Wills in Cyprus, and what happens without one

An estate is far easier to administer than to argue about, and most of that turns on whether there is a will.

A will is the sort of thing people intend to deal with later. The practical effect of not having one is that the law decides instead, and the people left behind spend longer, and more, finding out what it decided.

Cyprus reserves part of an estate for close family

Cyprus law sets aside a portion of an estate for close relatives. A will therefore does not have unlimited freedom — it operates over the part of the estate that can be freely disposed of. Establishing which part that is, in your own circumstances, is the first question to answer.

Without a will

The estate is distributed according to fixed rules of intestacy. Those rules take no account of what the person would have wanted, of informal promises, or of who was actually there looking after them.

Administration needs a grant

With or without a will, somebody has to be appointed to deal with the estate: obtaining a grant, identifying assets and liabilities, and distributing what remains. A clear will with a named executor makes that materially faster.

Assets in more than one country

Where property or accounts sit in more than one jurisdiction, more than one legal system may be engaged. That is worth planning for deliberately rather than leaving to be untangled afterwards.

Read it again from time to time

Marriage, separation, children, and the acquisition or sale of anything significant are all reasons to look at a will again. A will nobody has read since the day it was signed often no longer does what it was written to do.

This article is general information, not legal advice, and it does not create a lawyer–client relationship. Every situation is different. If you would like your own matter looked at, please get in touch.

A will is the sort of thing people intend to deal with later. The practical effect of not having one is that the law decides instead, and the people left behind spend longer, and more, finding out what it decided.

Cyprus reserves part of an estate for close family

Cyprus law sets aside a portion of an estate for close relatives. A will therefore does not have unlimited freedom — it operates over the part of the estate that can be freely disposed of. Establishing which part that is, in your own circumstances, is the first question to answer.

Without a will

The estate is distributed according to fixed rules of intestacy. Those rules take no account of what the person would have wanted, of informal promises, or of who was actually there looking after them.

Administration needs a grant

With or without a will, somebody has to be appointed to deal with the estate: obtaining a grant, identifying assets and liabilities, and distributing what remains. A clear will with a named executor makes that materially faster.

Assets in more than one country

Where property or accounts sit in more than one jurisdiction, more than one legal system may be engaged. That is worth planning for deliberately rather than leaving to be untangled afterwards.

Read it again from time to time

Marriage, separation, children, and the acquisition or sale of anything significant are all reasons to look at a will again. A will nobody has read since the day it was signed often no longer does what it was written to do.

This article is general information, not legal advice, and it does not create a lawyer–client relationship. Every situation is different. If you would like your own matter looked at, please get in touch.

A will is the sort of thing people intend to deal with later. The practical effect of not having one is that the law decides instead, and the people left behind spend longer, and more, finding out what it decided.

Cyprus reserves part of an estate for close family

Cyprus law sets aside a portion of an estate for close relatives. A will therefore does not have unlimited freedom — it operates over the part of the estate that can be freely disposed of. Establishing which part that is, in your own circumstances, is the first question to answer.

Without a will

The estate is distributed according to fixed rules of intestacy. Those rules take no account of what the person would have wanted, of informal promises, or of who was actually there looking after them.

Administration needs a grant

With or without a will, somebody has to be appointed to deal with the estate: obtaining a grant, identifying assets and liabilities, and distributing what remains. A clear will with a named executor makes that materially faster.

Assets in more than one country

Where property or accounts sit in more than one jurisdiction, more than one legal system may be engaged. That is worth planning for deliberately rather than leaving to be untangled afterwards.

Read it again from time to time

Marriage, separation, children, and the acquisition or sale of anything significant are all reasons to look at a will again. A will nobody has read since the day it was signed often no longer does what it was written to do.

This article is general information, not legal advice, and it does not create a lawyer–client relationship. Every situation is different. If you would like your own matter looked at, please get in touch.