INHERITANCE LAW IN TURKEY: GUIDE TO ESTATE DISTRIBUTION & LITIGATION

Inheritance law in Turkey is the branch of private law that governs the fate of a deceased person’s transferable assets (active estate) and liabilities (passive estate) upon their death or situations legally equivalent to death (e.g., declaration of absence, presumption of death). The primary legal source of inheritance law in Turkey is the Turkish Civil Code No. 4721 (TCC). Articles 495 to 682, framed under Book Three titled “Inheritance Law” of the TCC, systematically and imperatively regulate statutory heirship, reserved portions, wills, estate determination, and estate division. The Turkish private law system is rooted in the protection of private property and the principle of continuity of ownership.

The cornerstone of Turkish inheritance law is the principle of universal succession. The opening of an estate and its core provisions are directly regulated under Article 575 et seq. of the TCC. Pursuant to TCC Article 599, the estate passes to the heirs automatically (ipso iure) upon the death of the deceased, without requiring any further legal transaction, determination, or registration decision. As a natural consequence of universal succession, heirs become successors to the deceased’s rights of ownership, possession, and claims; conversely, they also become jointly and limitlessly liable for all debts of the deceased—not only with the estate’s assets but also with their personal property.

Since inheritance law regulations in Turkey rely on mandatory statutory provisions concerning public order and local legal norms, strict compliance with procedural rules and statutory time limits, along with professional legal guidance, is essential to prevent loss of rights regarding the determination of heirship, ownership rights in the estate, reserved portion ratios, and liability regimes for debts.

WHEN DOES AN INHERITANCE OPEN IN TURKEY?

Under Article 575 of the Turkish Civil Code (TCC), the inheritance opens automatically upon the death of the deceased; no separate court decision and no formal notification by the heirs is needed for this legal situation to arise. Under Turkish law the moment of death is, as a rule, the moment of biological death; however, in cases of the presumption of death and of a declaration of absence the person is deemed to have died in law, so the inheritance opens in the same way. Under the mandatory provisions of the Code, gifts relating to the inheritance made during the deceased’s lifetime and dispositions dividing the estate are assessed in law only according to the actual state of the estate at the moment of death. Accordingly, the inheritance is deemed to have opened as of the moment of the deceased’s death, and all the rights and debts in the estate pass to the heirs as a whole.

The concept of the “opening of the inheritance” used in the wording of the Code also means that the dispositions made on death that concern the inheritance (wills and inheritance contracts) come into force in law and produce their effects. Once the inheritance opens in Turkey, alongside the statutory heirs who take under the law, the appointed heirs designated by the deceased’s own disposition and the legatees also become entitled to the estate. In short, in Turkey the inheritance that opens on the death of the deceased puts in place all the legal conditions needed for the transfer of the rights in the estate, for the start of the time limits for rejecting the inheritance (TCC Art. 606) and, finally, for the process of distributing the estate.

• Which Court Has Jurisdiction for the Opening of an Inheritance in Turkey?

Under Article 599 of the Turkish Civil Code (TCC) all the rights and debts relating to the inheritance pass to the heirs automatically and as a whole (the principle of universal succession) at the moment the deceased dies; this transfer covers both the assets in the estate and the deceased’s liabilities (debts).

Under the mandatory provision of TCC Art. 576, the inheritance opens for the whole of the estate before the court of the deceased’s last place of residence. This rule is a rule of exclusive jurisdiction. Accordingly, in Turkey;

• the action for the annulment of dispositions made on death,
• the reduction lawsuit brought where a reserved share has been infringed,
• the action for the division of the estate,
• the action for recovery of the estate and all other basic actions arising from succession law must be heard by the Civil Courts of Peace or the Civil Courts of First Instance of the deceased’s last place of residence.

Where the date and the moment of death are uncertain, bringing an “action for the determination of death” is a legal necessity in order to clarify who holds the rights in the estate. In this action all the statutory and appointed heirs of the person alleged to have died must be joined as parties; otherwise the heirship relationship and the transfer of ownership do not become final in law, because the proper parties are missing.

• What Does Capacity to Inherit Mean in Turkish Law?

For a person to acquire rights as an heir or as a legatee in Turkey, that person must be alive at the moment the inheritance opens and must have capacity to inherit (TCC Arts. 577-580). Capacity to inherit means, as a rule, that the two conditions of “being alive” and “being worthy to inherit” are met together at the moment the inheritance opens. If an heir who is alive at the moment the inheritance opens dies later, before the division of the estate is completed, the share that has passed to that heir passes on to his or her own heirs; in practice this produces chains of successive inheritance.

In Turkey, all natural persons may be heirs or legatees except for those who lack capacity to inherit under the law (TCC Art. 580/1, persons not alive at the moment of the deceased’s death; TCC Art. 29/2, persons covered by the presumption of simultaneous death; TCC Art. 582, a stillborn foetus; persons who do not yet exist at the moment the inheritance opens; TCC Arts. 578 – 579, persons disqualified from inheriting). Legal entities (associations, foundations, companies and so on), by contrast, cannot be statutory heirs; they can, however, acquire the status of appointed heir or legatee through a disposition made on death by the deceased.

Another critical point met often in practice and in court decisions is the situation where several people die in the same event (a traffic accident, a natural disaster and so on) and it cannot be established medically who died first. Under TCC Art. 29/2, in such cases the presumption of simultaneous death applies and, unless the contrary is proved by concrete evidence, all of them are deemed to have died at the same moment.

The legal consequences of applying the presumption of simultaneous death:

• People presumed to have died at the same moment cannot inherit from one another under Turkish law.
• In particular, where spouses, or a parent and a child, lose their lives in the same accident, the estate of each of them is calculated and transferred directly to the surviving heirs of his or her own group, without passing to the other spouse or child.

WHO ARE THE HEIRS UNDER TURKISH INHERITANCE LAW?

In Turkish law, heirship falls into two main categories: statutory heirship and the appointed heirship that the deceased determines by his or her own will. If the deceased drew up no will or inheritance contract (disposition made on death) during his or her lifetime, or if the dispositions made have been set aside, then the law itself determines directly to whom, and in what proportions, the rights and debts in the estate pass.

