Probate and administration of estates in Cyprus

The loss of a close family member or relative is an emotionally stressful and sad experience. It brings practical matters and arrangements that must be handled.

Probate in Cyprus is the process and legal steps taken to administer the estate of a deceased person. Taxes and debts must be paid, and money, assets, and other property distributed.

The total of the deceased's property, money, and possessions is referred to as their estate. It is everything owned by the person who has died.

Applicable law

In Cyprus, succession and probate matters are dealt with by the Wills and Succession Law, Cap. 195, and the Administration of Estates Law, Cap. 189.

Law 74(I)/2000 repealed the Estate Duty Laws of 1962 to 1997 (Law 67/1962 as amended) for persons who died on or after 1 January 2000, so no inheritance tax is charged on their estates. Estates of persons who died before that date stay under the old law.

The court procedure is set by the Administration of Estates Rules 1955, and the Tax Department's part by Law 78(I)/2000 on the estates of deceased persons. Grants made in the United Kingdom are resealed under the Probates (Re-sealing) Law, Cap. 192, and the Probates (Resealing) Rules.

Who inherits?

Cyprus has a "forced heirship" regime, so a person cannot always leave their property to whoever they wish.

Where Cyprus law governs the succession, who survives the deceased sets how much of the net estate can be left freely by will. Any part above that share is reserved for the lawful heirs.

• A child or a child's descendant survives: no more than a quarter.
• A spouse or a parent survives, but no descendant: no more than half.
• A spouse survives, but no descendant and no parent: half, and a will can leave the spouse more, up to the whole estate.
• No spouse or parent and no descendant survives: the whole estate.

Where there is no will, the estate passes to the relatives in the order fixed by law. The exact shares, the intestacy classes, the position of foreign citizens, and the choice of national law under Regulation (EU) 650/2012 are explained in our guide to Cyprus succession law.

Is the will valid?

To stand at probate, the will must have been signed at the end by a testator at least eighteen years old and of sound mind, before two witnesses present at the same time. The full requirements, including who can act as a witness, are in our guide to making a will in Cyprus.

If someone challenges the will, our guide to contesting a will in Cyprus sets out the grounds and the time limit.

Probate and letters of administration

If the deceased left a valid will, the executor named in it applies for probate. If there is no valid will, the process is called administration, and the court grants letters of administration where one is needed.

Where there is a grant, the executor or administrator pays the debts out of the estate and distributes the rest under the will and the law that governs the succession; where that is Cyprus law, within the limits of forced heirship.

When is probate required in Cyprus?

A grant is needed wherever there is a will, and in some cases where there is none.

• With a will: a will has no effect until it is proved, so the executor applies to the District Court for a grant of probate.
• Without a will: where an heir is a minor, is mentally ill, is barred by a court from managing his or her affairs or is absent from Cyprus, and the estate is worth more than €10,252 (CY£6,000), the estate vests in the President of the District Court until letters of administration are granted or, for an estate of up to €17,086 (CY£10,000), until the court orders summary administration under section 49 of Cap. 189.
• Without a will, where no heir falls into those groups or the estate is worth €10,252 or less: the estate passes to the heirs without a grant, and the District Lands Office registers inherited land in their names on a certificate of death and heirs.
• For an estate worth no more than €17,086 (CY£10,000) gross that has not vested in the President of the District Court, an heir can apply to the probate registrar for a certificate naming the heirs, with a full inventory and an affidavit by the applicant and the community leader. The registrar can issue it 14 days or more after the death, where no grant has been issued or applied for.

Dealing with the estate without a grant

Where the heirs take an intestate estate without a grant, nothing in it can be sold or transferred to anyone other than an heir for 18 months after the death, except perishable goods and property sold to pay the deceased's debts. The bar does not cover land the Director of Lands and Surveys exchanges or transfers under the Immovable Property (Tenure, Registration and Valuation) Law, and a sale in breach of the bar is void.

With a grant or without one, banks, insurers, companies and the District Lands Office need the Tax Department's written authorisation before they release anything.

The procedure of probate and administration of estates

In Cyprus, probate and administration happen as follows.

Step one: the certificate of heirs and the application to court

After the death, the family obtains a certificate of death and heirs from the President of the Community Council, or the parish community leader, who knew the deceased and the heirs.

The application to the District Court is made by:

• the executor named in the will, for probate;
• where there is no will, one or more of the heirs, for letters of administration, with the spouse first in line and then the children;
• where the will names no executor, or the executor has died, has renounced, has not come forward when called or lives outside the jurisdiction, a beneficiary, for letters of administration with the will annexed;
• for an heir who lives outside Cyprus, an attorney acting under a power of attorney filed in court, for letters of administration.

The application goes to the District Court of the district where the deceased lived, or to the court in Nicosia if the deceased had no home in Cyprus. It is made in writing with the applicant's affidavit and, where there is one, the will.

The deceased's paperwork should be reviewed and summarised into a set of financial documents.

Step two: the Tax Department certificate and the statement of the estate

To ask for the Tax Department's certificate, the applicant for the grant files with the Tax Department:

• the application on form T.F.701;
• a copy of the death certificate;
• a certified copy of the court application, as filed in court;
• a certified copy of the applicant's affidavit, as filed in court.

The certificate is issued as form T.F.702. The court grants neither probate nor letters of administration until that certificate, stating that the Tax Department has no objection, is filed in court.

Within six months of the death, the executor, the administrator or the heirs file a statement of the deceased's assets and liabilities, in Cyprus and abroad, with the Tax Department, together with a copy of the will. The statement covers the deceased's dependants too, and a surviving spouse with no taxable income. Failing to file it, or filing it late, is an offence, with a fine of up to €854.30.

