1. General – Summary
On 28 July 2025, Law No. 5221/2025 was published in the Government Gazette, introducing, inter alia, amendments to matters relating to the publication (probate) of wills and the declaration of a holographic will as the principal will.
In brief, as of 01.11.2025, the publication of all wills is assigned exclusively to notaries public, including the competence to declare a will as the principal will, together with the introduction of the electronic Wills Register.
2. Jurisdiction for the publication of a will
Until today, the authority competent for the publication of a will—regardless of its type (public, secret, emergency, holographic)—was the Court of First Instance (previously, before its abolition, the Magistrates’ Court) of the district in which the notary who drew up the will is seated, or to whom the will was deposited, or the court before which a holographic will was presented for publication.
Under the recent law, jurisdiction for the publication of a will is assigned exclusively to notaries public, irrespective of whether they drew up the relevant will, whether the will was deposited with them, or whether it was subsequently submitted to them for publication. According to the relevant Explanatory Report, the purpose of the regulation is the “faster completion of the will-publication procedure”.
3. Procedure for the publication of a will
Under the provisions in force until 31.10.2025, publication of a will is completed by its entry in a record signed by a Judge of the Single-Member Court of First Instance—the court of the succession—in which all external defects are certified. As of 01.11.2025, publication of the will will be carried out by entering the entire will in a record to be drawn up and signed by a notary public, who will also certify all external defects, and it will thereafter be registered in the Wills Register (see below, § 7). The originals of the wills will remain in the file of the notary public who carried out the publication of the will.
4. Specifically: presentation of a holographic will
Pursuant to the amended Article 1769 § 2 of the Greek Civil Code, “anyone who holds a holographic will is obliged, without culpable delay, as soon as they learn of the death of the testator, to present it for publication to a notary public.” It is noted that this paragraph does not repeat the rule on the place of presentation of the will contained in Article 1774 of the Civil Code. It remains to be confirmed whether, under the new regime, territorial competence for presenting a holographic will for publication remains unchanged, i.e., whether the will will continue to be presented before a notary whose seat is either in the place of the testator’s last residence or habitual stay, or in the place of residence of the person holding the holographic will.
5. Objections against the record of publication or refusal to publish a will
It is provided that objections may be filed against the record of publication or against a refusal to publish a will by any person having a legal interest, by lodging an opposition/objection (anakopi) before the court of the succession. As also confirmed by the relevant Explanatory Report, this constitutes “the filing of a simple objection (if filed by a third party, it will serve the function of third-party opposition), before the court of the succession, adjudicating under the non-contentious jurisdiction procedure, pursuant to the proposed new paragraph 5 of Article 740 of the Code of Civil Procedure.”
6. Specifically: declaration of a holographic will as the principal will
In alignment with the provisions on the exclusive competence of notaries public for the publication of wills, the procedure for declaring a holographic will as the principal will will likewise be carried out by a notarial act, pursuant to the provisions of the (newly introduced) Article 808A of the Code of Civil Procedure.
More specifically, the notary public is obliged to declare a holographic will as the principal will, provided that the authenticity of the handwriting and signature of the testator—deceased is certified by two (2) witnesses, and the applicant for the declaration appears with a duly authorised lawyer. In addition, where a holographic will appoints as sole heir:
(a) either a person who is not the spouse of the testator—deceased, nor a person with whom the testator has entered into a civil partnership agreement, or
(b) a person who does not have a kinship relationship with the testator of at least the fourth degree,
a handwriting expert report is required in order to prove the authenticity of the deceased’s handwriting and signature. In this latter case, the Hellenic State does not appear during the procedure for declaring the will as the principal will; however, the record of publication is served on the Hellenic State no later than ten (10) days from the day following the declaration.
7. The Wills Register
A special electronic platform for the publication of wills is created, known as the Wills Register, in which, as of 1 November 2025, all records of publication of wills by notaries public will be entered. This Register will be administered by the notarial associations of the country.
In practice, this Register replaces the current “wills book” kept by court clerks and consular authorities. According to the Explanatory Report, the aim of the Register is “to expedite the time required for publication, to relieve the courts, and to reduce the workload of judicial staff.” It is noted that the new provisions include a relevant legislative authorisation for the issuance of a ministerial decision that will determine the terms of operation and access to the Wills Register, and any other related matter.
8. Issues of intertemporal law
The amendments of Law No. 5221/2025 in respect of the above matters of succession law (publication of a will and declaration of a holographic will as the principal will) enter into force on 1 November 2025.
It is noted that the amendments concern deaths occurring after 1 November 2025, whereas for deaths prior to that date, the competence of the Courts of First Instance for the publication of a will and the issuance of certificates is maintained. As of 16 September 2026, all publications and issuances of certificates, regardless of the date of death, will be carried out by notaries public.