1- Statutory Heirs (the System of Groups of Heirs)

In determining statutory heirship based on blood relationship, the Turkish Civil Code (TCC) has adopted the system of groups of heirs. What is decisive in this system is not simply the degree of kinship but which hierarchical group the heir belongs to. The basic principle of the system of groups is the principle of priority: if there is even a single living heir (or successor of an heir) in an earlier group, that completely bars the next group from inheriting. Under Turkish inheritance law, statutory heirship by blood relationship is limited to three groups, which are considered in order:

• The First Group: the Deceased’s Descendants in Turkey (TCC Art. 495)

The deceased’s children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren make up the first group under Turkish inheritance law. Children take equal shares of the estate whether they were born inside or outside marriage, and regardless of whether the relationship is on the mother’s or the father’s side. The share of a child who died before the deceased passes to that child’s own descendants (the grandchildren) in the same proportions, under the rule of substitution.

• The Second Group: Parents and Their Descendants in Turkey (TCC Art. 496)

Under Turkish law, where there is no heir at all in the first group (the descendants), the inheritance passes to the second group.

1. The heads of this group are the deceased’s mother and father, and they share the estate equally.
2. If the mother or the father died before the deceased, that parent’s share passes by substitution to his or her own descendants (the deceased’s siblings, nephews and nieces).
3. If both the mother and the father have died, the siblings (or their children) take from the estate directly as heirs of the second group.

• The Third Group: Grandparents and Their Descendants in Turkey (TCC Art. 497)

In the Turkish legal system, where there is no heir at all in the first two groups (the descendants, and the parents and their descendants), the inheritance passes to the third group.

1. The heads of this group are the deceased’s grandmothers and grandfathers (the parents of both sides).
2. The share of a grandmother or grandfather who is no longer alive passes, under the head-of-branch rule, to his or her own descendants, that is, to the deceased’s uncles and aunts (and, if they too have died, to their children, the deceased’s cousins).

• The Surviving Spouse as an Heir in Turkey

Although the surviving spouse is a statutory heir under Turkish inheritance law, unlike the blood relatives he or she does not form an independent group on his or her own. Instead, the spouse inherits together with the heirs of the group that is alive at the moment the deceased dies (TCC Art. 499). For the surviving spouse to exercise the statutory inheritance right, the official bond of marriage must still be legally in force at the moment of the deceased’s death. If the divorce proceedings have become final, the spouses cease to be each other’s heirs. The surviving spouse has the right to ask that ownership, or a right of usufruct or of residence, over the family home and the household goods in the estate be granted to him or her against the share of the inheritance.

• The State (Treasury) as Heir in Turkey (TCC Art. 501)

If there is no blood relative at all in the first three groups and the deceased has left no surviving spouse either, and if moreover no appointed heir has been designated, the estate does not remain ownerless.

In that case the inheritance passes directly to the State (the Treasury) under TCC Art. 501. Although the State acquires the status of statutory heir, it is liable for the deceased’s debts only up to the amount of the assets of the estate that pass to it (the principle of limited liability); it is not liable for the debts out of the public budget.

• The Adopted Child and His or Her Descendants as Heirs in Turkey (TCC Art. 500)

An adopted child and his or her descendants are statutory heirs of the first group to the adopter under Turkish inheritance law, exactly like a biological child. While the adopted child acquires full rights in the adopter’s estate, he or she also keeps unchanged the status and the rights of a statutory heir in his or her own (biological) family. For inheritance purposes the adoptive relationship is one-way. The adopter and the adopter’s relatives cannot be statutory heirs to the adopted child.

• Children Born Outside Marriage as Heirs in Turkey

The Turkish Civil Code draws no distinction at all between children born inside and outside marriage as regards inheritance rights. What is decisive is that the parent-child relationship has been officially established in the civil registry records; a relationship established later through a paternity action produces the same result. Provided that an official parent-child relationship with the father has been established under the rules on acknowledgement or on the action for the determination of paternity, children born outside marriage have exactly equal inheritance rights in Turkey to the other children of their deceased father.

2- Appointed Heirs and Legatees

Provided the rules on reserved shares under Turkish law are respected, the deceased may also allow any natural or legal person he or she wishes outside the statutory heirs to benefit from the estate through dispositions made on death (a will or an inheritance contract):

• Appointed heir: The person to whom the deceased leaves the whole of the estate or a stated proportion of it (for example 1/3). Appointed heirs acquire the status of universal successor; they share in the ownership of the rights in the estate and are jointly and without limit liable for the debts of the estate.
• Legatee (particular successor): The person who is given no share or proportion of the inheritance but only a specific item of property (for example a particular immovable, a vehicle or a sum of money). A legatee is not a universal successor and is not liable for the debts. The legatee acquires a personal claim entitling him or her to ask the statutory or appointed heirs to hand over (perform) the property left by the legacy.

HOW ARE INHERITANCE SHARES CALCULATED IN TURKEY?

Assuming the deceased leaves behind a surviving spouse and two children, the spouse takes 1/4 and each child takes 3/8, that is, half of the remaining 3/4. In a concrete estate worth 4,000,000 TRY the division works out as follows:

Example 2: No Spouse, and Substitution Applies

If there is no surviving spouse and the deceased has three children, the inheritance is divided equally under Turkish law and each child takes 1/3. If one of the children died before the deceased and left two grandchildren, then, under the rule of substitution, the 1/3 share of the deceased child is divided equally between the two grandchildren and each of them takes 1/6.

Example 3: The Spouse and the Second Group (the Parents) Inheriting Together

If the deceased has no descendants but leaves a surviving spouse and both parents alive, the spouse takes 1/2. The remaining 1/2 is divided equally between the mother and the father, so each takes 1/4. If one of the parents is not alive, that parent’s share passes under the head-of-branch rule to the deceased’s siblings.

Example 4: The Spouse and the Third Group Inheriting Together

If the deceased has no descendants, no parents and no siblings, the surviving spouse inherits with the grandparents of the third group under Turkish law. In that case the spouse takes 3/4. The remaining 1/4 is divided equally among the grandmothers and grandfathers who are alive. If there is no heir in the third group either, the whole inheritance passes to the surviving spouse.