The executor or administrator takes over the deceased's tax obligations, as far as the estate can meet them, and files any return the deceased would have had to file. The Tax Department can ask for further documents within a deadline it sets.

Step three: the grant of probate or letters of administration

The probate registrar issues no grant earlier than seven days after an application for probate or for letters of administration with the will annexed, or 14 days after one for letters of administration where there is no will, except where the court directs otherwise.

The registrar can first ask for more evidence, or for a notice of the application in the press. An administrator gives a bond to the registrar, backed by sureties, for the proper administration of the estate.

The grant lets the executor or administrator collect the estate and carry out the will. Once probate is granted, the estate is treated as having passed to the executor from the date of death. An administrator has the same rights and duties as an executor.

Within ten days of the grant, the executor or administrator gives the District Lands Officer written notice of any land in the estate.

Step four: compile an inventory

Another duty of the executor or administrator is to compile an inventory of the deceased's estate: every asset, from bank accounts to personal effects, and every liability, from loans and credit cards to unpaid bills.

Under Cap. 189, the inventory is filed in court, within the time the court sets, with an affidavit sworn by the executor or administrator.

Step five: the Tax Department's written authorisation

After the grant, the Tax Department examines the estate file. It asks for a copy of the court order, the statement of the estate on form T.F.78, a certificate of full disclosure on form T.F.2101 and proof of every asset declared.

Under Law 78(I)/2000, no asset of the deceased can be transferred or disposed of without the Tax Department's written authorisation, and the same goes for withdrawing money from the deceased's bank accounts or cashing an insurance policy. Banks, insurers, companies and the Department of Lands and Surveys do not act without it.

To register inherited land after a grant, the District Lands Office asks for:

• the administration order and the administrator's declaration;
• form T.F.704 from the Tax Department;
• form N313, the certificate that capital gains tax and the other taxes and levies on the property are settled;
• certificates from the local authorities that the local fees on the property are paid, sewerage and water fees included, or that the property is outside the water supply area;
• a copy of each applicant's identity document.

Step six: debts and estate distribution

The executor/administrator will need to pay off any debts as a matter of priority. If there are insufficient funds, then assets from the estate will need to be sold.

The executor or administrator will deduct professional fees and funeral expenses from the estate.

The executor or administrator pays out of the estate, in the order set by section 42 of Cap. 189:

1. the funeral expenses and the costs of the administration;
2. the executor's or administrator's fee;
3. the medical costs of the last illness and up to six months of unpaid domestic wages;
4. debts backed by security, in their own order;
5. all other debts.

Where heirs take the estate without a grant, each heir answers for the deceased's debts up to the value of the property he or she received, or of the proceeds of its sale.

The executor or administrator must pay every sum received into a bank account opened for the estate and make payments only by bank cheque or credit transfer, except where the court exempts the estate.

The remaining assets will be distributed among the beneficiaries.

Then, the beneficiaries will sign a declaration acknowledging that they have received the relevant assets and discharge the executor/administrator.

Step seven: final accounts

Under Cap. 189, the executor or administrator files the accounts of the administration in court within two years of the grant.

Where the administration is not finished by then, a statement of the reasons goes with them, and accounts follow every six months until it is. The accounts consist of the account of the administration with the related receipts, verified by affidavit.

Step eight: review and closure

The probate registrar examines the accounts in detail and can ask the executor or administrator to correct them within a set time. When the accounts are in order and the assets are distributed, the administration is complete.

Cost of probate

Costs and probate fees vary with the complexity and nature of the estate and with factors such as whether all the beneficiaries are in Cyprus and whether the will is foreign or Cypriot. Our minimum fee for probate is currently €3,000 plus VAT.

The court fees are small. Filing the application costs €11. The fee for the grant is €6 for every €2,000 of movable property, or part of it, up to €200, plus a fixed €96 where the estate includes immovable property. Each affidavit costs €4.

How long does probate take in Cyprus?

The duration of probate in Cyprus depends on the complexity of the estate. In our experience, the grant itself usually takes one to two months from the application.

The court cannot issue a grant earlier than seven days after an application for probate or for letters of administration with the will annexed, or 14 days after an application for letters of administration where there is no will, except where it directs otherwise. The administration takes longer than the grant: the statement to the Tax Department is due within six months of the death, and the accounts go to the court within two years of the grant.

Resealing a UK grant of probate

A grant of probate or letters of administration made by a court in the United Kingdom can be resealed by a Cyprus District Court under the Probates (Re-sealing) Law, Cap. 192. The resealed grant then has the same effect in Cyprus as a grant made there.

Cap. 192 applies to grants from courts in Her Majesty's dominions, which include the UK, and from British courts in other countries. For a grant from anywhere else, the executor or the heirs apply for a Cyprus grant.

Where another EU country bound by the Succession Regulation (all but Denmark and Ireland) deals with the succession and the death was on or after 17 August 2015, a European Certificate of Succession issued there takes effect in Cyprus without any special procedure. Land is still registered under Cyprus rules, and the Tax Department's written authorisation is still needed.

The resealing procedure runs like this:

1. The executor or administrator, or their attorney, applies to the District Court of a district where the deceased had property.
2. Notice of the application is published in the Official Gazette and in a Greek and a Turkish newspaper.
3. The hearing is at least seven days after the notices appear.
4. For letters of administration, the court asks for a bond covering the property in Cyprus.

An application made more than three years after the death needs an affidavit explaining the delay.

This route is common for British clients who hold property or a bank account on the island. We prepare the resealing application and run the Cyprus side of the estate.

Getting help with a Cyprus estate

Probate reaches the court, the Tax Department, banks, and the Land Registry. Our wills and probate lawyers act for executors, administrators, and heirs across the process, from the application for the grant or letters of administration to the final accounts. We work with clients in Cyprus and abroad, in English and Russian.