How is a will drawn up and can I register it?
Last update: 10/3/2012
There are special forms that a person wanting to draw up a will must respect. Greek law recognises among others the following forms of wills:
- wills executed before a notary in the presence of three witnesses or another civil law notary and one witness;
- wills drawn up by the testator and filed with a civil law notary or a judge;
- a holographic will which must be entirely written by the testator with his/her own hand and signed by him/her;
In a cross-border situation, a will is in principle valid if it complies with the laws of the State where it has been drawn up.
In Greece, civil law notaries transmit to the Court of First Instance a list of wills drawn up by them or filed with them. Citizens cannot register their own will.
Information about how to keep, to register and to search for a will are also available on the website of the European Network of Register of Wills Association (ENRWA) in the section “Information sheet”.