Example 5: Comparison of the Surviving Spouse’s Share in Different Scenarios

The table below summarises what the different heirship scenarios involving a surviving spouse come to in concrete terms, under Turkish law, on a sample estate worth 2,000,000 TRY:

WHAT IS THE RESERVED SHARE IN TURKISH INHERITANCE LAW?

The reserved share is the share that the legislator grants to certain statutory heirs and that the deceased cannot take away either by dispositions made on death (a will or an inheritance contract) or by gratuitous transfers made during his or her lifetime; it is the untouchable minimum share of the inheritance (TCC Art. 506). Even though the deceased holds the right of ownership, he or she may dispose freely only of the part of the estate that exceeds the total of the reserved shares (the disposable portion).

Under the Turkish Civil Code the right of ownership as a rule allows a person to dispose of his or her property as he or she wishes, but in the law of succession this power is not absolute. In order to protect family ties and to secure the economic future of close relatives, the Code has limited the deceased’s freedom to dispose. Even if the deceased says “I am leaving all my property to an association” or “I am giving everything I own to one child only” , the other heirs with a reserved share who are protected by law may object and claim the minimum share due to them.

• Which Heirs Have a Reserved Share in Turkey?

Not every statutory heir has a reserved share under Turkish inheritance law. Amendments to the Turkish Civil Code have narrowed the range of heirs entitled to a reserved share, and under the legislation in force the heirs with a reserved share are:

1. The deceased’s descendants (children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren)
2. The deceased’s mother and father
3. The surviving spouse

Siblings were removed from the status of heirs with a reserved share by the amendment made by Law No. 5650. Siblings and other relatives such as uncles and aunts have no reserved share. The deceased may therefore validly draw up a will that leaves the siblings no share at all, or that transfers the whole estate to a third party.

• Table of Reserved Share Ratios in Turkey

Reserved shares are calculated on the basis of the statutory share that the heir concerned takes under the law:

• Calculating the Disposable Portion Alongside the Heirs’ Reserved Shares in Turkey

The part that is left after the total of the reserved shares is deducted from the total value of all the property in the deceased’s estate is called the disposable portion in Turkey. Under Turkish law the deceased may dispose of the disposable portion as he or she wishes; it may be given away or left by will to third parties, to foundations or to particular heirs. If the dispositions made by the deceased, whether on death or during his or her lifetime, exceed the limit of the reserved shares and encroach on the rights of the heirs entitled to them, the heirs with a reserved share have the right to bring a reduction lawsuit in order to have the infringement remedied and to receive the minimum share to which they are entitled.

A simple worked example to make the concept of the reserved share clearer:

At the date of death of the deceased, Ahmet, once the debts and the other deductions required by law are taken into account, the net estate is 1,000,000 TRY. When Ahmet died he left behind only his 2 children (Ali and Ayşe). The children’s statutory shares are half and half (50% – 50%). In other words, the statutory share of each of Ali and Ayşe is 500,000 TRY.

Since the children’s reserved share is half (1/2) of their statutory share, Ali’s reserved share is 250,000 TRY and Ayşe’s reserved share is 250,000 TRY. The total of the reserved shares is 500,000 TRY, so the portion Ahmet may dispose of is 500,000 TRY.

The disposable portion of the inheritance: 1,000,000 TRY (net estate) – 500,000 TRY (total reserved shares) = 500,000 TRY (disposable portion).

If, for instance, Ahmet left property worth 700,000 TRY to a foundation by his will, that disposition exceeds the disposable portion of 500,000 TRY by 200,000 TRY. In this concrete example, the 200,000 TRY by which the reserved shares are infringed corresponds, because the reserved shares are equal, to a shortfall of 100,000 TRY each for Ali and Ayşe. On that basis the reserved shares of Ali and Ayşe are treated as having been infringed by 200,000 TRY in total, and, if the conditions are met, they may claim the infringed part of their reserved shares through a reduction lawsuit.

• What Happens if an Heir’s Reserved Share Is Infringed in Turkey?

Where the deceased has breached the rules on reserved shares and exceeded the disposable portion, the will or the dispositions made on death are not automatically void. The heirs whose reserved shares have been infringed must bring a reduction lawsuit before the Turkish courts and ask for their reserved shares to be made up.

1. Right to sue: The heir whose reserved share has been impaired directs the action against the persons who benefit from the disposition made on death or from the gratuitous lifetime transfer in question.
2. Time limits (TCC Art. 571): The right to bring a reduction lawsuit lapses 1 year from the date on which the heir with a reserved share learns that the reserved share has been infringed and, in any event, 10 years from the opening of the inheritance (the date of death).

HOW CAN A SURVIVING SPOUSE IN TURKEY BE GIVEN MORE THAN THE STATUTORY SHARE?

If spouses want the surviving spouse to benefit from the estate beyond the statutory share when the inheritance is divided, they can achieve this through the following legal routes:

1. Allocating the Disposable Portion

Provided the reserved shares of the heirs entitled to them are not touched, Turkish law allows the deceased to leave the whole of the amount corresponding to his or her own disposable portion to the surviving spouse. The deceased may also decide in advance, by a disposition made on death, which specific items of property are to go to the spouse. By a will, the deceased may provide that the whole of the property is to go to the spouse and that the statutory shares of the other heirs with a reserved share (the children, for example) are to be paid to them in cash.

2. Contract for Renunciation of the Inheritance for Consideration

Under Turkish legislation the deceased may enter into a contract for renunciation of the inheritance for consideration (that is, based on a mutual benefit) under which the other statutory heirs give up their reserved shares or their inheritance rights in return for a payment. Through such a contract the claims of the other heirs are prevented or balanced out, so that the whole or the greater part of the estate can be secured for the surviving spouse.

