# Inheritance law



## Baywatch (Mar 30, 2014)

Has anyone read something about the new EU law that came into effect the 17th of August. 
It means that the inheritance law in the country you reside is valid, not the law of the country where you are citizen. But it can be changed with testament.

In Spain the children can inherit the parents debts


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## Talagirl (Feb 24, 2013)

*Wills - Clause 42*

The following article by the law firm of L.G. Zambartas LLC explains the implications of the recent changes to the Cyprus Wills and Succession law and the introduction of an EU regulation – and the steps that you should take to ensure that any assets (including property) that you own in Cyprus are disposed of in accordance with your final wishes. 

Although this article was written for a British audience, the recent changes to the law apply to all EU citizens: 

On August 17th, 2015 the EU Regulation number 650/2012 regarding International Jurisdiction and the applicable law relating to Wills and Succession in European Union countries, entered into force and as such it was adopted by Cyprus. When this Regulation was voted on July 4th, 2012 by the EU Parliament and before entering into force on August 17th, 2015, the Cypriot Wills and Succession Law, Cap. 195, was amended on July 3rd, 2015, as below.

In Cyprus the main change regarding Cap. 195, is that Clause 42 has been deleted from the said Law. Clause 42 stated that any person whose father was born in the UK or in any other member of the Commonwealth, may, whether domiciled or not, dispose all of his moveable and immovable property to any person by leaving a Will. Therefore the provisions of forced heirship stated in Clause 41 of Cap. 195 were avoided. In accordance with the provisions of forced heirship, if the testator has a spouse and children and afterward dies, then the heirs are entitled to inherit only the ¼ of his estate by Will and the rest ¾ will be shared among the heirs, according to the said Law. 

By the aforementioned amendment of the Cyprus Cap.195, British citizens who have a Cyprus Will are currently subject to Cyprus provisions of forced heirship, if they die on July 3rd, 2015 and onwards. This means that they are not able to dispose their Estate, both moveable and immovable, by Will, as they wish. 

However, under the above Regulation, EU citizens, including British citizens, who are not domiciled in Cyprus, will have a choice which law shall apply to their Wills at the time of their death. The choices they have are the following: a) The UK Law (Domicile of origin) or b) Cyprus Law (Domicile of habitual residence). 

In practice, this means that in the case of British citizens living in Cyprus with a current Cyprus Will, a Codicil to their Will must be signed and deposited to Court, with which they will clearly state that their Estate shall be governed by English Law, in order the applicable Law to their Wills to be the UK Law, covering their Cyprus assets. In such a way the Cypriot Law for forced heirship will not apply.

By: Louise Zambartas Published: Wednesday 16th September 2015

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Several other articles appearing in the free magazines and papers in Paphos. Also some seminars are being arranged. People we know are preferring to have a new Cyprus Will drawn up rather than add a Codicil to their Will.


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## Baywatch (Mar 30, 2014)

Talagirl said:


> The following article by the law firm of L.G. Zambartas LLC explains the implications of the recent changes to the Cyprus Wills and Succession law and the introduction of an EU regulation – and the steps that you should take to ensure that any assets (including property) that you own in Cyprus are disposed of in accordance with your final wishes.
> 
> Although this article was written for a British audience, the recent changes to the law apply to all EU citizens:
> 
> ...


This apply to all EU citizens. By a codicil you decide what law should be applicable


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## Nicodemous4u (Sep 27, 2015)

What if you have a British Will but reside in Cyprus ? Do you need to also have a Cyprus Will or do you just add a codicil to your British Will ?
Antony


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## Talagirl (Feb 24, 2013)

I was born in the UK and live in Cyprus. I have two wills known as mirror wills that cover my assets in Cyprus and my assets in the UK. It means that I do not have to wait for probate in one country to be completed before probate in the other country can commence - according to the lawyer who oversaw the drawing up of my last set of documents in 2014. I am adding a Codicil to my Cyprus Will and will attach a photocopy of the document to my UK Will in the meantime just to cover all bases.

A presentation about Wills, Succession and New EU Directive will take place on Wednesday 28 October at the Kamares Club, Tala, starting at 11 am. The talk will be given by Mark Tilden and will last for around an hour, with the opportunity for questions afterwards.

Coffee and cake will be available at the Club at a charge of €3 per person if required.
Seats will be limited - please could you email Cathi [[email protected]] if you wish to attend


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## PeteandSylv (Sep 24, 2008)

The simplified information I have received from White & Georgiou reads:

_The Law regarding Cyprus Wills changed on the 17th August 2015. All Wills must now state under which Countrys Law the will must be executed under.

If the Will is not changed then Cyprus Law will prevail and in Cypriot Law a person can only give 25% to a non family member.

The rest is divided by finding blood line.

I am now making appointments to make these changes. If you require me to do this for you please let me know, and let me know of any other changes you may require me to make to your original wills, ie address changes etc. Also I now require passport numbers which now have to be stated on the wills.

