Drakos

Other Areas of Practise

Our Law Firm is determined to maintain old professional relationships and to create new links fostering the hope of a mutual understanding with our clients, maintaining the confidentiality which must be met. Our fees are extremely reasonable with a clear appreciation of our clients’ requirements. Our costs ate relatively lower not because of lack of experience but rather in large organizations they do normally recruit more staff. Others cannot afford to charge less. To give us the opportunity can be the ideal solution.

Additional Legal Services

• Administrative and Constitutional law: We have extensive knowledge and experience in administrative and constitutional cases.  We also advice both private and public sector clients, on the legal and public policy implications of changes in legislation. 
• Civil Litigation: we cover all areas of civil litigation, dealing in matters to do with banking and insurance law, personal injury claims, breaches of contract, and administrative law.  
• Commercial Property: We advise on acquisitions and disposals of commercial properties, landlord and tenant matters, lettings, sales, developments and contracts, insolvency work and planning applications.
• Commercial Litigation: We offer expertise in the resolution of disputes arising in the corporate and commercial sectors including banking transactions, civil fraud, mergers and acquisitions, reorgansation of share capital and professional negligence. 
• Company law: Our legal advocates are able to offer guidance on company directors’ rights, duties and responsibilities, company secretarial matters and shareholder’s rights.  We also offer services regarding the incorporation of companies and have a variety of shelf companies available.
• Contract Law: Our legal team can assist and offer advice on negotiating and drafting contracts.  We ensure that the contract is tailored to our clients’ needs and that the suitable clauses are included in the contract in order to protect our client from every unforeseeable event. 
• Criminal Law: We advise and appear in court on behalf of defendants and deal with a wide variety of offences from minor motoring offences to more serious crimes including premeditated murder and rape. We have extensive experience in dealing with criminal cases both at the First Instance Court and Appeal Court.  
• Employment Law: Our legal team is able to handle all areas of employment law including discrimination and employee representation.
• European Union Law:  Cyprus officially became a member of the EU in 2004.  Our legal team is able to offer expertise advice on competition litigation, state aid questions, EU law in general, as well as European Patent Law. 
• Family Law: We deal with all legal matters relating to marriage, separation, divorce as well as the issues relating to children.  Our expertise also encompasses financial negotiations and inheritance issues, as well as child abduction.  
• Federalism and Local self-government: mention diploma in fed 
• Human Rights: Our Human Rights department occupies a central position in the variety of legal expertise offered by our company.  The domestic law of 8 (III)/95 enacted The European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms.   We have successfully handled a variety of human rights cases read more landmark cases. 
• Immigration: Our firm offers legal advice and assistance to help foreigners obtain a work and resident permit, as well as the acquisition of Cypriot Citizenship and long term residence status.  
• Intellectual Property: We offer guidance in trademarks and other related rights. 
• Shipping Law: we offer a wide spectrum of services including the registration of ships in Cyprus.
• Legal Aid: Mr. Drakos successfully handled two high profile cases, which resulted in the implementation of the Legal Aid Act in 2002.  

Drafting of a will, administration of a deceased estate
As soon as you have signed a contract to buy a property in Cyprus, I strongly recommend that you get an independent lawyer to draw up a Will covering those assets you hold in Cyprus. The consequence of passing away without making a Will covering your property and other possessions can be extremely serious.
Many home buyers assume that if their property is held in joint names then on the death of one party the property passes automatically to the other joint owner; this is not the case in Cyprus.
If you have a Will in your existing country of residence, do not rely on that Will to deal with your assets in Cyprus without having sought expert legal advice from a lawyer experienced in dealing with Succession Law in Cyprus. We strongly recommend that you have a separate Cyprus Will drawn up that deals exclusively with your assets held in Cyprus:

• In England, if a husband and wife own a property, they are considered as joint tenants, which is a form of holding title where the owners have 100% rights of survivorship unless redirected by a Will. Where a joint tenant dies, their share of the property automatically passes to the survivor.
• In Cyprus, if a husband and wife own a property, they are considered as tenants in common, which is a form of co-ownership by which each owner holds an undivided interest in real property as if they were the sole owner. Unlike joint tenants, tenants in common have right of inheritance. When a tenant in common dies, their share of the property does NOT automatically pass to the survivor.

In Cyprus, the property passes in accordance with the terms of their Cyprus Will or the Cyprus intestacy provisions. It is most important to make a Will in Cyprus to cover the distribution of your home and other assets owned on the island. This will avoid the complications that would arise from the conflict of two different legal systems.
If you have assets in the UK (or any other country) then you generally need to have one Will covering those assets and a second Will covering your assets held in Cyprus. If one of these Wills is made at a later date it does not revoke the first Will. Great care has to be taken in the review and wording of the two Wills.
You are free to appoint whoever you wish to act as the executors of your Will. However, if you appoint a non-Cypriot resident as your executor, perhaps one or more of your children, then this could involve them in a lot of expense visiting the island to sort out your estate.
An alternative approach would be to appoint us as residents in Cyprus, as your executors. We can help you with the execution of your Will and deal appropriately with your probate.

Real Estate in Cyprus

• Assistance in finding ideal option for property purchase
• Legal and administrative support in obtaining the loan for real state investment
• The acquisition of immovable property by EU citizens
• A national of an EU member country is permitted to own as much ‘immovable property’ (a term that includes both land and property) as they wish
• Once the Title Deeds for the property they are buying become available, the clients are required to provide proof of their citizenship by taking their passport to the Land Registry when they pay the Property Transfer Fees.
• The acquisition of immovable property by non-EU citizens
  A national of a non-EU country must seek the approval of the ‘Council of Ministers’ before they can own any type of immovable property. Furthermore, unless there are exceptional circumstances, their ownership will be limited to:

1. An apartment
2. A house
3. A building plot or land up to approximately three donums (4,014 sq. m)
   (In exceptional circumstances, the Council of Ministers will grant permission to own more than one building. For example, if you are a property developer and wish to take over a hotel).
• Preparation of Sale/Purchase Agreement
• Review, drafting and conclusion of rental agreements
• Property Management for foreigners
• Local tax issues in relation to rental income, capital gains and annual real estate taxes