# Bank account after death-what are the steps?



## Torto (Jan 4, 2014)

My close relative died and I am the only hair.
When I went to the bank, they told me, that they need a court decision and a document from the income tax(what(if) taxes are needed to be paid).
The amount in this account is very small(probably 1000-2000 euro), but it will be useful in this difficult time.
1)Any idea what are the processors?
2)Can I do this alone or it is necessary for an Attorney to be involved?


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## Veronica (Apr 5, 2008)

If there is property involved as well the estate would need to go through probate and that would cover everything including any bank accounts. If the bank account is the only thing, it could cost you more than the amount in lawyers fees to sort it out.


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## Torto (Jan 4, 2014)

Veronica said:


> If there is property involved as well the estate would need to go through probate and that would cover everything including any bank accounts. If the bank account is the only thing, it could cost you more than the amount in lawyers fees to sort it out.


Is it possible to do this alone, because of the small amount of the bank account?


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## nhowarth (Dec 6, 2017)

No, a lawyer has to submit the necessary papers to a court to apply for a grant of probate. (Probate can take a year or more to process.)

The law changed last year and lawyers can no longer base their charges on the minimum fee regulations. Suggest you shop around and get competitive quotes for the work.

Regards,


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## Torto (Jan 4, 2014)

nhowarth said:


> No, a lawyer has to submit the necessary papers to a court to apply for a grant of probate. (Probate can take a year or more to process.)
> 
> The law changed last year and lawyers can no longer base their charges on the minimum fee regulations. Suggest you shop around and get competitive quotes for the work.
> 
> Regards,


From the bank, I receive a different statement. They need a decision from the court(probably probate, they don't use this word) and they told me if the amount is small(below 10 000 euro) can take around a month.
I found the probate fee/tax of 5 %


> As regards the local lawyers' fees, these are set by the Cyprus Bar Association, and are usually set at 5% of the value of the Cyprus assets plus VAT and expenses. Probate Court filing fees vary between €300 – €800


.


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## nhowarth (Dec 6, 2017)

Torto said:


> As regards the local lawyers' fees, these are set by the Cyprus Bar Association, and are usually set at 5% of the value of the Cyprus assets plus VAT and expenses. Probate Court filing fees vary between €300 – €800


That's incorrect. Lawyers fees *ARE NOT* set by the Cyprus Bar Association (although many lawyers would like you to believe they are.)

Following a successful complaint to the European Commission by Fairness in Fees, the law requiring Cyprus lawyers to charge clients according to the Minimum Fee Regulations has been revised and the Minimum Fee Regulations abolished.

You can read more about this at Lawyers minimum fees in the bin.

Please let me know the name of the lawyer who is looking to charge the fees set by the Cyprus Bar Association and I'll make sure he/she is dealt with!!


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## Torto (Jan 4, 2014)

In summarise, what I can expect:
1)No lawyer will take the case because of the small amount
2)They will say to me 4000-5000 euro(several times over the size of the account), with the main idea to discourage me
3)They will charge me 250-500 euro, because they will want to take any money due to small paperwork and a small bank account.
Can you make a prediction?


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## nhowarth (Dec 6, 2017)

I can't predict Torto, I don't have a crystal ball. You need to phone around the law firms listed and get competitive quotes.

Cheers


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## Torto (Jan 4, 2014)

Ok, I will do this and inform the forum what happened(it will be useful info for other users).


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## Shotokan101 (Mar 29, 2019)

Torto said:


> Ok, I will do this and inform the forum what happened(it will be useful info for other users).



Thanks - I am sure that would be both useful and appreciated 

Jim


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