I have revised the prices for the EU Will rewrites so its not the same as the original charge, but we still have to do work, restamp and go to the court againl_

Although Carol White makes perfectly reasonable charges for doing this I think it rather annoying that €28 stamp duty needs to be paid to the Cyprus government per will for removal of the old deposited will and replacement with a new or amended will.

Thank you EU.

Pete


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## Baywatch (Mar 30, 2014)

PeteandSylv said:


> The simplified information I have received from White & Georgiou reads:
> 
> _The Law regarding Cyprus Wills changed on the 17th August 2015. All Wills must now state under which Countrys Law the will must be executed under.
> 
> ...


I must read bad, or what has EU to do with the 28€?


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## southcoastlady (Apr 18, 2015)

PeteandSylv said:


> The simplified information I have received from White & Georgiou reads:
> 
> _The Law regarding Cyprus Wills changed on the 17th August 2015. All Wills must now state under which Countrys Law the will must be executed under.
> 
> ...


Thanks for this Peter - very useful and we will act on it.


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## David_&_Letitia (Jul 8, 2012)

PeteandSylv said:


> The simplified information I have received from White & Georgiou reads:
> 
> _The Law regarding Cyprus Wills changed on the 17th August 2015. All Wills must now state under which Countrys Law the will must be executed under.
> 
> ...


Thanks for sharing this Pete.

I am assuming (always dangerous!) that this really only affects those with property and/or substantial money deposited in Cyprus? 

As our property remains in the UK and we transfer funds here every month or two, our UK wills will not be affected by the change?


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## PeteandSylv (Sep 24, 2008)

Baywatch said:


> I must read bad, or what has EU to do with the 28€?


Due to the change in EU legislation many of us will be required to change our wills to comply with the new requirements.

As this involves charges i.e. the €28 in Cyprus and whatever anywhere else, this charge has to be paid.

From my perspective there is no change to the intentions of my wills, I am merely having to pay to meet new EU legislation.

Hence my comment "Thank you EU".

In English we call this sarcasm which I am using to make a point.

Pete


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## PeteandSylv (Sep 24, 2008)

David_&_Letitia said:


> Thanks for sharing this Pete.
> 
> I am assuming (always dangerous!) that this really only affects those with property and/or substantial money deposited in Cyprus?
> 
> As our property remains in the UK and we transfer funds here every month or two, our UK wills will not be affected by the change?


I don't think the value of your estate and it's contents is the key issue. It is the intention of your will that is important and Cyprus law could over-ride how you wish to distribute your assets if the legal format of the will is incorrect.

As I understand it there will be no change to UK wills.

Pete


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## Baywatch (Mar 30, 2014)

PeteandSylv said:


> Due to the change in EU legislation many of us will be required to change our wills to comply with the new requirements.
> 
> As this involves charges i.e. the €28 in Cyprus and whatever anywhere else, this charge has to be paid.
> 
> ...


But for me the new EU law has made everything so much simpler. No more discussions about what law is applicable. The law where you are resident if you don't choose otherwise. That was far from clear before


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## Baywatch (Mar 30, 2014)

David_&_Letitia said:


> Thanks for sharing this Pete.
> 
> I am assuming (always dangerous!) that this really only affects those with property and/or substantial money deposited in Cyprus?
> 
> As our property remains in the UK and we transfer funds here every month or two, our UK wills will not be affected by the change?


I would check that out really well. 
As I read it it is the residence country laws that is applicable, where ever the property or cash are, if not changed in a will.

Interesting also that Denmark, UK and Ireland has not adopted this new law


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## PeteandSylv (Sep 24, 2008)

Baywatch said:


> I would check that out really well.
> As I read it it is the residence country laws that is applicable, where ever the property or cash are, if not changed in a will.
> 
> Interesting also that Denmark, UK and Ireland has not adopted this new law


I think you are wrong in your interpretation. Read carefully again the last paragraph of the Zambartas article in Talagirls early post. Also remember that domicile and residency are very different things in law.

In practical terms how could you force application of Cypriot inheritance laws in another country? Would Cyprus have the power to force the Swedish land registry, for example, to convey ownership out of Sweden to unknown people?

I don't believe even the EU could come up with a can of worms like that.

Pete


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## David_&_Letitia (Jul 8, 2012)

Baywatch said:


> I would check that out really well.
> As I read it it is the residence country laws that is applicable, where ever the property or cash are, if not changed in a will.
> 
> Interesting also that Denmark, UK and Ireland has not adopted this new law


I agree that I will need to check it out, because I'm simply not sure of where we stand.

However, my 'gut' feeling is that *IF* the UK has not adopted this new EU law, and *IF* our property, money and investments remain in the UK and *IF* we have a valid *UK will*, (all of which apply in our case) then we are not affected by this change. Although _residents_ in Cyprus, legally our _domicile_ remains in the UK.