3. Favouring the Spouse Under the Regime of Participation in Acquired Property

Under Article 236 of the Turkish Civil Code, in the regime of participation in acquired property, which is the statutory matrimonial property regime in Turkey, the surviving spouse is entitled by law to half of the surplus value on liquidation. Before moving on to the distribution of the estate, the property acquired during the marriage is calculated. The debts of each spouse are deducted from the total value of that spouse’s acquired property, and half of the remaining amount passes to the other spouse as a claim. During their lifetimes the spouses may, by a matrimonial property agreement or by a prenuptial property agreement, agree on a different ratio in favour of the surviving spouse on the basis of TCC Art. 237 (for example the whole, 100%, of the surplus value, or different share ratios), and so strengthen the division of property after death in the surviving spouse’s favour. However, under TCC Art. 237/2 such agreements may not impair the reserved shares of the spouses’ non-common children and their descendants.

WHAT HAPPENS TO INHERITANCE RIGHTS IN TURKEY IF A SPOUSE DIES DURING DIVORCE PROCEEDINGS?

If one of the parties dies before the divorce case has become final in Turkey, the surviving spouse as a rule keeps the status of statutory heir, because the marriage was still legally in force at the moment of death. Whether the case is an uncontested divorce or a contested divorce does not affect the spouse’s position as an heir in Turkey. As long as the decision ending the marriage has not become final, the surviving spouse’s statutory heirship does not lapse automatically.

This rule applies to divorce decisions obtained abroad as well. For a divorce decision given by a foreign court to produce legal effects in Turkey and to end the marriage for the purposes of Turkish law as well, the foreign divorce decision must be recognised in Turkey. If one of the parties dies before the recognition decision has been obtained or before the administrative registration has been completed, the foreign judgment has not yet produced legal effects in Turkey, so the surviving spouse still keeps the status of statutory heir as a matter of Turkish law.

Article 181(2) of the Turkish Civil Code (TCC), however, lays down a special and exceptional rule for this situation. The statutory heirs of the deceased spouse (the children, the parents and so on) may join the pending divorce case and continue it, turning it into a case seeking “a finding of fault on the part of the surviving spouse”. The legal mechanism of this process and its consequences are as follows:

1. Right to continue the case: The heirs of the deceased spouse may take the divorce case over at the stage it had reached and continue it in order to prove that the surviving spouse was at fault in the breakdown of the marriage or in the grounds for divorce and to have that established.
2. Consequence of fault being proved: If the court finds at the end of the proceedings that the surviving spouse was at fault, that spouse loses the status of heir entirely under TCC Art. 181/2.
3. Scope of the rights lost: The spouse whose fault is proved loses not only the statutory share but also the right to a reserved share and the dispositions made on death by the deceased (a will or an inheritance contract) and all the rights they conferred on him or her.
4. Fault not proved, or the case not continued: If the heirs do not continue the case or if, although it is continued, the surviving spouse’s fault cannot be proved, the divorce case becomes moot because of the death and the surviving spouse takes his or her share of the estate keeping all statutory inheritance rights (and the reserved share, if any).

A death that occurs while the case is pending therefore does not by itself bring the status of heir to an end; it calls for a separate legal assessment that depends on whether the heirs continue the case and obtain a finding of fault.

HOW IS AN INHERITANCE DIVIDED IN TURKEY?

On the death of the deceased, all the elements of the estate (immovables, vehicles, bank accounts and so on) pass into the common ownership of the heirs under Turkish law. Until the division of the inheritance is complete, the heirs hold the rights in the estate in joint ownership.

Under joint ownership the heirs have no power to dispose on their own; until the division takes place, the rule is that every transaction must be carried out with the unanimous agreement of the heirs. The steps of the inheritance distribution process in Turkey and the legal mechanisms involved are as follows:

1. Obtaining the Certificate of Inheritance in Turkey

The first formal step towards dividing the inheritance is for the heirs to document their entitlement.

• Where to apply: The heirs may apply to the Civil Court of Peace or to a notary and ask for a certificate of inheritance. (Where there is a foreign element, or where the parent-child relationship is disputed, only the court has jurisdiction.)
• How long it takes: The procedure falls within non-contentious jurisdiction and is conducted without a hearing. Indeed, according to the Turkish Judicial Statistics, the average time for a certificate of inheritance file is about 19-20 days.
• Legal nature: An oral division agreed within the family without a certificate of inheritance has no legal validity at all and leads later to actions for the cancellation of title or for compensation for unlawful occupation (ecrimisil).

2. Division by Agreement Among the Heirs and the Estate Division Contract

If the heirs reach agreement on how the property in the estate is to be divided, they may sign an estate division contract among themselves without going to court.

• Exception to the form requirement (TCC Art. 676): The Turkish Civil Code has created an exception to the strict form requirements of the law of obligations and property law specifically for the estate division contract. The estate division contract can validly be made in simple written form even where the estate includes immovables (no official deed is required; the wet-ink signatures of the heirs suffice).
• Transfer of ownership and registration of title: Signing the division contract does not transfer ownership by itself; it gives the heirs a personal right to require registration from one another. For immovables, therefore, the registration must be completed at the Land Registry Office after the contract is signed.

3. Bringing an Action for the Division of the Inheritance Where the Heirs Disagree

If no agreement can be reached among the heirs, each of them may take the matter to court.

• Competent court: It is the Civil Court of Peace of the deceased’s last place of residence.
• No limitation period: As long as the joint ownership continues, the right to ask for the inheritance to be divided is not subject to any limitation period or time bar; it may be exercised at any time.
• Action for the dissolution of joint ownership: If the immovables cannot be divided in kind, or if the heirs cannot agree, any one of them may ask for the joint ownership to be dissolved by sale. As a result of this action the immovable is sold by public auction and the proceeds are distributed to the heirs in proportion to their shares.

4. The Surviving Spouse’s Special Rights Over the Family Home and Household Goods (TCC Art. 652)

When the inheritance is divided, the surviving spouse enjoys special protection under Turkish law going beyond the statutory share. So that he or she can carry on living as before, the surviving spouse may ask that ownership of the family home and household goods that belonged to the deceased spouse and in which they lived together be granted to him or her against the share of the inheritance, or, where there are good reasons, that a right of usufruct or of residence be granted instead.

WHAT ARE THE TYPES OF DIVISION OF AN INHERITANCE IN TURKEY?

