that if the householder dies intestate in Greece the widow will receive a 1/4 share and the children 3/4 share of the estate.
However, this is on the assumption that the property is owned by the deceased solely. Normally the case here as traditionally a Greek couple will be provided with their home upon their marriage by the husband's parents. Ergo, the house will be owned by the husband.
Meanwhile, us Brits, if we are in a relationship, tend to purchase property jointly. I have been advised that if the deeds of the property are in joint names and one party dies intestate, the ownership of the property reverts to the surviving partner.
Even if this isn't entirely correct, in the event of one partner dying intestate the worst case scenario has to be that the other partner will retain their own 50% share, plus 12.5% that is inherited, and the children would inherit 37.5% of the property - not sufficient for a 'controlling interest'!!
Message posted by janmanessi on 29 June 2009 at 12:59am - IP Logged
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Many years ago my husband gave our Greek property to our two sons (it had to be given to them both undivided, hence could cause problems in the future but that was what we were told it had to be) however he gave me the use of the property for my lifetime.
A Greek solicitor subsequently told me that this 'use' meant that nothing could be done withoput my consent, and if I wanted I could even sell my use to someone (who would presumably be taking a gamble on my living long enough for him to enjoy it!)
More recently I went to a session in UK with a solicitor experienced in tax laws and inheritance, and was shocked to tell me that under UK law my 'use' of the house in Greece meant that on my death it would have to be declared to the UK authorities for inheritance tax (not as much as if the house was in my name, but still something).
As the only reason for giving the boys (then children) the property was to avoid inheritance tax this came as a nasty shock.
I have not done anything about it because laws change so fast that hopefuylly things will be different in the future, but am I being too much of an ostrich?
Message posted by Linda2 on 29 June 2009 at 1:18am - IP Logged
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The length of this post and the various degrees (or understanding of legal advice given) is so diverse that I think the topic speaks for itself. Go and make a Will if you want to have peace of mind. Don't leave things to chance.
Message posted by Linda2 on 29 June 2009 at 1:50am - IP Logged
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I have of course made a will in UK for any UK property, but thought the Greek was taken care of already- I have nothing to leave there but the question is whether UK tax people can try and get their clutches on something in Greece even if taxes there have already been paid years ago when the transfer was done
Message posted by geop110 on 20 July 2009 at 5:17am - IP Logged
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geop110
Can someone tell me, if there is no will and a spouse dies does the husband inherit the home. The land was given to the wife as a gift from her father. She got married and moved to Crete and build a home there. They have been married for many years and lived in Crete for at least 10 years and she has now passed away. What is the law?
Thank you
Message posted by Terry and Julia on 20 July 2009 at 8:44am - IP Logged
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I am not certain whether you mean that they lived on Crete but she has land on Corfu or the land you refer to was where they lived for the last ten years. However, quoting earlier posts "if the householder dies intestate in Greece the widow will receive a 1/4 share and the children 3/4 share of the estate." The reference is to a widow as again quoting a previous post, traditionally the land/house where a couple lived would come through the man's family.
My advice to you is that you contact a Greek solicitor as without knowing the full and exact circumstances, any assistance you recieve here will be speculative to some degree.
Julia
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