Greek inheritance law attaches great importance to testamentary freedom. For this reason, Greek inheritance law excludes joint wills and inheritance contracts. The prevailing opinion still sees the prohibition of joint wills under Art. 1717 grZGB not as a purely formal prohibition that falls within the scope of the Hague Convention on the Form of Wills, but as a substantive prohibition (Balomatis in Burandt/Rojahn, Erbrecht 3rd edition 2019, Country Report Greece para. 25).
However, it appears problematic that the EU Succession Regulation authorises joint wills and inheritance contracts in accordance with Art. 25 EU Succession Regulation. According to Art. 25 III EU Succession Regulation, spouses of different nationalities, for example, can choose the law of the nationality of one of the parties to the inheritance contract for the admissibility, substantive validity and binding effects of their inheritance contract.
There is little practical experience in this regard to date. Theoretically, it is possible to choose German law and conclude the contract before a Greek notary. However, the notary is likely to have little knowledge of German law. This problem area will therefore be interesting to observe.
Greek law distinguishes between ordinary wills and extraordinary wills. Ordinary wills include the handwritten will, the secret will and the public will. The will types have different formal requirements. If the formal requirements for testamentary dispositions are not complied with, this leads to invalidity.
The handwritten will (Art. 1721 to 1723 grZGB) is handwritten, dated and signed by the testator. An incorrect date does not in itself render the will null and void, provided that the correct date can be deduced from the content of the will and with the aid of other circumstances outside the will.
The secret will (Art. 1738 to 1748 grZGB) is simply signed by the testator in his own hand and handed over to the notary for official safekeeping. Secret wills can also be drawn up by technical means, but must always be signed by hand. If you have any further questions, your specialist inheritance lawyer in Düsseldorf and Krefeld, Dr Michael Gottschalk, will be happy to help.