Who inherits without a will in Cyprus?
In Cyprus the spouse and the children share the estate in equal parts, and the spouse takes more when there are no children.
Updated October 2026. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.
A spouse and children survive
The net estate is divided in equal parts between the spouse and the children.
A spouse survives, but no children
If siblings or parents survive, the spouse takes half the net estate. If there are no relatives up to the fourth degree, the spouse takes three quarters. In all other cases the spouse takes everything.
No spouse: who comes next
Relatives up to the sixth degree may become heirs under the Wills and Succession Law. The official page does not set out their order.
A partner who is not married
The official fact sheet does not describe rights for unmarried or registered partners. Treat an unmarried partner as having no automatic right and take advice.
What a will cannot take away
Children may claim up to a quarter of the net estate. If there is no child but a surviving spouse or parent, the claim is up to a half.
If the person or the property is abroad
In this EU country the Succession Regulation applies to people who die after 16 August 2015: the whole estate is generally governed by the law of the country where the person had their habitual residence at death, unless they chose the law of their nationality in a will. A foreigner living here, or a citizen living abroad, can therefore be governed by a different law than the one described on this page.
Understand the legal system first
Cyprus belongs to the Mixed: civil and common law family. Succession law grows out of the legal tradition, so it helps to know how the system works.
Read the Cyprus legal-system profile in the Legal Families Atlas →
Who owns what in a marriage in Cyprus? →
Official sources
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TheLawToKnow Tools’s inheritance guide is an educational overview of general rules. It is not legal advice, and it does not replace the official source or a lawyer in the country. Report a mistake.
