The forced share (νόμιμη μοίρα) after the 2026 reform: from co-ownership to a monetary claim
The most consequential change of Law 5303/2026 for estate planning is the transformation of the Greek forced share. The protected heirs and their fraction remain the same; the nature of their right has changed fundamentally.
Who is protected, and how much
Descendants, parents and the surviving spouse who would have inherited on intestacy are entitled to a lawful portion equal to one-half of the value of their intestate share (Article 1820 of the Civil Code). In computing the intestate share, persons who have been deprived of the forced share, have renounced the inheritance or their rights in advance, or are unworthy or incapable of inheriting are nevertheless counted (Article 1826).
A claim in money, not a share in assets
Under the previous law the forced heir acquired his or her portion automatically as a co-heir and became co-owner of every asset of the estate – the source of countless blocked properties and family businesses. Under the new law the forced heir is not an heir at all. He or she has a monetary claim against the heirs, does not answer for the debts of the estate and is a creditor of the estate, protected by a general privilege in enforcement proceedings (Article 975 of the Code of Civil Procedure) and by a statutory title to register a mortgage over estate real estate (Article 1262 of the Civil Code). The court may, where circumstances require, order satisfaction in kind by the transfer of a share or asset of the estate.
The claim arises on death, is transferable and inheritable, may be waived by a unilateral declaration to the heir, and is time-barred two years after the end of the year in which the forced heir learned of it, and in any event twenty years after the death (Article 1820).
Calculation and clawback
The estate is valued at the date of death, net of debts and funeral expenses. Added back are all gratuitous transfers made to a forced heir during the deceased’s lifetime, gifts to third parties made within the last five years before death – shortened from ten years – and gifts mortis causa (Article 1827). Where the estate is insufficient, the forced heir may claim the shortfall in money from the recipient of a gift mortis causa and, if still unsatisfied, from inter vivos donees in reverse chronological order; the recipient may instead return the asset in kind, and the claim is time-barred three years after the death (Article 1830).
Deprivation and renunciation
A testator may deprive a forced heir of the lawful portion, by will, on consolidated grounds covering attempts on life, serious offences including domestic violence, and grave ingratitude such as malicious breach of a maintenance duty; the spouse may also be deprived where a valid ground for divorce existed when the will was made (Articles 1832–1837). The forced share may now also be the object of an advance renunciation agreement concluded during the deceased’s lifetime (Article 1838).
What it means in practice
For international clients the reform removes the feature of Greek law that most often clashed with common-law expectations: a Greek property or company can now pass to the chosen beneficiary, with the forced heir compensated in money. Planning should nevertheless account for the five-year clawback of gifts and for the forced heir’s enforcement privileges.
How we can help
We advise testators and heirs on the calculation, enforcement and planning around the Greek forced share, in Greece and in cross-border estates.
Updated October 2026. This article reflects Law 5303/2026, applicable to successions opening on or after 16 September 2026, and is for general information only; it does not constitute legal advice.
* The information is accurate to the best of our knowledge as at the time of writing. We have no obligation to update it. We accept no responsibility against any third party who is not a client of the firm and has not signed the terms of our engagement.