Active inheritance includes all real estate (houses, property, farmland), bank accounts and other credit products (bonds, shares, etc), vehicles, jewelry, artworks and home appliances.

Passive inheritance includes the deceased person’s debt accruals. If passive inheritance exceeds the active inheritance, then the heirs have the right to disclaim their rights within four months following the death of the deceased or from the date of the publication of the will, if one exists.

For Non – Greek residents who live abroad, the deadline for rejecting the inheritance is a year following the death of the deceased or from the publication of the will. If the Non – Greek resident living abroad can prove the moment when they were informed of the death, then the annual deadline for forfeiting their rights begin from the moment of notification.

Six months following the death of the deceased or the publication of the will (if there is one) the statement of taxes concerning the inheritance of the deceased needs to be addressed. Non – Greek residents who may have died abroad, need to have the statement signed by TWO foreign residents and the deadline of the inheritance tax needs to be dealt with up to a year following the death or after the publication of the will.

When there is no will, the closest relatives of the person who died, are the beneficiaries. This means, that the spouse and children are the next of kin. If the children of the deceased are no longer alive, then the heirs are the grandchildren (if any). If there are no children but a spouse, then the spouse and the siblings of the deceased person are the next in line for the inheritance and so forth etc.

The will authorises the heirs and specifies the portion of assets to be given. It also gives the deceased person the right to bestow inheritance to people who would otherwise not be entitled to it.

Legal acceptance of the inheritance needs to take place within a year. Heirs can independently file the acceptance of their portion.