The Deceased’s Citizenship Important For Inheritance

By Christos ILIOPOULOS*

When an estate is settled in Greece, (which means that the assets of the estate or part of them, are located in Greece), important questions such as who is considered an heir, what is the share of each heir or beneficiary and several other questions about the inheritance case are determined primarily by the law of the citizenship, which the deceased had at the time of the passing. This is what Article 28 of the Civil Code of Greece states. If the deceased had more than one citizenship, among which the Greek one, it will be Greek inheritance law which will be applicable with regards to who becomes an heir and who gets what share. However, with regards to the process of the settlement of the estate and the inheritance taxes, if any, it is Greek law which is always applicable, with regards to the assets of the estate which are located in Greece (real estate, bank accounts, movables).

If the deceased was not Greek (did not have the Greek citizenship), we require the advice through a simple letter of a lawyer, notary or other jurist from the country of the deceased’s citizenship. If, for instance, the inherited person was Canadian and we are settling the estate in Greece, we will seek the written advice of a Canadian lawyer or notary, who practices inheritance law in Canada. The advice must state under Canadian law who inherits what share in the specific estate case, given the particular circumstances, whether the deceased left a will or not, and given the number of the next of kin and their relations.

The advice of the foreign jurist will have to take into consideration the facts and the circumstances of the specific inheritance case. It will be stated that the deceased died at the specific country in the specific time and that he/she left a spouse and how many children, or any other combination of relatives, including spouse, no children but siblings, or no spouse and no children, but only siblings or cousins or nieces and nephews etc. The written advice will go on stating under Canadian law who of the next of kin gets what percentage of the estate, if there is no will probated. If there is a will, there is a chance that the Greek authorities may not even require the written advice of the foreign jurist, since they will apply directly the stipulations of the will. However, this will also be determined by whether the deceased left a spouse and children or not. If the deceased left a will, where he/she directs that the estate or part of it goes to a non – related heir or to more distant relatives, we may have to obtain the written advice of the foreign lawyer anyway, in order to determine whether any rules of forced heirship or of a minimum forced inheritance share exist in the foreign law, which may give more or increased rights to the next of kin (spouse, children, parents, other).

Once we have secured the advice on who inherits what share according to the law of the country of the citizenship of the deceased, we then proceed to obtain (in Greece or abroad) two affidavits by two persons who knew the deceased and can state who are the closest relatives of the deceased (next of kin). Determining the next of kin of the deceased is a significant part of the settlement of the estate, especially in the absence of a will, in which case intestate law comes into play.

The estate with assets in Greece will then continue being settled according to the process directed by Greek laws, so that the real estate properties are transferred to the heirs’ ownership with deeds registered at a land registry in Greece and any balance of the single – name bank account of the deceased at any Greek bank is released to the heir(s).

It is noteworthy that under Greek law and practice, the heirs do not have to act in unanimity or together and at the same time, in order to claim their share on the estate with assets in Greece. It is true that the ideal is all the heirs to act at the same time and preferably to be represented by the same attorney (provided they do not have conflicting interests), because this will save time, effort and communication delays comparted to each heir acting on their own or at different times. It is, though, possible that each heir acts on his/her own and independently of the others in claiming their share, without having to necessarily involve the other heirs. This possibility offers a solution in cases where one or some of the heirs are willing to immediately settle the estate and get hold of their shares, while other heirs are not ready to proceed or they have not yet been found/located or have not made their mind up whether they will claim their share or not. All the heirs and beneficiaries, however, must keep in mind that they mainly have four to twelve months from the passing of the decadent or from the probation of the will, to renounce their share. If they do not renounce within this period of time, Greek law considers them as heirs, without the right to renounce anymore.

*Christos ILIOPOULOS, attorney at

the Supreme Court of Greece , LL.M.

www.greekadvocate.eu

e-mail: bm-bioxoi@otenet.gr