I need some help - Cyprus

trinidadone

My father (pops) passed away in Cyprus.

Pops had dual citizenship and was living in Cyprus at the time.

While I have been applying for the uk probate the British HM Courts and Tribunals Service have requested a copy of the Cyprus will. Does anyone know why they will need to see a copy of this will, as I have provided them with the original UK will?

The British HM Courts and Tribunal Service has also enquired about a inheritance certificate issued by Cyprus, does anyone know what this is, and again why do they need to see this?

I have also been asked to produce a Affidavit of Foreign Law from someone conversant with the inheritance laws of Cyprus confirming who is beneficially entitled to the estate of the deceased under Cypriot inheritance laws. It should also confirm that the deceased died intestate in Cyprus.

I have been told, the affidavit can be provided by a solicitor in the uk, but must be qualified to practice law in Cyprus. I did a google search, and contacted a few solicitors who specialise in Cyprus Lay in the UK. One solicitor said they can sort this all out for me, but it would cost between 4 - 6 thousand pounds. This was far outside my disposable income, and seemed to be quite a lot.

Another solicitor said he would need to talk to me first, and a 30 minute conversation would cost £250.00

I was wondering if anyone had any answers to the above questions, and also can anyone recommend a solicitor who practises Cyprus Law. I dont want to be ripped off, and I would of thought, the information I need would not cost too much.

I am located in South London.

One last thing, I have discovered a will belonging to my late father in Cyprus. The will states clearly, his estate should be left to his wife. Unfortunately, his wife passed away before he did. The will makes no reference to his children benefiting from his estate. Would it help my probate application, if I passed on the will to British HM Courts and Tribunals Service, or will it make things worse, as none of his children are mentioned???

One last thing, There was a court inquest, starting in October 2025. Would this court inquest be completed now, and would I receive a report?

Any offers of help, greatly appreciated.

Annemos

I am very sorry to hear of your Father's passing. We have been dealing with our Mum's, but that is just in the UK. Yours does look much more involved. Wishing you all the very best in sorting it out.

I took a quick look in Google Search and came up with these two links. Maybe they will be of some use to help you on your way?

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This link seems to be for the general rules. I am no expert, but it seems to say they normally use the EU country the person was last living in for the inheritance. (Unless the person had made a "choice of law" saying they wanted their country of nationality to be used for the inheritance instead. You can click in to see just how that "choice of law" had to be done to apply.)

https://europa.eu/youreurope/citizens/family/inheritances/managing-inheritance/index_en.htm

https://europa.eu/youreurope/citizens/family/inheritances/managing-inheritance/index_en.htm

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In the above there is also this link below for Cyprus.

This is re Succession Laws in Cyprus. (I am no expert, but it does seem to address if there is a Cyprus will, but the person to inherit, his wife, had already passed away. And then it goes on to discuss the order of succession that then follows from that.) It also discusses the Affidavit issue.

https://www.supremecourt.gov.cy/Judicial/SC.nsf/All/E3A56C7D44C09739C2258A630030E49D?OpenDocument

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And this link here describes how the UK fits in. It discusses 2 wills in both countries.

https://www.expertsforexpats.com/advice/expat-money-and-finance/expat-wills

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No Inheritance Tax in Cyprus, apparently.

https://enalian.com.cy/cyprus-inheritance-laws-tax-implications/

Keep_pedalling

Where was your father actually domiciled? This is a;ways the same place you live.

Was the Cypriote will written before he had children? I ask because Cypress has forced heirship rules meaning you can’t leave everything to a spouse when you have children.

poseidon1

OP despite being considerably out of your depth in this matter you seem intent on progressing as best you can.

You have provided very little relevant information so I ask the following :

1. Was your father a British Citizen who later acquired Cypriot citizenship or vice versa?
2. Did your father spend most of his adult life in UK but later retired to Cyprus hence the exsistence of a UK will?
3. You mention an inquest into your father's death. In UK or Cyprus, and were there suspicious circumstances or questions related to his passing that justified an inquest?
4. Did your father own a UK home if so what was its value on death? Similarly did he own a Cyprus property and what was its value? Are these properties to be sold once probate in each jurisdiction obtained?
5. Apart from property ( if any) did your father have any cash assets in UK and Cyprus?
6. There seems to be a UK will, are you the named sole executor? If not who are the executors if more than one?
7. Who are the beneficiaries of the UK will?
8. Is there a possibilty that UK inheritance tax is due and payable on the value of the assets in England and Cyprus? If so you have already missed the 6 month deadline for settlement. I note in this regard your mother(?) predeceased your father, did he inherit anything from her and when did she die?

@Annemos has provided helpful links which relate to the legal aspects of dealing with crossborder estates but given your complete lack of knowledge it would be dangerous for you to continue trying to deal with this matter without competent professional assistance. Duties imposed on executors are onerous with potential penalties if you go astray.

You mention you have had a solicitor quote of 4 to 6 thousand pounds to sort out your father's estate. If your father owned property in both countries, in my view the quote is too low for a London based solicitor who has competency in Cross border estate administration where real estate is involved.

In any event solicitor's fees are a liability of your father's estate not a cost to you, so your income ( or lack of) should be irrelevant here.

If you father did own property in both jurisdictions, my strong reccomendation is you consult the STEP directory to find a suitably qualified lawyer. STEP is the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners, and their members have a much higher degree of training and experience in estate matters compared to the average High Street lawyer. You could check if the firm that gave you the quote are affiliated to STEP, although I suspect not.

