Administration of a Cyprus Estate

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idaNt289
Posts: 1
Joined: 25 Nov 2018 20:59

Administration of a Cyprus Estate

Post by idaNt289 »

Hi there,

I have a few questions and would be grateful for any assistance you may be able to give:

1. Myself and another UK resident were named as executors in a Cyprus will. We were told by a Cypriot lawyer in December 2015 (month of death) that Cyprus Law would not accept executors who are not resident in Cyprus and, therefore, we were advised that we had to renounce our executorships which we did and the lawyer was appointed administrator of the estate. Is this correct? Is there any basis on which we could have stayed on as executors, for example, could we have given a Cyprus lawyer power of attorney to deal with grant of probate and administration of the estate on our behalf? Alternatively, could we have appointed the lawyer to act jointly with us (as executors)?

2. With regard to legal fees, I note that the Cyprus Bar Association’s Minimum Fee Requirements (“MFR”) were abolished earlier this year following the decision of the EU Competition Commission. However, I am concerned that the legal fees for the estate which has not yet been completed may be driven by the MFR. Therefore, I would be grateful if you are able to let me have a copy of the MFR schedules of fees. I note that Nigel Howarth referred to these being available in a response back in December 2017.

Regards
David
Nigel Howarth
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Re: Administration of a Cyprus Estate

Post by Nigel Howarth »

Hi David and welcome to the forum.

To obtain probate the executor has to get the value of the deceased's estate and any liabilities. If the executor is not resident in Cyprus the court may appoint its own executor.

However, there is no problem if the executor is resident in Cyprus but they will need the services of a lawyer to handle the probate.

But you could have come to an agreement with the lawyer that you do the donkey work of valuing the assets and liabilities and the lawyer handles the probate.

Regarding the minimum fees - you can find these at Cyprus Bar Association Minimum Fee Regulations.

Have you discussed the fees the lawyer is going to charge the estate for acting as its executor?

Regards,
Nigel Howarth
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