On the death of the deceased, all the movables, immovables, rights and claims in the estate pass to the heirs automatically by operation of law in Turkey. The heirs may divide the property in the estate either by agreement among themselves (division by agreement) or, if no agreement can be reached, through the courts (judicial division / action for the division of the inheritance).

The ownership regimes that apply to the estate during the division process in Turkey and until the division takes place are as follows:

1- Joint Ownership (TCC Art. 640 / Art. 701)

Joint ownership is the ownership regime under Turkish law in which, once the inheritance opens, all the heirs own the property in the estate together and without any division into shares. In this structure, which arises automatically as long as the inheritance is neither rejected nor divided, the heirs form the community of heirs.

• There are no fixed shares: Under joint ownership the heirs have no defined, independent share in the individual items of property in the estate; they are all owners together of the whole of each item.
• The unanimity rule: For acts of disposal over an immovable or other property held in joint ownership such as selling it, transferring it, signing a lease to let it, or creating a mortgage or pledge over it, the unanimous agreement of all the heirs is required. If even a single heir objects, the act of disposal cannot go ahead.
• No independent disposal: As long as the joint ownership continues, the heirs cannot transfer, sell or pledge to third parties their share in a particular item of property in the estate.
• Management and liability: All the heirs are jointly and severally responsible for the use, protection and running of the property.

2- Co-ownership in Shares (TCC Art. 688)

Co-ownership in shares is the form of ownership in which several people own the whole of a physically undivided item of property in defined, concrete shares (ratios). The heirs may convert joint ownership into co-ownership in shares by an agreement among themselves or by a court decision.

• The shares are expressed in figures: Once co-ownership in shares applies, a concrete share ratio such as 1/2, 1/4 or 3/8 appears for each heir in the land registry or the relevant register. Unless otherwise agreed or documented, the shares of the co-owners are deemed equal.
• Free disposal of one’s own share: Under co-ownership in shares each co-owner may dispose freely of his or her own share without the permission or approval of the other co-owners. An heir may sell, transfer or pledge his or her share, and creditors may have that share attached.
• Flexibility in management: For ordinary acts of management concerning the whole of the property a majority of the shares and of the co-owners is enough, while unanimity is required to change the purpose to which the property is dedicated or for extraordinary acts of management.
• Statutory right of pre-emption (TCC Art. 732): If one of the co-owners sells his or her share to a third party, the other co-owners acquire a right to buy that share in preference (the right of pre-emption).

3- The Estate Division Contract in Turkey (TCC Art. 676)

An estate division contract in Turkey is a written and binding legal agreement under contract law in which, after the death of the deceased, all the heirs set out how they will divide the property in the estate among themselves, to whom the movables and immovables will go, and how the debts and rights in the estate will be settled.

The purpose of this contract is to prevent possible disputes and litigation among the heirs by bringing the joint ownership of the estate to an end or by moving to co-ownership in shares.

A. Legal Nature and Validity Requirements of the Estate Division Contract in Turkey

• Unanimity and participation of all the heirs: For the estate division contract to be valid under Turkish law, all the heirs, whether statutory or appointed (or their authorised representatives), must take part and must reach full unanimity (consensus) on the terms of the division. Leaving out even one heir, or the absence of that heir’s approval, renders the contract absolutely void.
• Written form requirement (TCC Art. 676/1): Under TCC Art. 676 it is a condition of validity that the estate division contract be made in writing.
• No notarisation required (simple written form is enough): Even where the contract covers the transfer of immovables (registered real estate) in the estate, it does not have to be made in official form (before a notary or at the land registry). A simple written document bearing the wet-ink signatures of all the heirs is legally sufficient and valid for registration at the land registry. Even so, in practice it is advisable to have it drawn up before a notary in Turkey, so as to make proof easier and to minimise validity risks.

B. Scope and Application of the Estate Division Contract in Turkey

• A wide range of property: The agreement is drawn up so as to cover immovables (land, housing, business premises), movables (vehicles, household goods), bank deposits, registered trademarks and patent rights within the scope of intellectual property, company shares, and all the rights and claims in the estate.
• Equalisation and payment in cash: The heirs may divide the property in kind or may agree that an heir who takes an item of greater value will pay the difference to the others in cash (for consideration).
• When ownership passes: Once the contract is signed by all the heirs, each heir acquires a personal right to performance over the property allocated to him or her in the contract. Registration of title for immovables, and transfer procedures for vehicles, can then be carried out in Turkey directly on the basis of this contract.

• Action for the Dissolution of Joint Ownership in Turkey (TCC Art. 698 / Art. 642)

Where the heirs cannot reach agreement on the division of the movables or immovables in the estate in Turkey, this is an action creating a new legal situation that any one of them may bring unilaterally before the Civil Court of Peace. Depending on the nature of the property in the estate, the court brings the joint ownership to an end either by division in kind (physical division) or, where that is not possible, by sale by public auction (dissolution through sale). The action for the dissolution of joint ownership is not subject to any limitation period in Turkey; it may be brought at any time while the community of heirs continues.

CAN AN INHERITANCE SHARE BE TRANSFERRED IN TURKEY?

An heir may transfer the inheritance share that arises under joint ownership on the death of the deceased, even where the estate has not yet been divided. In law this transaction is called a “contract for the transfer of an inheritance share” and it is governed by the special provisions of the Turkish Civil Code (TCC Art. 677).

The transfer of an inheritance share produces different formal requirements and legal consequences depending on whether the transfer is made to another heir or to a third party:

1. Transfer of an Inheritance Share to Other Heirs (TCC Art. 677/I)

This is where, while the joint ownership continues, an heir transfers his or her abstract inheritance share to one or more of the other heirs of the estate.

• Validity requirement: For this contract to be valid under Turkish law it is enough that it be made in writing (simple written form).
• No official form required: Even where the estate covered by the contract includes immovables (real estate) or vehicles, there is no requirement for an official deed drawn up before a notary or at the Land Registry Office. A written text signed by the parties among themselves is legally valid.
• Position as to ownership: Once the transfer takes place, the total joint-ownership share of the heir who acquires the share increases.