Link to STEP below:

https://www.step.org/about-step/public

If your father had no property assets in either jurisdiction and only modest cash assets, getting a STEP qualified lawyer involved would likely be an unjustifiable expense.

trinidadone

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81954046#Comment_81954046

Thank you for your response, this was most helpful. So sorry to hear about mum, but a massive well done for taking on the roll. So sorry for your loss, you have got this xx

trinidadone

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81954190#Comment_81954190

Good morning, and thank you for your contribution Keep_pedalling. I will try and answer your questions.

Pops was domiciled in Cyprus, sorry if I did not make that clear.

No, both wills were drawn up while he had children. All children were estranged from Pops. I can only assume the Cyprut will may of been drawn up before those rules.

trinidadone

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81954310#Comment_81954310

Thank you for your detailed response and questions. The Moneysaving expert site encourages individuals to apply for the probate themselves, and even has good advise. Mine has been a little more challenging, as there is another country involved. I was originally quoted to pay £2800 for a solicitor to carry out what I have completed already.

Sorry you belive I have provided vague informatioon, I actually hah concerns I typed too much, as the first thread is qquite long.

This is the first time I have undertaken Probate before, so sorry if you feel I have not included relavant information. I will try abnd do some answers:

1. Yes to the first answer.
2. Yes to the second answer
3. This was in Cyprus, no there was no suspicious circumstances. I was told this is routine / paper exercise which is why I was reaching out for more info.
4. 4. No UK home.
5. Cash in both countries
6. As mentioned, two blood children, and one step child is on the will. Everything was left to his wife, but she passed previousely. so the children were then named.
7. The beneficiaries is the same as answer 6
8. No inheritance tax will need to be paid, as it is below the thresh hold. Yes he did inherit his wife's will.
9. Thank you for letting me know about the step directory. There is property in Cyprus, Pops had a solicitor inplace for Cyprus.

RAS

Just double checking that he was resident in Cyprus(Greek/southern) not the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus?

poseidon1

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81954424#Comment_81954424

OK with no UK home and an overall estate well below the IHT threshold, UK tax not an issue but there are still complexities not the least being the exsistence of the Cypriot Will solely in favour of the predeceased spouse.

Were it not for that will you would proceed with obtaining English probate on the UK Will if it purported to cover his world wide estate. A UK based lawyer with rights of audience in Cyprus could then arrange to reseal the UK grant of probate in Cyprus. Cyprus is one of the foreign jurisdictions that would recognise the validity of an English will in respect of Cypriot property but only under specific conditions.

The complication is of course the Cypriot will which does not mention your father's children in the event his wife predeceased him ( which has occurred).

As @Keep_pedalling indicated Cyprus does have forced heirship rules that cannot ordinarily be overridden by a Cypriot will. However, forced heirship does not apply where the deceased was born in the UK or the commonwealth as indicated in the article below, and non Cypriots are free to dispose of their estates anyway they wish -

https://www.legal500.com/wp-content/uploads/assets/legal500/images/stories/firmdevs/andr10417/cyprussuccessionlawplanning07.pdf#:~:text=In%20contrast%20to%20its%20English%20counterpart%2C%20the,out%20in%20the%20Wills%20and%20Succession%20Law.

Accordingly, you may now be in a position where there are two valid wills, each having to be probated in their respective jurisdictions.

I suspect you have no option but to reveal the existence of the Cyprus Will to the UK probate authorities, since that Will likely takes precedence in dealing with your father's Cypriot possessions.

The Cypriot lawyer will need to advise on whether the surviving children are now able to step into their mother's shoes ( as ultimate beneficiaries) , if there were no other default beneficiaries mentioned in your father's will in the event she predeceased him. This seems to be a matter to be determined under Cypriot law of wills and succession assuming the Will remains valid under these circumstances.

Therefore prior to proceeding further with UK probate, best obtain legal input on the validity or otherwise of the Cypriot Will and whether despite the children not originally being mentioned, you may all have nonetheless inherited by operation of Cypriot law.

MSE maybe a champion DIY administration of estates, but not where there are crossborder complexities and potential conflicts of law arise as a result. MSE forum contributors simply do not have the knowledge base in such situations.

Mands

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6663193/i-need-some-help-cyprus

Ok, there's a lot to unpack there. I am a UK national, resident for tax purposes in Cyprus, domiciled in the UK and have personally dealt with a Cyprus probate case in the last 5 years.

In no particular order:

• No IHT in Cyprus on Cypriot assets
• Forced heirship is in place. UK nationals CAN opt out of it but it has to be written into their Cypriot wills. Was it?
• Inquests for age-related deaths are pretty unusual. How old was Pops?
• If the inquest was in October 2025 I'd suggest there's a snowball-in-hell's chance that a report has been produced yet
• Cyprus probate can not be completed without a tax certificate. Are his Cyprus tax returns finished and submitted for each and every tax year including the year of his death?
• You said he had dual-citizenship. Do you really mean that or did he just have residency?
• Instead of using a UK lawyer conversant in Cypriot law flip that. Use a Cypriot lawyer who was initially registered in UK

People who might be helpful:

Louise Zambartas at Zambartas Law. Uk trained, now operating here.

https://www.zambartaslawoffices.com/louise-zambartas/

Wayne Barrett at Maplebrook. Excellent on probate AND cross border issues, in particular IHT.

https://www.maplebrookservices.com

Finally:

It's Easter here. If you bounce off emails don't expect responses quickly. The island is shutting down for the biggest religious holiday of the year, no one is doing anything right now.

trinidadone

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81954501#Comment_81954501

Its strange, because the HM Courts & probate service ask this. Pops was in the southern part of the country. What would be the realavance on which part of the country Pops resigned in?