Dealing with a death abroad, when someone dies in Greece (also death of a relative in Greece, death certificate from Greece, repatriation of remains from Greece, what to do when a family member dies in Greece; in Greek ληξιαρχική πράξη θανάτου, lixiarchiki praxi thanatou, the death certificate, and επαναπατρισμός σορού, repatriation of the body) covers the first days after a foreign national dies in Greece and the paperwork that follows. Some older lists and lawyer pages call this service “Managing the Death Abroad of a Loved one”. The family is usually abroad, does not read Greek and has to decide about a funeral or repatriation while the Greek estate starts its own, surprisingly fast, clock.
Relatives of a resident, a holiday-home owner or a tourist who died in Greece; heirs abroad who need Greek documents for an insurer, a pension fund or a court at home; and families who at the same time have a Greek house, bank account or car to deal with.
A doctor certifies the death. When the death was sudden, violent or unexplained, the public prosecutor orders a forensic examination (ιατροδικαστής) and the body is released afterwards. The death is then registered at the civil registry (Ληξιαρχείο) of the municipality where it occurred, almost always through the funeral home (γραφείο τελετών), which produces the Greek death certificate; copies, translations and an apostille are obtained for use abroad. If the body or the ashes are to go home, the funeral home prepares the transport documents, the consulate of the deceased's country is involved, and travel or life insurance, when there is any, appoints its own funeral director and often carries the cost. Cremation has become possible in Greece only in recent years and is not available everywhere, so many families repatriate first. Burial in Greece is possible too; the authorities generally give foreign families the time they need. Then the estate begins: publication of any will, identification of the heirs and the inheritance tax declaration.
An English-speaking lawyer liaises with the funeral home, the registry and the consulate, obtains the certificate, translations and apostille, explains the deadlines of the Greek inheritance and files what is urgent, deals with the bank account of the deceased and acts for the family under a power of attorney so that nobody has to fly in for each signature. Related: birth, marriage and death certificates.
Not necessarily. The funeral home handles the registration and the repatriation, and a lawyer with a power of attorney handles the documents and the estate.
Usually yes, with a certified translation and an apostille, or as a multilingual extract where the receiving authority accepts one.
The insurer, where a policy covers it; otherwise the family. Consulates give information and documents but do not pay.
They pass to the heirs through the Greek inheritance procedure, which includes a tax declaration and a notarial deed of acceptance before anything can be sold.
Sorted by experience in this service. Write to any of them — the reply comes from the lawyer, without obligation.
Lawyer · Thessaloniki, Greece
Lawyer · Corfu, Greece
Lawyer · Thessaloniki, Greece
Lawyer · Athens, Greece
Lawyer · Mytilene, Greece
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