Wills, probate, trusts and cross-border estates
Discuss your will or estateWe reply within one business day. Scope and fees are agreed before work starts.
In short
- Wills drafted to be valid in Cyprus and to say what you actually intend.
- Probate and the administration of estates, with the least possible delay.
- Trusts under the Cyprus International Trusts Law of 1992, and cross-border estates.
Explore the scope of our work
We prepare and execute wills, drafted to be legally valid in Cyprus and to say what you actually intend. We guide families through probate and the administration of estates, with the least possible delay. Foreign resident? See our fixed-fee expat will service.
On trusts we advise on formation, administration and planning for private and corporate clients under the Cyprus International Trusts Law of 1992, whether the purpose is wealth protection, estate planning or tax planning. That work is set out in detail on Cyprus International Trusts.
On succession we advise individuals and businesses on passing assets to the next generation, including cross-border estates where more than one country's succession rules apply.
For families in the United Kingdom, Australia and the United States with property or an estate in Cyprus, this work has its own section, written in English: Cypriots abroad.
How to start a first enquiry
Tell us the parties, so we can run a conflict check, and a short outline of the assets and where they sit. Cross-border estates are where the surprises are. Please do not send anything already signed until we confirm we can act, then it can come through the right channel.
Where to start
You are making a will
Making a will in Cyprus: the reserved portion and execution that survives challenge.
You are administering an estate
Probate and letters of administration, debts before distribution, and property registered to heirs.
A trust has been proposed
What a Cyprus international trust is, and the questions to settle before one is set up.
An estate in dispute
Challenging a will, the reserved portion, caveats before a grant issues, and claims against executors.
The partner you will work with
How a matter runs
From first contact to implementation
Every matter is different, but the route is broadly the same. Knowing it in advance makes the cost and the timetable easier to judge.
First contact and conflict check
Engagement and fee agreement before any work begins
Review of the assets, where they sit, and anything already signed
Assessment of the position, including the reserved portion and any foreign succession rules
Drafting of the will or the trust instrument, or the application for a grant
Execution and safekeeping, or administration of the estate through to distribution
Implementation and monitoring of the agreed terms
The work
Wills
What a will has to do to be worth having
A will that is valid and unclear causes more trouble than no will at all, because it takes longer to argue about.
It has to cover what you actually own
The first exercise is not drafting. It is listing: what is owned, where it is, and how it is held. A property held jointly, a bank account held with somebody else, a pension or a policy with a nomination attached, and shares held through a company or a nominee do not all pass in the same way, and some of them may not pass under the will at all. A will drafted without that list is drafted in the dark, and the gaps appear years later when nobody can explain what was intended.
It has to name people who will actually act
Executors do the work, and the work is administrative, slow and occasionally contentious. Naming somebody as a compliment is a common mistake. Name people who are willing, who are likely to outlive you, who are reachable, and who are capable of dealing with an institution that wants documents. Where the estate has a foreign element, consider whether the person named can realistically deal with it from where they live.
It has to survive being read literally
Every ambiguity in a will is resolved after the one person who could explain it has died. Legacies described by reference to a thing that may be sold, gifts to a class of people that may change, and instructions that depend on a fact that may no longer be true are the recurring sources of dispute. So is silence: a will that deals with the main assets and says nothing about the remainder leaves the largest question unanswered.
It has to be findable
An original that nobody can locate is a practical problem of the first order, and it is entirely avoidable. Executors should know that the will exists and where it is kept, and the arrangement should not depend on a single person remembering. We hold originals for clients as a matter of course.
It has to work with the reserved portion
What a will can dispose of is fixed by statute before any drafting begins. Under section 41 of the Wills and Succession Law, Cap. 195, where the deceased leaves a spouse and a child, or a child or a descendant of a child, the disposable portion is not more than one quarter of the net estate; with a spouse or a parent and no child, one half; and only where none of them survives is the whole of it disposable. The remainder is the statutory portion and passes as the Law directs, whatever the will says. That is the frame within which planning happens, and it is explained at the outset so the will does not contain provisions that will not take effect.