2. Transfer of an Inheritance Share to Third Parties (TCC Art. 677/II)

This is where an heir transfers the inheritance share to an outside third party who is not an heir of the estate.

• Validity requirement: The validity of a contract transferring an inheritance share to a third party in Turkey depends on its being made in official form before a notary.
• Position of the third party: Through this contract the third party does not acquire direct ownership of the property in the estate and does not join the heirs as a party (as an heir).
• Right to take part in the division: The right given to the third party consists only of the power to claim (a personal claim) the liquidation share, the money or the property that will fall to the heir when the inheritance is divided. Until the division is complete, the power to manage and dispose of the estate remains with the statutory heirs alone.
• No right similar to pre-emption: Where an inheritance share is transferred to a third party, the law gives the other heirs no direct statutory right of pre-emption; the validity of the transfer is determined by whether the mandatory official form requirement has been complied with.

📌 Points to Watch When an Inheritance Share is Transferred in Turkey

WHAT ARE THE MAIN INHERITANCE LAWSUITS IN TURKEY?

Turkish judicial statistics and the caseload of the courts show that cases arising from certificates of inheritance, estates and succession law are among the most frequent types of case brought before the civil courts. The need to bring family property disputes before the courts, to establish what the estate contains, to remedy infringements of reserved shares and to divide immovables has made succession law one of the areas that generates the most litigation in practice. In these disputes, which take shape within the framework of the Turkish Civil Code and the related legislation, the most common types of inheritance lawsuit brought in order to protect the rights in the estate and to do justice among the heirs are the following:

1. Collusive Transfer by the Deceased: Action for the Cancellation of Title and Re-registration

This action is brought where the deceased, during his or her lifetime, transferred an immovable that he or she in fact wished to give away by showing the transfer at the land registry as a sale or as a contract of maintenance until death, in order to keep the property away from the other heirs.

The outcome of fraudulent transfer of inheritance assets by the decedent case turns on proof of whether the transfer rested on a genuine sale or maintenance relationship or was made in order to conceal a gift. Decision No. 1/2 of 1974 of the Court of Cassation on the Unification of Case Law laid down the binding basic principles as to who may sue, and on what legal grounds, where the deceased transferred an immovable during his or her lifetime under a hidden agreement (showing the transfer at the land registry as a sale although he or she wished to make a gift).

In a recent decision of the 1st Civil Chamber of the Court of Cassation, the court ordered the cancellation of the title records and their re-registration in proportion to the inheritance shares, on the ground that the deceased had transferred immovables to certain heirs only without any genuine maintenance relationship, that the true intention was a gift and that the aim was to keep the property away from the other heirs (Court of Cassation, 1st Civil Chamber, Case No. 2025/5664, Decision No. 2026/4151, 18.05.2026). By contrast, in another decision given at around the same time the allegation of collusion and the request for cancellation were dismissed, because it was proved that the transfer rested on a genuine obligation of care and support (Court of Cassation, 1st Civil Chamber, Case No. 2025/6203, Decision No. 2026/4150, 18.05.2026).

2. Reduction Lawsuit

The reduction lawsuit is one of the most basic actions for performance in Turkish succession law, and it is brought where the deceased, by dispositions made during his or her lifetime or on death, has infringed the untouchable rights of the heirs entitled to a reserved share. The legal aim of the action is to bring the deceased’s freedom of disposal back to the limit set by law (the disposable portion) and to return to the heir with a reserved share the amount or the ownership by which that limit was exceeded.

Only the heirs whose reserved shares have been infringed (descendants, parents, the surviving spouse) or their creditors or bankruptcy administration may bring the action. Statutory heirs who have no reserved share (siblings, for example) have no right to bring a reduction lawsuit. The defendants are the third parties, appointed heirs or other statutory heirs in whose favour a disposition on death was made, or a gratuitous lifetime transfer was carried out, in excess of the reserved share limit.

Not every transfer made by the deceased is directly subject to reduction under Turkish inheritance law. The legislator has laid down a clear order of reduction:

1. Dispositions made on death: Transfers made by a will or an inheritance contract are reduced first, proportionately.

2. Gratuitous lifetime transfers: If reducing the dispositions made on death is not enough to close the gap in the reserved share, the court moves on to the transfers the deceased made during his or her lifetime. These transfers are reduced starting with the most recent and working back to the oldest (in date order) (TCC Art. 570).

Under TCC Art. 565 the following gratuitous transfers are subject to reduction in the same way as dispositions made on death:

• Transfers made to statutory heirs who have lost the status of heir in the form of a dowry, start-up capital or a transfer of property.
• Transfers made for the purpose of settling inheritance rights.
• Gifts that the deceased could freely revoke, and unusual gifts made within the 1 year before his or her death.
• Transfers that the deceased clearly made (in bad faith) with the intention of defeating the rules on reserved shares.

3. Action for Equalisation (Return) in Inheritance (TCC Arts. 669 – 675)

This action is brought in order to prevent large gratuitous transfers made by the deceased during his or her lifetime to some of the statutory heirs (buying a house for one child, providing capital and so on) from upsetting the principle of equality among the other statutory heirs. The basic aim of the action is to protect the principle of equality that the legislator assumes to exist among statutory heirs, and to balance out any discrimination the deceased made during his or her lifetime.

Under Article 669 of the Turkish Civil Code, gratuitous transfers made by the deceased during his or her lifetime to descendants (children, grandchildren) for purposes such as a dowry, start-up capital, discharge of a debt or a transfer of property are presumed by law to have been made on account of the inheritance. If the deceased expressly stated that a transfer was not subject to equalisation, or if this can be understood from the circumstances of the case, the obligation of equalisation falls away. This exemption cannot, however, infringe the reserved share limits of the other heirs.

Only statutory heirs may bring the equalisation action before the Turkish courts. Appointed heirs, and third parties designated by the deceased, have no power to claim equalisation. The defendants are the other statutory heirs to whom the deceased made gratuitous transfers during his or her lifetime. Because the equalisation action is a right tied to the request for the inheritance to be divided, it is not subject to any limitation period as long as the inheritance has not been divided. Once the division has taken place, the general limitation period of 10 years applies.

