How to Contest a Will in Cyprus

Through a will a person expresses the ways in which his or her material or financial assets are to be inherited by close relatives or by appointed persons or institutions. The assets are inherited only after the testator (the person who wrote the will) passed away. In some cases, the inheritors (or persons who were not entitled to any part of the inheritance, although they may have the legal right) may not agree with the stipulations of the testament. Persons who are in such a situation should know that they contest a will on several legal grounds, on which our team of Cypriot lawyers can offer you an in-depth presentation. 

 

 

Under the Cypriot law, all wills have to be prepared by local authorities; it the will has been signed in another country, the law will not recognize such a document. The local legislation has some particularities in which properties can be inherited by members of the family.

 

Although the testator has the legal right to express how his assets will be shared, there is a certain limitation in the sense that their estate should be shared by respecting a proportion imposed by the law; this type of inheritance can be left to particular members of the family. Our attorneys in Cyprus can provide more information on this aspect. 

 

The main rules of law for succession in Cyprus are the following:

 

• the Wills and Succession Law;

• the Administration of Estates Law;

• the Probates Law. 

 

 

In order to contest a will, a person should have a legal basis related to the way in which the inheritance was distributed or the way in which the document was signed. 

 

As a general rule, a person can contest a testament on the following grounds:

 

• the legal requirements under which the document was signed are not met;

• the person can prove that the testator did not have a legal capacity to establish a will;

• the person entitled with legal rights to execute a will committed a fraud at the time when the document was signed;

• mistakes that may appear in the document; 

• the proof of the fact that the testator signed the will without his or her consent, as a result of the influence of another person.

 

Persons who need counseling on the legal ways in which a testament can be contested in Cyprus can address to our Cypriot law firm for assistance or legal representation.