Two further rules of the same statutes surprise people, and each is worth a sentence. Under section 38 of Cap. 195, a will is deemed revoked by the testator's marriage after its execution, and by the birth of a child where there was none when it was made, unless the will itself shows it was made in contemplation of that event. And under section 51 of the Administration of Estates Law, Cap. 189, an heir who does not want the inheritance, with the debts that come with it, may renounce it within three months of learning of the death and of being an heir, by a declaration filed at the court registry.
It has to be revisited
A will is a snapshot. Marriage, separation, a birth, a death, buying or selling a substantial asset, moving country, or acquiring assets in a second country are all events that can change how the document works, and some of them can change whether it works at all. A short review at those points costs very little. Discovering the problem afterwards costs a great deal.
Probate and administration
What administering an estate actually involves
Families expect a hearing and a reading. What there is instead is a long sequence of document gathering, and it is where the delay lives.
Administration begins by establishing what the deceased owned and owed, and that is rarely a short exercise. Bank accounts have to be identified and the institutions notified. Property has to be checked against the register rather than against what the family believes. Company shareholdings have to be traced, including holdings that sit behind a nominee. Debts, guarantees given, and any dispute the deceased was involved in all form part of the estate and none of them announce themselves.
Authority to deal with those assets has to be obtained before anything can be collected in or distributed, and that is what an application to the court produces. The application depends on documents: the original will where there is one, evidence of death, evidence of the estate's contents, and evidence about the people entitled. Where any of those sit abroad, obtaining them in a form that will be accepted here is often the longest single step, and it is the step to start first rather than last.
Once authority is granted the estate is collected in, liabilities are dealt with, and what remains is distributed to those entitled. Along the way the personal representatives are accountable for what they do, which is worth saying plainly to any family member who volunteers for the role expecting it to be a formality. Distributing early, distributing to the wrong person, or distributing before liabilities are known are the errors that turn an administration into a claim against the administrator personally.
Where estates get stuck
- Property registered in the name of somebody who died years or decades earlier, with an intervening generation who also died
- Heirs who cannot be located, or who are abroad and unwilling to engage with the paperwork
- Undivided shares between siblings where one wants to sell and the others do not
- An original will that cannot be found, or a will found that nobody knew existed
- Assets in more than one country, each wanting its own process and its own documents
- A dispute among the beneficiaries that has nothing to do with the estate and is being fought through it
Where the estate includes Cyprus property, the practical steps for putting the title into the heirs' names, and what has to be done before it can be sold, are set out under inherited property in Cyprus. Families outside Cyprus dealing with an estate here have their own section under probate from abroad.
Acting as trustee or personal representative
Taking the role on, and handing it over
People take on a trusteeship or an executorship because they are asked to, usually by somebody they could not refuse, and frequently without a clear picture of what the role involves. The duties are real, they are owed to other people, and they continue until the role is properly discharged or properly transferred. Anyone considering accepting should understand what the assets are, what the document requires of them, whether there is a dispute in the background, and what support they will have.
Handing the role on is its own exercise and it is more involved than it looks. Where a trustee is being replaced, the instrument that effects the change and the register entry that proves it are two different things, and the second is what counterparties will ask to see. The sequence, the point at which the notification typically stalls, and the corporate records that a change of trustee quietly affects are set out in changing the trustee of a Cyprus trust. The trust vehicle itself, and what it is used for, is covered under Cyprus international trusts.
We act for trustees and personal representatives in the role, which means advising on what may and may not be done, dealing with the beneficiaries who are unhappy about it, and keeping a record that stands up if the exercise is questioned later. We also act for beneficiaries who are not being told what is happening, which is a different position and, on the evidence of the enquiries we receive, a more common one.
If there is an estate to administer or a will to make, write to us with what is in it and where it is held, at office@kleanthousplatis.com, or the enquiry form. We reply within one business day.
