Greek Probate Translation Case Study

At a glance

A UK solicitor firm needed a death certificate and will translated from English into Greek for a probate and estate administration case, with the translation required to be embassy-approved, stamped by the Greek embassy, and legalised through the FCDO. Absolute Translations managed the entire process — selecting an embassy-approved linguist, coordinating apostille and legalisation, running quality checks, and delivering both digital and hard copies — completing the 535-word translation a day ahead of the agreed schedule and ready for court use.

Project detail	Information
Client type	UK solicitor firm
Sector	Probate & Estate Administration
Documents translated	Death certificate, Will
Language pair	English → Greek
Word count	535 words
Certification	Greek embassy-approved translation + FCDO legalisation
Used for	Greek probate/court proceedings
Priority	Urgent — delivered a day ahead of schedule
Project completed	May 2026

A UK solicitor firm came to Absolute Translations needing a death certificate and a will translated from English into Greek to support an ongoing probate and estate administration case. Because the documents were needed for official court use in Greece, accuracy alone wasn’t enough — the translation had to be carried out by a linguist specifically approved by the Greek embassy, stamped by the embassy itself, and legalised through the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) before it would be accepted. The client also needed the process moving quickly, since the probate proceedings couldn’t progress until the certified translations were in place.

We requested the original documents from the client and confirmed that only one of the two required full legalisation, along with the exact requirements for Greek embassy acceptance.
The document was sent to our in-house solicitors for express legalisation (apostille).
Once legalised, we shared the apostilled document and the source files with one of our Greek embassy-approved linguists for translation.
The linguist produced a draft translation, which our team quality-checked before sending it to the client for confirmation.
Any feedback from the client was passed back to the linguist and incorporated.
The linguist finalised the certified translation with their declaration, signature, and official stamps, then posted the hard copy to our office.
Once the hard copy arrived, we arranged the Greek embassy visit through our solicitors and completed the stamping process.
Final scanned copies were delivered to the client by email, with hard copies posted to follow.

Because the source documents weren’t in an editable format, the translation was completed manually rather than through a CAT tool. Every stage was checked by our project manager against our quality guidelines, with particular attention paid to legal terminology, signatures, stamps, and handwritten notes to make sure nothing was missed or misformatted.

The full process — apostille, embassy-approved translation, and embassy stamping — typically takes around a month, largely because of external steps like solicitor legalisation, postal transit, and the embassy’s own appointment availability, rather than the translation itself. In this case, we delivered the finished documents a day ahead of that agreed schedule. The client confirmed safe receipt of the files and thanked the team for their assistance, and the translations were accepted for use in the ongoing probate proceedings.

If you’re a solicitor or a private client needing a certified translation for probate, estate administration, or another court process, this shows what’s involved beyond the translation itself. Absolute Translations manages the full chain — selecting an approved linguist, handling apostille and legalisation, running quality checks, maintaining confidentiality under NDA and GDPR, and delivering both digital and hard copies — so your documents are accepted first time, without you having to coordinate each stage yourself.

Frequently asked questions

Do you handle embassy legalisation as well as translation?

Yes. For documents that need to be accepted by a foreign embassy or authority, Absolute Translations manages the full process rather than just the translation. This includes selecting an embassy-approved linguist, arranging apostille through our in-house solicitors, coordinating the embassy stamping appointment, and delivering both digital and hard copies once legalisation is complete. We handle this for a range of countries and document types, including certificates, wills, and other documents needed for legal or court use.

How long does an embassy-legalised translation take?

Turnaround depends on the document, the language, and the embassy’s own scheduling, since legalisation involves external steps such as apostille and an embassy appointment, not just the translation itself. As a guide, a short document like a death certificate or will can usually be translated within a day or two, but the full legalisation process — including embassy stamping — typically takes around a month. We prioritise urgent cases and aim to deliver ahead of the agreed timeline wherever possible.

Can you translate documents for probate or court use in Greece?

Yes. We work with Greek embassy-approved linguists to provide certified translations that are accepted for probate, estate administration, and other court proceedings in Greece. This covers documents such as death certificates, wills, and other legal paperwork, translated between English and Greek and legalised through the Greek embassy and the UK’s FCDO where required. Because Greek authorities require translations from specific approved linguists, we manage this selection on your behalf and coordinate the whole certification chain.

How much does a certified legal translation like this cost?

Certified legal translations are priced per document, with the final cost depending on document length, the language pair, and how many stages of certification are needed — a probate translation that requires embassy stamping and FCDO legalisation involves more steps than a standard certified translation. You can see current rates on our certified translation prices page, or use our online quote tool to get pricing for your own documents within minutes.