Will (Cyprus)
Published byDocMuse
This document is in Greek
The PDF you download is in Greek — that is the language it has to be filed in, so it is not translated. Everything on this page is here to tell you what it says.
A will under the Cypriot Wills and Succession Law (Cap. 195): an executor and a substitute, specific gifts, the rest of the estate and its shares, revocation of earlier wills or only for property in Cyprus, and a choice of the law of your nationality under EU Regulation 650/2012. It is signed at the end before two witnesses present at the same time, and the testator and both witnesses sign or initial every sheet. Note: where Cypriot law governs the succession — as it does for someone habitually resident in Cyprus who has not chosen another law — anyone who leaves a spouse, children or parents can leave only part of their estate freely.
What you fill in
The details the document asks for.
- Testator
- Testator's identity card or ARC number
- Date of birth
- Testator's nationality
- Testator's address
- Earlier wills: revoke them all, or only for property in Cyprus
- Executor
- Executor's identity card, ARC or passport number
- Executor's address
- Substitute executor (name and identity document)
- Specific gifts, and who receives each
- Who receives the rest of the estate, and in what shares
- Governing law: no choice, or the law of the testator's nationality (Art. 22, Regulation 650/2012)
- Other terms
- Number of sheets in the will
- City
- Date
- First witness
- First witness's identity card, ARC or passport number
- First witness's address
- Second witness
- Second witness's identity card, ARC or passport number
- Second witness's address
Preview
This document is produced for you. Your answers are typed into it and the finished PDF is yours to keep.
Common questions
- How is a will signed so that it is valid in Cyprus?
- Under section 23 of Cap. 195, the will is in writing and the testator signs it at the end before two witnesses present at the same time; the witnesses sign in the testator's presence and in each other's. If the will runs to more than one sheet, the testator and both witnesses sign or initial every sheet by hand, as the document itself says. Choose adult witnesses who receive nothing: a gift to a witness, or to a witness's spouse or child, is void. The will can be deposited for safekeeping at the District Court.
- Can I leave everything I own to whoever I like by will in Cyprus?
- Not if your estate is governed by Cypriot law — under EU Regulation 650/2012, when you are habitually resident in Cyprus at death and have not chosen another law — and you leave close family. Under section 41 of Cap. 195, if you leave a child or a child's descendant, you can leave only a quarter of the net estate freely; if you leave a spouse or parent but no children, a half; and only if you leave none of them, all of it. Gifts over the limit are cut down proportionately. Someone with a foreign nationality can choose its law in the will under Article 22 of EU Regulation 650/2012; speak to an advocate first.
- What can invalidate a will in Cyprus after it is signed?
- A later will that revokes it. In addition, under section 38 of Cap. 195, the testator's marriage after the will revokes it, and so does the birth of a child if the testator had no children when making it, unless the will itself shows that it was made in contemplation of that marriage or birth. So after a marriage or the birth of a child, make a new will; if you make it with a particular marriage in view, say so expressly in the will. After death, the executor applies to the District Court for probate under the Administration of Estates Law (Cap. 189), and only then can deal with the estate.
How you can sign this document
- Print it and sign by hand. The signature lines in the document are left blank on purpose — sign on them in ink.
- Sign it yourself with a qualified electronic signature. If you already hold a QES — Evrotrust, B-Trust, StampIT, ZealiD or any qualified provider on the EU Trusted List, on a card, a USB token, in a mobile app or in the cloud — our signing guide explains step by step how to sign this exact file without invalidating it. Step-by-step help, and a way to check it worked
DocMuse sells documents, not legal advice. Acceptance always depends on the recipient's rules and your local law.
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