There are two principal laws in regard to succession in Cyprus, the first one being the Administration of Estates Law, chapter 189, and the second one is the Wills and Succession Law, chapter 195 which deals with wills and intestacy (having no enforceable legal will).

For a will to be enforceable, according to Cyprus Legislation, some specific criteria must be met. Initially the person making the will has to be of sound mind and over 18 years old. The second major criterion is the understanding and acceptance of the contents of the Will by the person making the Will. And last it has to be in written form and signed by the person making the Will and at least two witnesses.

In Cyprus a testator has a limit as to how much of his estate he or she can provide with a will. Specifically an estate will be divided into two parts, a portion that can be distributed by will (disposable portion) and a part which cannot be distributed by will, but instead it is reserved for the relatives of the deceased and follows the rules of intestacy (legal portion).

Of course if a person disposes in his will more than he is actually allowed to, that does not render a will void, but instead the dispositions will be reduced appropriately as to conform to the allowed amount.

The legal portion of the estate is estimated and distributed in accordance with what relatives survive the deceased. 

According to Annex 2 of the Wills and Succession Law, chapter 195, the various degrees of kinship in Cyprus Law are as follows:

• First Degree relatives to the Deceased person: Parents and children.
• Second Degree relatives to the Deceased person: Grandparents, Siblings, Grandchildren.
• Third Degree relatives to the Deceased person: Great-grandparents, Uncles and Aunties, Nephews and Nieces.

There is an exception to the rule, specifically in Section 42 of the law, which states that if a person or his father were born in the United Kingdom or certain other Commonwealth countries, as well as non EU Countries then these individuals can dispose of all of their estate by will.

A person can, when he or she is alive, deposit his Will for safekeeping in the District Court at the Registrar of Court or give it to any other person. The safest and more correct way is to deposit the Will at the District Court. After the death of the Testator, the Will can be opened by its Executor or any other interested individual in the presence of the Registrar always.

A Will can be annulled if a new Will is made which expressly states that any other Will or part of a Will made earlier should be annulled. A Will can be annulled if the Testator willingly destroys or gives instructions to another person to destroy it. Additionally, According to par. 38 of the Wills and Succession Law, chapter 195, if the Testator gets married or has children after he made the Will, it will be considered void, unless it already has included the prospect of a marriage or the birth of the Testator’s children. Also in the event of a divorce the Will is considered void, unless the Testator examined it and approved it as right.

Janna Fachiridou LLC has the experience needed to provide you with the necessary advise and can represent you in relation to successions, wills, estate planning and administration. We manage estates, act as executors and advise on all issues that may arise in the management of estates.