A statutory heir who is under a duty of equalisation may deal with the transfer he or she received in two different ways:

1. Return in kind: The heir returns the property or immovable received during the deceased’s lifetime to the estate in kind and takes part in the general distribution of the estate in Turkey.

2. Deduction from the share: The heir deducts the value of the property at the moment the inheritance opened (the death) from his or her own inheritance share. If the value of the property received is greater than the inheritance share, the heir pays the difference to the other heirs. In establishing the value of the property subject to equalisation, what counts is not the date of the transfer but the actual market value at the date the inheritance opened (the date of death) (TCC Art. 673).

📌 Differences Between the Reduction Lawsuit and the Equalisation Action in Turkey

4. Action for the Cancellation of the Certificate of Inheritance (TCC Art. 598/III)

The action for the cancellation of a certificate of inheritance in Turkey is brought in order to have set aside certificates of inheritance issued by the Civil Courts of Peace or by notaries that are untrue, incomplete or contain the wrong inheritance shares, because of gaps in establishing the parent-child relationship, errors in the civil registry records, or the reserved share or an adoptive relationship being overlooked, and to have a new, lawful certificate issued.

Under Article 598 of the Turkish Civil Code, a certificate of inheritance is a simple presumption that holds good until the contrary is proved. Because the first certificate of inheritance is issued under the non-contentious procedure, it does not become final and binding on the merits. The contrary of the first certificate can always be proved by legal evidence. For that reason the action for the cancellation of a certificate of inheritance is not a non-contentious application but contentious proceedings brought before the Civil Court of First Instance.

All those entitled who are not shown at all in the certificate although they are true heirs, whose parent-child relationship was later established by a court decision, or whose adoptive relationship was disregarded, or whose inheritance share was calculated wrongly or incompletely, and their creditors, may bring the action. All the people shown as heirs in the existing, incorrect certificate of inheritance must be named as defendants (compulsory joinder of parties). The action for the cancellation of a certificate of inheritance is not subject to any time bar or limitation period.

• Other Inheritance Lawsuits in Turkey

The four main types of action above make up a large part of the disputes arising under succession law and are often brought together, one after another, around the same immovable or the same transfer. Apart from these, the other special actions available depending on the state of the estate are the following:

1- Action for Recovery of the Estate (TCC Arts. 637 – 639)

This is an action for ownership and delivery under Turkish inheritance law, brought on the basis of a stronger status as heir against a wrongful possessor who holds the estate or an item from it and who knows, or ought to know, that he or she is not entitled to it. It is subject to a limitation period of 1 year from the date of learning of the position and, in any event, 10 years from the opening of the inheritance. Where the defendant is not acting in good faith (that is, in bad faith), the limitation period is 20 years.

2- Action for the Determination of the Estate

The action for the determination of the estate in Turkey is an action for the preservation of evidence / an interim protective measure, brought in order to have officially established and recorded all the movables (jewellery, vehicles, works of art and so on), immovables (land, plots, flats, Ottoman title deeds and so on) , bank accounts, company shares, rights and claims and debts (the assets and liabilities) that were in the deceased’s property as at the date of death. Its main purpose is to prevent the property in the estate from being removed, concealed or destroyed by the heirs.

3- Action for the Annulment of a Will (TCC Arts. 557 – 559)

Under Turkish law, this action is brought where the deceased lacked capacity, where his or her intention was defective (duress, deception, mistake), where the content of the will is contrary to law or morality, or where the statutory form requirements were not observed. The annulment action is subject to a time bar of 1 year on a relative basis (from the date on which the ground and the right were learned of) and 10 years on an absolute basis (from the date on which the will was opened); against defendants who are not acting in good faith the absolute period is 20 years.

4- Action for the Enforcement of a Will

This is an action for performance, brought so that dispositions made on death in a valid will (for example leaving a particular immovable to a person) are registered at the land registry in Turkey or delivered. Before it can be brought, the procedure for opening and reading the will must have been completed and there must be no pending action for the annulment of the will (or such an action must have been dismissed).

5- Action for a Finding of Disqualification from Inheritance (TCC Arts. 578 – 579)

This action is brought in order to establish that people who intentionally killed the deceased, attempted to kill him or her, put the deceased in a position where he or she could not make a disposition on death, or altered or destroyed the will have lost the status of heir by operation of law. Disqualification takes effect automatically, by operation of law; the action serves only to have that legal position documented by a decision of the Turkish courts. The descendants of the person disqualified from inheriting take their share of the estate as if that person had died before the deceased.

6- Action for the Annulment of, or Objection to, Disinheritance (TCC Arts. 510 – 513)

This action is brought where the deceased has disinherited an heir with a reserved share by a disposition made on death, on the ground that the heir committed a serious offence against the deceased or against the deceased’s close relatives, or seriously breached his or her family law obligations. The disinherited heir may claim that the disinheritance was unreasoned or unjustified, or that the deceased lacked capacity when making it, and on that basis ask for the annulment of the will or of the disinheritance. In Turkey it is subject to the time limits for the action for the annulment of a will.

7- Action for the Annulment or Setting Aside of an Inheritance Contract (TCC Arts. 546 – 549; Arts. 557 – 559)

This action is brought in order to annul or terminate inheritance contracts made in official form before a notary in Turkey between the deceased and a third party, on the ground of defective intention (fraud, duress, mistake), of non-performance of the consideration where the contract was for consideration, or of the deceased’s lack of capacity. For the rights of withdrawal or termination based on non-performance of the consideration, the limitation rules of the law of obligations apply, while in cases of annulment a relative time bar of 1 year from the date of learning applies.

8- Action for a Finding That the Estate Is Insolvent / Deemed Rejection (TCC Art. 605/II)

Under Turkish law, this action is brought in order to establish that the deceased was insolvent at the moment of death and that the debts of the estate clearly exceed its assets. Unlike an actual rejection, it is not subject to the 3-month period for rejecting an inheritance; the heirs may seek such a finding at any time when they are faced with enforcement proceedings or actions brought by creditors. Thanks to the court’s finding, the heirs are entirely released from liability for the deceased’s debts with their own personal property.

