registering wills at the Court

[Brend]

Is it law that you register a will at the court?
I ask because we both registered ours. The only thing that we had in joint names in TRNC was the house. I lost my husband earlier this year and was advised to go to a Noter as it would be less expensive. I went to a Noter and he told me to go to the court house to retrieve my husbands will with the registered stamped number my passport his passport and death certificate. The clerk of the court wouldn't give it to me and told me that I had to get an advocate to access it.
It has now cost me £1900 to get the House put in my name only so if I decide to sell i can.
Brend

[a1sysman]

Is it law that you register a will at the court?
I ask because we both registered ours. The only thing that we had in joint names in TRNC was the house. I lost my husband earlier this year and was advised to go to a Noter as it would be less expensive. I went to a Noter and he told me to go to the court house to retrieve my husbands will with the registered stamped number my passport his passport and death certificate. The clerk of the court wouldn't give it to me and told me that I had to get an advocate to access it.
It has now cost me £1900 to get the House put in my name only so if I decide to sell i can.
Brend

Hi there

My wife and I had TRNC Wills drawn up a couple of months back. Our Wills are registered, envelopes wax sealed and held until required in a safe at the Court. Our advocate attended the Court with us and explained in plain English, step by step, what was happening.

Total cost of having the Wills drawn up, registered and stored was £300 each.

Our Wills are mirror Wills. Our Wills do not detail any specific assets. Our advocate advised it is better not to specify assets rather it is better to use legal wording that covers all one's assets assuming one wishes to leave all one's worldly (TRNC) assets to one's legal partner and in the event of their death preceding yours, to ...

Our advocate mentioned the practice of listing assets in Wills only complicated matters and required chargeable Will revision each time an asset listed in the current Will is sold or an additional asset purchased. The practice used by our advocate allows for the sale and purchase of assets willy nilly without the need to revise our Wills.

Our advocate advised it is not a requirement to engage an advocate to retrieve the Wills from the Court.

Rather than pay £1900 to get your house asset specified on your Will can I suggest it might be more efficient to consider having a new Will drafted along the lines as explained above. It would cost you in the region of £300 - I cannot be exact as costs may have risen since we had our Wills drawn up.

Our Girne based advocate: Funda Emin Kuşadalı
email: funda.lawfirm@yahoo.com or fundakusadali@yahoo.com

[Brend]

When we deposited our wills we did it ourselves and our wills were mirrored. Like you we just left all assets to each other. It didn't cost anything but a stamp (cant remember how much but wasn't a lot) It is the fact that I couldn't retrieve his will without an advocate that has infuriated me.

[Deniz1]

It is not a legal requirement to deposit your will with the court. Everything has to go through probate here by the way. A recent change in the law requires an advocate to retrieve a will. God knows why.

[snd1966]

It is not a legal requirement to deposit your will with the court. Everything has to go through probate here by the way. A recent change in the law requires an advocate to retrieve a will. God knows why.

probably they are fed up with people doing their own wills and registering them for a price of a stamp!

Sometimes you really can not believe what you hear but this is unbelievable when at your weakest you find what you think you have done correctly is going to cost an additional ............ just to retrieve and try and get your life back on track.

I really feel for you Brend

[Deniz1]

Brend is my friend and it has been a really difficult time for her she didnt need all that plus the expense!

[Brend]

Thank you Deniz for the help you constantly give me and snd1966 for your kind thoughts.
I wonder if I can retrieve my own will without getting an advocate so I can change it. I wont be registering that with the court!!

[flowerfairy]

So sorry for your loss Brend.
Just a thought... can you not just make a new will that cancels the will that is registered in the court?

[Brend]

Thank you for your thoughts flowerfairy.
I will make a new will anyway but will see if I can get my original one back without costing me.

[Deniz1]

Thats what friends are for Brend.

[sophie]

On a slightly different aspect of Wills, does anyone know what Solicitors(?) are charging these days to apply for Probate and is it still taking in the region of 18 months. I'm working on the theory that Solicitors(?) are charging mega bucks for performing this service as well as the any change in the will. Not being able to remove your own will from the Court without all this expensive rigmarole is ridiculous. We want to remove our mirror image wills before long to change the executors on the Wills so it might be cheaper to scrap the original wills and do them again.

[Kath]

If anyone wants to do a will themselves. I have a blank copy I can forward.

Sorry for your loss and the complications.

[Deniz1]

Dont name the advocate who draws up your will as executor as they take a large amount from your estate.

[sophie]

One further point, that is, if anyone knows for sure, can spouses be each others Executors. I feel sure someone I knew a few years past did this (nearly drove her mad, but at least it worked in the end) I don't want to ask an advocate, but I'm sure they will say "no you cant"

[Chriswright03]

Not too sure if this helps but the BRS are running a help class in respect of wills at the Colony Hotel on the 17th of November. Members only though by the look of it.

[Hector]

I agree with Deniz1. It is very sensible to appoint ones spouse/ partner to be ones sole executor and probably a lot cheaper and they have control, not your advocate. I would appoint your spouse etc. and add the wording ‘ but if they are unable or unwilling to act then I appoint X’ (not your advocate). I agree that you don’t have to deposit your will at the NC court. I think this practice is a left over from the British imperial days and of course advocates are only too willing to continue the practice. You can still lodge your will in the UK but it’s only done by the Royal family and others of the landed gentry to avoid disputes and due to settlement trusts.

[sophie]

Thanks for that Hector. Pretty sure your last sentence doesn't apply to us