Frequently asked questions about wills and estates in Cyprus
Can I disinherit my child in Cyprus?
Not freely. Cyprus law reserves part of the estate for particular relatives, the statutory portion, and only the remainder is disposable by will. How much is reserved depends on who survives you. The forced heirship calculator gives the proportion for your own family position.
I have a will in my home country and property in Cyprus. Do I need a Cyprus will as well?
Often it is sensible, and the answer depends on what the foreign will says and what assets sit here. A separate Cyprus will dealing only with the Cyprus assets can make administration here considerably faster, but the two documents have to be drafted so that neither revokes the other and nothing falls between them. Send us both the foreign will and a list of what you own in Cyprus and we will tell you which arrangement fits.
How long does it take to administer an estate?
The variables are the documents rather than the law. An estate with a clear original will, assets in one country and cooperative heirs moves at the pace of the paperwork. An estate with a foreign element, a missing document, or heirs who disagree takes very much longer, and the additional time is almost entirely spent obtaining things rather than arguing about them. We give a realistic view once we have seen what the estate consists of.
The property is still in my grandfather's name. Can we sell it?
Not until the estate, and any intervening estate, has been administered and the property registered in the names of those now entitled. This is common and it is solvable, but it is a sequence of steps rather than a single application, and it should be started before a buyer is found rather than after. The practical route is set out under inherited property in Cyprus.
Can I be an executor if I live abroad?
It can be done and it needs planning, because an estate here generates documents, signatures and appearances that are awkward to handle from another country. Where an executor is abroad the usual solutions are a properly drafted power of attorney and a local advocate instructed to carry the administrative load. That is worth arranging at the outset rather than after the first document has to be signed in person.
The other beneficiaries will not tell me what is happening with the estate. What are my rights?
A beneficiary is not a bystander, and personal representatives are accountable for what they do with an estate. The first step is usually a properly framed written request for information, which resolves a good proportion of these situations because the recipient is more often disorganised than obstructive. Where it does not, there are steps available, and we will tell you what they are and what they are likely to cost before you take them.
What does a will cost?
A straightforward will is a fixed fee, quoted before we start. Cross-border arrangements, a trust, or an estate with a complicated ownership structure are quoted once we have seen the position, because the work is in the analysis rather than in the drafting. Either way you have the figure in advance.
Within this practice area
Who Inherits Without a Will
Four classes, and a nearer one excludes a more remote one entirely. The spouse's share changes with the degree of the nearest relative.
Can You Disinherit a Child in Cyprus?
Cyprus law reserves a statutory portion of the estate for close family that no will can touch. What that leaves disposable, and why an explanatory clause fails.
Wills in Cyprus
Drafting and execution built around the reserved portion: what is actually disposable, execution that survives challenge, coordinated wills for assets abroad, and safe custody at the probate registry.
Estate administration in Cyprus
Probate and letters of administration, the administrator's duties in the order the law expects them, debts before distribution, and property registered to heirs. And the remedies when an administration has stalled.
Contested estates in Cyprus
Challenging a will or restoring the reserved portion, the caveat that holds the estate still before probate, and claims against executors who will not account. We act for challengers and for estates defending.
Wills, estates and trusts
Every page we hold on planning an estate and on administering one, grouped by which of the two you are doing.
Written on this subject10
Changing the Trustee of a Cyprus Trust: The Deed, the Register and the Order the Steps Go In
A trustee change takes effect from the deed, not from registration, but the register must be updated within fifteen days. The sequence, and what is missed.
Contesting a Will in Cyprus: Grounds and Process
The grounds on which a Cyprus will can be challenged, who can challenge it, the stage at which to act, and what happens to the estate if the challenge succeeds.
Making a Will in Cyprus: Forced Heirship Explained
What you can leave by will in Cyprus, how the statutory portion restricts disposal, who inherits on intestacy, and the formalities a valid will must meet.
Can You Disinherit a Child in Cyprus?
