I am a Greek lawyer (licensed to practice in Illinois, Greece and the EU) based in Chicago, with over 20 years of experience practicing law in Greece prior to my move to the US. I have been a member of the Thessaloniki Bar Association (ΔΣΘ) since 1996 with extensive experience in litigation, counseling, legal practice and negotiations. I specialize in the fields of Real Estate Law, Inheritance and Tax Law, Commercial and Civil Law, as well as Intellectual Property Law and Family Law. I also have experience litigating a variety of commercial and business-related claims and liability matters. I am a member of the Chicago Bar Association (CBA) and the Hellenic Bar Association of Illinois (HBA).
Throughout my professional career, I have handled successfully a wide variety of cornerstone cases, creating in the process legal precedent in the Greek Legal System. Some examples include: battling fraudulent companies in a nationwide time-sharing scheme scandal, saving countless individuals in the process; achieving a landmark case against the Hellenic Mapping and Cadastral Organization, paving the way for hundreds of homeowners to reclaim their properties.
In my capacity as an accredited US and EU civil and commercial mediator, I have been involved in numerous successful court-side mediations.
With a vast network of seasoned, specialized, and experienced professionals in all parts of Greece (fellow lawyers, real estate brokers, notary publics, contractors, builders, accountants, travel agents), I am ready to handle even the most difficult or complicated cases.
I host a radio show every second Thursday at 9am Central (10am EST) on The Chicago Greek Hours Radio (ChicagoGreekHours) where I talk about Greek legal issues.
I am proud to be the legal correspondent of and a contributor to the Greek-American community newspaper WindyCity Greek (WindyCityGreek).
As an Attorney within the Law Offices of George C. Xamplas, I cater to the needs of Greek people living in the larger Chicago area and beyond with any legal issues they might have in Greece.
Greek American Legal Topics 
Hello,
Do you handle bank issues in Greece? The account was opened here in dollars at the National Bank of Greece in Chicago. Since the bank closed the money is at the National Bank of Greece in Zografou. They will not give me access to my account in any capacity.
LikeLike
Hello, Eva, and thank you for your question! I do handle cases that have to do with bank accounts in Greece. Please, contact me personally with more information, so we can look into it. My email is christos@kiosses.com
LikeLike
Hi Christos,
My Papou was born in Greece (Chalcis) and moved to the US and gave up citizenship in his late 20s. Would I still qualify for citizenship? He passed away at least 20 years ago, but I have his Greek passport, original birth certificate and I’m sure could obtain death/marriage certificates. My Yia Yia was Greek, but born in the US. Is this a process you help with? I would love to chat, I live in CO. 720.560.4701 thanks!
Brittany
LikeLike
Hello, Brittany.
Thank you very much for your comment and for your questions. In order to find out whether you qualify for citizenship, we need to clarify what you mean by your grandfather giving up his citizenship. Did he renounce his Greek citizenship? If yes, that means that all ties to Greece have been severed. I can certainly help you with this whole process, but first, let’s gather all the information.
LikeLike
Hello, Mr. Kiosses.
I recently found out that my biological father might be a man who is from Greece, but is now a naturalized US citizen. He was in a relationship with my mother for a few months when my parents were in the process of divorcing 44 years ago. (For the record, I am American.)
Up until recently, my assumed ethnic ancestry has been pretty much relegated to the British isles and Germany, with no known ancestors from the Mediterranean. Out of curiosity, I have sent a DNA test to 23andMe to learn about my ancestry, and will eventually find out if I have any Greek DNA. If my test results show that I am indeed half Greek, I am interested in possibly applying for dual citizenship, which would probably require some form of legal acknowledgement from the biological father, who I am told is still in contact with my mother and who knows of the possibility of his paternity.
If the man is my father, has retained his Greek citizenship, and he is also interested in assisting me in my claim, what steps would I need to take in order to apply? Your advice is greatly appreciated.
Thanks in advance,
-J
LikeLike
Hello, Jon.
Thank you for your message. Yours is a very interesting story and thank you for sharing.
What is your status right now? Were you considered a child of the person, who was married to your mother at the time? Have you been adopted? Were you raised by your mother in a single parent household? What is on your Birth Certificate?
I would be very interested to find out more. So, please, scan and email me all the documents that might be helpful (Birth Certificates, your biological father’s birth certificate and naturalization papers, etc.) to this email christos@kiosses.com and I will try to determine what the next steps should be.
Sincerely,
Christos Kiosses
LikeLike
Hi, Mr. Kiosses.
Thanks for the quick response. As far as my status is concerned, I am still awaiting my DNA test results, so I imagine that once I receive those results, I will be able to take the next step, if it turns out that I have significant Greek heritage. As for documentation, my parents reunited briefly after their split, while they were still technically married, so the father that I grew up knowing (my American father) was listed as my father on my birth certificate, even though he was aware of the possibility that he might not actually be my biological father.
(They were divorced before my first birthday.)
I will definitely reach out to you with documentation and more questions when I have my test results. Thanks again.
best,
Jon
LikeLike
Thank you, Jon.
I will be looking forward to your email.
Best Regards,
Christos Kiosses
LikeLike
Yia sas, Christo! My name is Mary and I am Greek-American in that my great grandparents on both my grandmother’s side and my grandfather’s side are from Greece. I’ve located a copy of my grandmother’s mother’s birth certificate from Tripoli and I’ve further collected the following documents to prove my heritage: my grandmother’s birth certificate, my grandparent’s marriage certificate, my mother’s birth certificate, my parent’s marriage certificate and of course, my own birth certificate. I’ve had each of these documents Apostilled. Do you think this is sufficient to move on to stake my claim at the Greek Consulate of Chicago? Have you experience with someone in my situation (as a 3rd generation Greek) obtain citizenship in the past?
Thank you so much for answering these questions.
LikeLiked by 1 person