As we rent here, the only tangible property we have is our car, which is registered in both of our names, and our furniture which is certainly not going to be an issue. We maintain a joint bank account here for monthly expenditure and Letitia is under no illusions that on my death, she is going to withdraw everything left in it. Possession is 9/10ths of the law, so they say!

Why do all EU laws seem to result in confusion and ultimately EU citizen's paying more money?


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## Baywatch (Mar 30, 2014)

PeteandSylv said:


> I think you are wrong in your interpretation. Read carefully again the last paragraph of the Zambartas article in Talagirls early post. Also remember that domicile and residency are very different things in law.
> 
> In practical terms how could you force application of Cypriot inheritance laws in another country? Would Cyprus have the power to force the Swedish land registry, for example, to convey ownership out of Sweden to unknown people?
> 
> ...


I read it in Swedish to not fall in the trap of poor language skills, and for me it is clear that it is the residence that decide what law is applicable. I have no doubts that all property is affected. Now, UK has not adopted the law so perhaps it is special.

But if 2 wills can be valid, I cant understand how that can be.


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## Baywatch (Mar 30, 2014)

David_&_Letitia said:


> I agree that I will need to check it out, because I'm simply not sure of where we stand.
> 
> However, my 'gut' feeling is that *IF* the UK has not adopted this new EU law, and *IF* our property, money and investments remain in the UK and *IF* we have a valid *UK will*, (all of which apply in our case) then we are not affected by this change. Although _residents_ in Cyprus, legally our _domicile_ remains in the UK.
> 
> ...


I checked with my lawyer today morning. If you have assets in different countries you need a will for each country OR a worldwide will but then you need probates in each country.

If you have a will in more then one country you also need a codicil together with each will. However if you have assets in UK, Ireland or Denmark, that country's law will be applicable


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## David_&_Letitia (Jul 8, 2012)

Baywatch said:


> I checked with my lawyer today morning. If you have assets in different countries you need a will for each country OR a worldwide will but then you need probates in each country.
> 
> If you have a will in more then one country you also need a codicil together with each will. However if you have assets in UK, Ireland or Denmark, that country's law will be applicable


That's great news, Anders - many thanks for passing on the professional advice. As we only have a UK will and all of our assets are (and will remain) in the UK, this is good news for us.


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## Baywatch (Mar 30, 2014)

David_&_Letitia said:


> That's great news, Anders - many thanks for passing on the professional advice. As we only have a UK will and all of our assets are (and will remain) in the UK, this is good news for us.


Then you are more lucky than us. We need wills in Sweden Germany and Spain. Only have here. As I understand it, probat is no good idea


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## PeteandSylv (Sep 24, 2008)

Baywatch said:


> Then you are more lucky than us. We need wills in Sweden Germany and Spain. Only have here. As I understand it, probat is no good idea


From what you have written you may have misunderstood the meaning and purpose of probate.

It is the process by which a deceased's estate is distributed under a will. Depending on the laws of the country concerned this may involve an executor, administrator or a court.

Pete


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## Baywatch (Mar 30, 2014)

PeteandSylv said:


> From what you have written you may have misunderstood the meaning and purpose of probate.
> 
> It is the process by which a deceased's estate is distributed under a will. Depending on the laws of the country concerned this may involve an executor, administrator or a court.
> 
> Pete


For me it means that I need a executor or such in each country. It seem to me that this is no good idea. Will probably be expensive


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## PeteandSylv (Sep 24, 2008)

Baywatch said:


> For me it means that I need a executor or such in each country. It seem to me that this is no good idea. Will probably be expensive


There will be fees if you use a professional but your will can appoint a non-professional such as a relative to be the executor. They can then choose to carry out the task themselves or appoint someone else.

Whichever way you choose there will be no cost to you.

Pete


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## Talagirl (Feb 24, 2013)

I attended a presentation attended by about 150 people given by Mark Tilden earlier today about the EU Directive 650/2012 which came into effect on 17 August 2015 regarding Wills and Succession. Until then all British people could make a Cyprus Will leaving their assets to anyone they wished. However, since 17 August 2015 the Cypriot rules of 'forced heirship' will apply.

The presentation was professional and unbiased and in less than an hour he covered many topics and possible scenarios regarding the importance of being aware of the new EU Directive and taking action to ensure the wishes of the deceased were carried out. 

The question and answer session afterwards provided more valuable information and I would recommend anyone to go along to a presentation on this topic or contact Mark Tilden or any other lawyer that specialises in Wills to discuss individual matters.


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## Talagirl (Feb 24, 2013)

Here is the link to the presentation I attended with some more detailed information:

TALA COMMUNITY NEWS: SUCCESSION IN THE EU & CYPRUS - NOTES OF MEETING AT KAMARES CLUB - 28 October 2015


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