There is a lot of confusion and misunderstanding here in Cyprus about this. The main principles are as follows:
CYPRUS WILLS
a) The will must be signed by the testator ( a person who has made a will ) or a person authorised by him/her in the testator’s presence and under his/her directions.
b) The testator must sign in the presence of at least two witnesses who will sign the will in the presence of each other and in the presence of the testator.
c) Each page of the will must be signed or initialled by the testator (or his representative) and the witnesses.
d) The will is unbound.
It is not compulsory for a will to be stamped at the time of signature nor filed at the Court.
A will is only required to be stamped before being submitted for Probate but as stated there is no need to even store it at the Court. The will should obviously be stored somewhere safe and where executors will be able to locate it at the relevant time. Obviously, the storage facility at the Court is useful if there is any concern about the secure storage of the document. However, every time a will is required to be amended additional recovery, stamping and re-filing charges will be incurred.
ENGLISH WILLS
a & b) Still apply, however,
c) The will is only required to be signed on the last page and therefore the witnesses are unable to read the details contained within the will.
d) The will is bound.
The Court in Paphos will obviously not accept a standard U.K. will for storage as it will be drafted in a different format. Apart from the security angle there is little point in storing a U.K. will there as it will not be submitted to the authorities in Cyprus post death. We at Maplebrook Services are able to offer a secure facility in the U.K. for such storage, providing waterproof & secure containers with insurance cover, at a reasonable cost, which can accept various documents such as a Lasting Power of Attorney and other valuable documents including Cyprus wills.
For further information, please contact Wayne Barnett FCA ; MIPW ; STEP Affiliate on 26600780 / 99147650 or [email protected]
