Wills

[Deniz1]

Has anyone made a will using a notary? I believe its much cheaper than a solicitor.

[tomsteel]

You do not either of them.

[The Dog Walker]

Don't understand message 2, but Yes, I used a Notary for my Will.-Very efficient, copies in both English and Turkish, officially stamped and much, much cheaper than the Solicitor we used when we first came here.

[Deniz1]

Thank you does he register it at the court too?

[tomsteel]

You can complete a will in the TRNC without the need for either a notary or advocate, if. Soner placed a template on this site. Once completed, you need to contact your local court to register it. Passport, photocopies, stamps, fees to be paid and it is a simple process.. There have been numerous threads on this topic before.

[The Dog Walker]

Our earlier Wills, which were done by a Solicitor, were not registered in the Court. We only found this out when we wanted to change them and learned that they were retained in his office! Surprise, surprise! So, my current Will,completed by the Notary, has not been lodged either. I was told that it was advisable, but not mandatory, provided the right people knew where it was kept.

[davedee]

The Dog walker, yes I was given same info.

[Denise13]

if you have the template you just need 2 witnesses and a 48tl stamp from the post office then register at the courts with no extra charge.

[Deniz1]

Thanks everyone.

[Deniz1]

Where might the template be found on here?

[stellasstar1]

I've just had a look, and the British Residence Society have it on their website to print off. It's a basic one page and simple to fill in.

[Deniz1]

Thanks.

[flowerfairy]

has anyone else heard that if you do your will with a solicitor, they take a percentage of your estate before your
beneficiary receives their inheritance, or is this just another 'Cyprus whisper' ?

[tomsteel]

Ref msg 13 - if your executor is a 'professional' he/she is entitled to charge for the work. The advice given in previous posts is to always ask what the charge will be, if you agree to it, get it written down and signed/witnessed/dated by both parties. Our latest will has bypassed our advocate (who, incidentally just disappeared with our file (later recovered by Girne BARO) and still one years fees paid up front). We now have a TC (family friend) agreed to act as our executor. Nothing is ever simple here - but that's the charm of the place I guess!

[mrsgee]

We went to the Citizens Advice about this as our friends wanted to make wills. We already had one that we made12 years ago here. We then realised, after talking with Pembe, and reading other posts on this forum that our 'Solicitors' at the time had nominated themselves as executors. Pembe confirmed that as they had not stated in the will how much they would take for their services, they could charge anything. So, we asked Pembe if we could do it ourselves. She confirmed yes, no problem, or she could draft them. There would of course be a charge if she did it but that is less than Solicitors would charge. Our wills are simple, so we just used the one that our original solicitors did, typed it all up, and nominated friends as executors. Pembe told us what to do, so off we went down to the court house, made an appointment with the lady down there, and took our receipts from our original wills which were lodged there. It was a very simple process, I think in total cost us less than 50tl each, for stamps. The lady retrieved our old wills and tore them up in front of us, then checked the new ones, and got us to sign, and our witnesses to sign in front of her. The witnesses can be the executors but cannot be beneficiaries, by the way. She then put them into envelopes, sealed them with sealing wax, and they are now lodged in the courts. She issues a receipt with a number on which is used to retrieve them. I would advise anyone who is not sure to go to the citizens advice service in the row of shops by Erdener Supermarket. It was a very simple process and we are now happy that we are not going to get fleeced for who knows how much by the Solicitors acting as executors. Hope that this helps.

[guru]

Very informative thank you mrs gee, think we are going to do that.

[tomsteel]

mrsgee, are you +ve your witnesses need to attend the registration at Girne Court? Certainly, when we registered our first will, our witnesses we're not there.

[mrsgee]

Yes, the witnesses had to be there. And had to show passports for ID, and give passport numbers. Otherwise I guess you could have signed yourself, changed your writing slightly, and pretended to be a witness???? Better to be safe than sorry if it is contested.

[tomsteel]

mrsgee - thanks. I need to check it out. Our witnesses will soon be heading back to UK - gulp!

[stellasstar1]

If you use a notary does it HAVE to be registered at court, and if you do have to register at court, if the notary has witnessed the signatures do the witnesses still have to go to court to register it.

[The Dog Walker]

Stellasstar -- see postings 6 and 7.

[stellasstar1]

Thanks Dog Walker. I was sure I had seen the answer, yet when I went on without actually logging in, it wasn't there !!??, now I've logged in I can see it. Strange old world - maybe my eyesight is getting worse.