Cyprus law reserves a statutory portion of the estate for close family that no will can touch. What that leaves disposable, and why an explanatory clause fails.
What an Executor Actually Has to Do in Cyprus
The executor's role in a Cyprus estate from the inside: accepting or renouncing, probate, debts before distribution, accounts, personal risk, and remuneration.
Who Inherits Without a Will in Cyprus
The four classes of the First Schedule to Cap. 195, the spouse's share at each degree, how a degree of kindred is counted, and what happens when nobody is left.
Non-Dom Status in Cyprus: How It Works
How Cyprus non-domiciled status is acquired and lost, why domicile is a succession law concept before it is a tax concept, and what to put in place first.
Do British expats need a Cyprus will?
Usually yes, for the assets here. The exemption British nationals relied on went in 2015, and a European regulation now decides by a default few expats chose.
Non-dom in Cyprus: what the status actually exempts
The exemption is from one tax, the special defence contribution, and it is not permanent. Two routes lead to being treated as domiciled, and one is a clock.
The 60-day rule: the condition that was repealed
Until 2026 a person tax resident anywhere else could not use the rule. Law 244(I)/2025 removed that condition. What is left, and the proviso that still costs a year.
The service pages15
Wills Lawyers in Cyprus
Making a will in Cyprus: the reserved portion, execution that survives challenge, coordinated wills for assets abroad, and safe custody at the probate registry.
Cyprus Wills for Expats and Foreign Residents
A Cyprus will for expats and foreign residents: choice of law, coordination with the will abroad, execution and custody. Fixed fee quoted within one business day.
Estate Administration Lawyers in Cyprus
Administering an estate in Cyprus: probate and letters of administration, the administrator's duties in order, debts before distribution, and property to heirs.
Will and Inheritance Disputes in Cyprus
Disputes over Cyprus estates: challenging a will, the reserved portion, caveats before probate, and claims against executors and administrators.
Cyprus International Trusts
What a Cyprus international trust is, what this firm advises on under the International Trusts Law of 1992, and the questions to settle before one is set up.
Estates
Someone died abroad owning property in Cyprus, or died in Cyprus with heirs abroad: what has to be done here, and what a foreign grant of probate cannot do.
Inherited Property
What it means that a Cyprus property is registered in a dead parent's name, how undivided shares between siblings work, and what must happen before a sale.
Selling Inherited Property
What has to happen before inherited Cyprus property can be sold, what the seller must deliver at transfer, and how a sale is run for heirs who live abroad.
Cyprus tax residency: the 183-day and 60-day rules
Who counts as a Cyprus tax resident under the Income Tax Law: the 183-day rule, the gateway and three conditions of the 60-day rule, and how travel days are counted.
Tax Residency and Non-Dom Checker
Whether you are Cyprus tax resident under the 183-day or the 60-day rule, and whether the non-dom exemption from special defence contribution is available.
Non-dom status, and what the 2026 reform changed
What non-dom status means in Cyprus, who has it and for how long, and what Law 245(I)/2025 changed from 2026: dividends at 5 per cent and rents taken out.
Immigration & Employment
Residence and work permits in Cyprus, employment contracts and terminations, and the position of staff relocating to a Cyprus company, acting for both sides.
The EU Succession Regulation
Which law governs a cross-border estate with Cyprus assets: habitual residence under Article 21, and choosing the law of your nationality under Article 22.
Wills
Whether a will made in England, Australia or the United States reaches immovable property in Cyprus, and when a separate Cyprus will is worth making.
Forced Heirship Calculator
Enter who survives and see the disposable portion under section 41 of Cap. 195: one quarter if a child survives, one half if a spouse or a parent survives but no child.
Which country's law governs a cross-border estate, and when the law of your nationality can be chosen instead, is set out under the EU Succession Regulation and Cyprus.
To see how much of an estate can be left by will and how much passes by law, use our forced heirship calculator.
Related practice areas: Corporate & Commercial and Real Estate & Construction.
