Athens, Greece – A new digital platform for securely registering wills with notaries, diathikes.gr, has quickly gained traction across Greece, with over 1,000 citizens embracing the system in its initial days. This innovative platform aims to cut delays, reduce inheritance disputes, and simplify the overall process for citizens nationwide.
Rapid Adoption and Enhanced Security
Launched recently, diathikes.gr has demonstrated remarkable early adoption, with more than 1,100 citizens utilizing its services within the first ten working days of November, according to data released by the Hellenic Notary Association. The platform enables users to securely deposit handwritten, public, or sealed wills with a notary, a significant improvement over the less secure traditional practice of storing wills at home.
Legal experts emphasize that the formal registration of wills through this platform significantly enhances security, ensuring that heirs can precisely follow the testator’s wishes. This minimizes the potential for disputes arising from questionable handwritten documents, which frequently lead to prolonged and costly court battles. Eleni Kontogeorgou, president of the Notaries Association of the Court of Appeal of Athens, Piraeus, Aegean, and Dodecanese Islands, highlighted in an interview with Ta Nea that the platform also simplifies the process of locating wills, both within Greece and internationally, due to its interconnected system.
Accelerated Processes and Reduced Court Burden
The introduction of diathikes.gr has drastically accelerated the publication of wills. In its first ten days of operation, six wills were successfully published – a process that historically could take up to 18 months. By shifting the responsibility for will publication from the courts to notaries, heirs can now obtain necessary certificates in a matter of days, rather than years. This procedural change also serves to alleviate the considerable strain on Greece’s often-overloaded court system. The Athens Court of First Instance has already reported that dozens of judges are now free to handle other cases, thanks to this modernization.
Future Expansion and Modernization Efforts
The Ministry of Justice has outlined plans to further expand the notary-based system to include wills for deaths that occurred before November 1, 2025. This initiative is particularly crucial given that approximately 14,000 wills are currently awaiting publication in Greece’s courts, with some facing delays until late 2026. This digital transformation represents a significant step forward in modernizing Greece’s inheritance framework, promising greater efficiency and transparency for its citizens.
Source: https://greekcitytimes.com/2025/11/23/greece-digital-wills-platform-rapid-uptake/
