Out-of-court debt settlements: AADE guidance on heirs and residual-debt cancellation
Circular E.2073 was published on 12 November. It clarifies continuation after a debtor’s death and the conditions for cancelling residual debts owed to the State.
AADE has issued guidance on the continuation and repayment of out-of-court debt settlements through Circular E.2073, published on Diavgeia on 12 November 2026. The document is dated 10 November and concerns consistent application of the existing framework for collecting public debts.
The circular clarifies that the death of a debtor who entered into a restructuring agreement does not, by itself, cause the out-of-court settlement to be lost or overturned. The debtor’s heirs succeed to their position in proportion to their inheritance shares. The statutory grounds for loss of the settlement continue to apply if the relevant conditions arise.
For debts included in the settlement, repayment of all instalments produces the consequences of completing the agreement: extinguishing the residual balance of those particular debts, under Article 26 of Law 4738/2020. The same applies when the settlement is prepaid in full. The clarification covers both the applicant and persons jointly and severally liable for debts included in the agreement.
AADE distinguishes the case of a person jointly and severally liable for only part of the settled debts. Paying only the portion for which that person is liable does not, on its own, confer a debt-cancellation benefit. Full repayment or full prepayment of the settlement remains the condition for extinguishing and cancelling the residual balance of the debts included in it.
English translation of the Greek edition · Read in Greek