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Information for Cyprus Expats on making a Cyprus Will

It is generally recommended that anyone with property or assets in Cyprus should consider making a will in Cyprus to govern what will happen to those assets if he/she should pass away.  The law regarding wills and inheritance in Cyprus is complicated and, if you do own property or assets on the island, you should seek qualified advice from an expert with experience in multi-jurisdictional inheritance matters as to whether you are able to make a will here and what it should cover.  In this article I will outline the basic rules of Cypriot inheritance and what will happen to an estate if there is no will in place.  I will go on to explain who can avoid these rules by making a will in Cyprus and how such a will interacts with a corresponding document in a person’s home country. 

The Cypriot Law

The law of inheritance in Cyprus is embodied in a system of “forced heirship”.  This means that (for those to whom the rules apply and who have not made or cannot make a will in Cyprus) the law itself determines who will inherit a person’s estate when they die.  The rules of forced heirship in Cyprus are fairly complex and inheritance depends upon which family members survive the deceased. 

The estate will be divided into two sections:

§      The Disposable Section; and

§      The Compulsory Section

The Disposable Section is that portion of the estate which can be passed by will.  The exact amount of the Disposable Section will depend on who the surviving relatives are and will usually vary between a quarter and half of the entire estate. 

The rules relating to the Compulsory Section, once again, depend upon who the surviving relatives are at the date of death.  Special provision is made for a surviving spouse who will inherit a share, the amount of which will depend upon who the other surviving relatives are.  The most common case scenario will be where the spouse and children survive the deceased, in which case the surviving spouse’s share is equal to that of each child.  However, even if there are no children or descendants of children, the surviving spouse’s share will be determined according to the existence of other relatives of the deceased.  The assumption made by many people that under Cyprus law the spouse will inherit all of his or her partner’s assets is therefore clearly incorrect. 

To Whom Do The Cyprus Rules Apply?

The Cyprus rules apply to:

§       The estate of a person domiciled in Cyprus; and

§       The immovable property of those not domiciled in Cyprus.

Therefore in order to determine whether the Cyprus law will apply to an individual, he or she must firstly determine his or her country of domicile.  Domicile is a tricky area of law and a person’s country of domicile is not (as many people would imagine) the same as his or her country of residence.  Broadly speaking domicile will be determined by examining a person’s country of permanent residency and the place that he or she intends to spend the rest of his or her days.  Therefore even though a person may live in Cyprus, any possibility of their return to the UK (indicated for example by the retention of bank accounts, pensions, property etc in the UK) may be evidence to refute establishment of Cyprus domicile.

Who Can Make A Will in Cyprus?

Special concession has been made allowing some people to make a will in Cyprus.   In Cyprus a person who, or whose father, was born in the UK or in a Commonwealth country is allowed to make a will governing who will inherit the whole of his or her estate in Cyprus.

Types of Will

If a person is entitled to make a will to govern his or her assets in Cyprus then careful consideration must be given to the interrelationship between the Cyprus will and any other existing will covering assets in another country. For example, an English person may have an English will in place to deal with his or her estate in England.  A corresponding Cyprus will can be drawn up to sit alongside the English will, purely to deal with the Cyprus estate.  Great care must be taken to include specific wording which will ensure that the second Cyprus will does not revoke or replace the English will so that both documents work smoothly side by side.

If You Cannot Make a Will

If the Cyprus rules apply to you and you do not fall within the category of a person who, or whose father, was born in the UK or in a Commonwealth country then you can still take steps to plan for what will happen to your estate in Cyprus when you die.  A will may be drawn up relating to the Disposable Section and the establishment of trusts and making of lifetime gifts can be utilised to ensure that your estate passes in the manner you wish.

Conclusion

The laws of inheritance in Cyprus embody a system of forced heirship and will apply to: i) the estate of a person domiciled in Cyprus; and ii) the immovable property of those not domiciled in Cyprus.  The rules can be bypassed if you are a person who, or whose father, was born in the UK or in a Commonwealth country, in which case it is possible to make a will to determine who will inherit all of a person’s estate in Cyprus.  It is advisable in all cases to seek guidance from an expert who can consider your individual family circumstances and advise accordingly.

If you need firther legal advice, our Cyprus Expat Legal Services team are here to help you. Just complete our Contact Form

© Louise Zambartas

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