Hello there.
A deathly hush fell over my flat recently. Yes, you’ve guessed it: I live in Fulham, directly on the flight path to Heathrow Airport! It really drew attention to the volume of noise that we have subconsciously adapted to and no longer consciously hear. I must confess to feeling a little guilty, enjoying the quiet so much as millions of passengers suffered. As I write, the sky is again filled with vapour tails – which I love – and noise, which I don’t!!
Lying in my bed a few nights ago, I suddenly remembered something that I just must share with you. It’s kinda dreary – it’s not meant to be but hey…we cannot be ostriches with our heads in the sand forever! It’s this: if you are buying property in Greece you need to make sure that it is covered in your will. Speaking to a Greek lawyer a while back, he recommended that you lodge a will with a Greek lawyer concerning your Greek property. This even if you are still a UK citizen, just to ensure that there are no problems – you can also have another will lodged in the UK. Remember however to make note of this in your British will and not to contradict anything in either will!
It was this same lawyer who sorted out years of inheritance problems for someone I had been chatting to. It can all get very long-winded and very costly so the clearer you set out everything in your will the easier it will be for your beneficiaries. It’s also great to have someone on the spot in Greece who knows the terms of the will and who is conversant with Greek law plus who knows the property so that they can help.
I am not going to go into all the legal details - a lawyer can do that so much better than I can. Suffice it to say that, in terms of inheritance tax, citizenship is immaterial if you inherit property in Greece - you pay inheritance taxes on the property according to the rates which pertain in Greece. The law says that if the deceased was a British citizen and has a legal will in the UK then it's UK law which will determine what beneficiaries will receive according to the will, but the inheritance tax on property in Greece will be decided in Greece.
There have been enormous changes made in inheritance tax if someone dies after 19th January 2010.
The tax office in about 90% of cases uses the "objective" value of a property, which is the value determined by the tax office and it is usually less than the market value. The surviving spouse, married to the deceased for at least five years, now does not pay tax for inherited property worth up to 400,000 euros tax value. Tax is then introduced on a sliding scale. This also applies to the minor children of the deceased (children below 18 years old) – let me not bore you with the whole slew of figures that then come into play…suffice it to say that you need to make sure you have all this tied up in advance!
On to more cheerful matters…the weather is heating up, and I am already planning my next trip to Greece! I am thinking August – not so swamped in tourists – and I cannot decide between Corfu, Evia or Aegina – any suggestions? My friend of a zillion years that hitch-hiked around Europe with me years ago is coming over to stay with me then and it has always been our dream to return together. We have decided that this is the year…
I am now off to plan my trip! See you next week…bye for now.
Carol Dunning
http://www.greecebuyingguide.com
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