Until July 2015, the law on Wills in Cyprus for UK nationals who owned assets in Cyprus was identical to the law on Wills in England & Wales. This enabled them to distribute their Cypriot assets though their Will without any restrictions or limitations.
This situation changed in July 2015 when the law on Wills in Cyprus was changed so that anyone who dies after this date, (irrespective of if, or when, they made a Will) and who has left assets in Cyprus is obliged to distribute a share of their estate to their spouse and/or their children, if they have any. For anyone who is married, their spouse will now not inherit all of their estate as the children of the deceased will also inherit a share. For anyone who has step children, they will now not be able to inherit a share of the whole estate, even if the estate is made up of assets left to their step parent by their natural parent. For anyone who wants to prevent a spouse or a child from inheriting some or all of their estate, the new change in law poses a significant problem because these people are now automatically entitled to a share of a Cypriot estate.
Fortunately there is an option for people to opt out of the Cyprus rules on estate distribution and to elect for their Cypriot assets to be distributed according to the law of their nationality. So UK nationals can elect for the laws of England and Wales, which place no restrictions or limitations on estate distributions, to apply to the distribution of their Cypriot estate. This election must be made in a Will or a Codicil, a document which updates but doesn't replace an earlier Will.