WHAT IS THE ACTION FOR THE JUDICIAL DIVISION OF AN ESTATE IN TURKEY?

Under Turkish law, on the death of the deceased, joint ownership arises automatically among the heirs over all the property in the estate. For the estate to be divided by agreement, all the statutory and appointed heirs must agree with full unanimity. If even one of the heirs raises a dispute or does not sign the division contract, the inheritance can be divided only by bringing an action for the division of the estate (judicial division).

The action for the division of an inheritance in Turkey is an action creating a new legal situation: it brings the joint ownership to an end and gives each heir independent ownership. Each heir has the right to bring this action on his or her own. No time bar or limitation period is laid down for bringing the action; it may be brought at any time while the community of heirs continues. All the heirs other than the one who brings the action must be named as defendants (compulsory joinder of parties).

1. The Competent Court in Estate Division Cases in Turkey

In inheritance disputes in Turkey it is vitally important that the action is brought before the right court, so as not to lose time and rights through a decision that the court lacks subject-matter or territorial jurisdiction:

• Court with exclusive jurisdiction (TCC Art. 576 / Code of Civil Procedure (CCP) Art. 11): Actions relating to an inheritance (division, reduction, annulment, recovery, determination) must be brought before the court in the judicial district of the deceased’s last place of residence at the moment of death. This rule of jurisdiction is a matter of public policy and is taken into account by the court of its own motion. Under CCP Art. 11/3, in actions for the cancellation of a certificate of inheritance and for the issue of a new certificate the court of the place where each of the heirs resides also has jurisdiction.
• Court with subject-matter jurisdiction in inheritance division cases: In inheritance division cases in Turkey the competent court is the Civil Court of Peace.

2. How the Division Is Carried Out and the Judge’s Powers

In Turkey the court divides the inheritance after assessing all the assets and liabilities of the estate:

• Division in kind and forming lots: Where possible, the judge forms balanced groups (lots) out of the property in the estate so that each heir receives a separate item. If the heirs cannot agree on how the groups are allocated, the judge distributes the property by drawing lots.
• Equalisation payment: If the groups cannot be made equal in value, the heir who takes the more valuable property is ordered to pay money to the other.
• Division through sale: If the estate is not such that each heir can be given a separate item and division in kind is impossible, the judge orders the property to be sold through the enforcement/sales office and the proceeds distributed to the heirs in proportion to their shares.
• Division rules laid down by the deceased: If the deceased laid down a rule of division in a disposition made on death, the judge follows that intention. However, such a rule cannot infringe the reserved share ratios; if it does, the heirs entitled to a reserved share may bring a reduction lawsuit.

3. Request to Allocate the Family Home and Household Goods to the Surviving Spouse (TCC Art. 652)

While the division of the estate is pending before the Turkish courts, the surviving spouse may raise a request within that case that ownership, or a right of usufruct or of residence, over the family home and the shared household goods in which the couple lived together during the marriage be allocated to him or her against the share of the inheritance. The judge must give this request priority in the division.

4. The Ban on Partial Division (the Principle That the Estate Is a Whole)

As a rule, the inheritance division case covers the whole of the estate in Turkey. Heirs who agree among themselves may carry out a partial division; but in a judicial division (a division carried out by the court) it cannot as a rule be requested that part of the estate be divided while another part is left in joint ownership. The judge settles all the movables, immovables, rights and claims established in the estate as a single whole.

5. Payment of the Debts of the Estate and Liability (TCC Art. 681)

In an inheritance division case in Turkey the judge does not merely distribute property; the judge also decides how the debts of the estate are to be paid. The division of the property cannot be completed until the debts have been paid in full or secured. Moreover, even after the division has taken place, the heirs remain liable to the creditors for the debts of the estate personally and jointly and severally (with all their property), and not merely in proportion to their shares, until 5 years have passed since the division.

6. Interim Injunctions and the Appointment of a Trustee/Representative

While the case is pending before the Turkish courts, an application may be made with the statement of claim for an interim injunction to be entered on the land registry records (an annotation that the property may not be sold or transferred), in order to prevent the immovables in the estate from being transferred, the rents from being seized, or property from being removed. In addition, if there are problems in managing the estate, the judge may be asked to appoint a representative (trustee) for the estate.

7. The Heirs’ Personal Claims

Where one of the heirs cared for the deceased during his or her lifetime, met the costs of his or her illness, or paid out of his or her own pocket for the upkeep or repair of an immovable in the estate, or where an heir has incurred a debt for compensation for unlawful occupation (ecrimisil) by using an item from the estate alone, these claims and debts are also taken into account (set off) in the division case in order to establish the net share of each heir under Turkish law.

WHAT ARE DISINHERITANCE AND DISQUALIFICATION FROM INHERITANCE IN TURKEY?

Turkish succession law contains two basic legal institutions that lead to the loss of the status of heir or of the right to a reserved share: disqualification from inheritance and disinheritance (ıskat). Although both take an heir’s rights away, they differ fundamentally as regards the conditions in which they arise, the way they are applied and their legal nature.

1. Disqualification from Inheritance (TCC Art. 578)

Disqualification from inheritance in Turkey is the loss of the status of heir automatically, by operation of law, by an heir who has committed one of the serious and immoral acts listed exhaustively in the Code, without any need for a declaration of intention by the deceased or for a court decision.

Grounds for Disqualification from Inheritance Under TCC Art. 578:

• Intentionally and unlawfully killing the deceased or attempting to kill him or her,
• Intentionally and unlawfully putting the deceased permanently in a position where he or she cannot make a disposition on death,
• Intimidating, deceiving or using force against the deceased in order to make him or her make a disposition on death, or revoke one, or in order to prevent this,
• Intentionally and unlawfully destroying or altering the deceased’s disposition on death at a time when he or she can no longer make a new one.

Disqualification from inheritance is relative; it takes effect only in relation to the deceased against whom the act was committed and does not affect the person’s heirship to anyone else. The disqualified heir is treated as if he or she had died before the deceased. Under the rule of substitution, if the disqualified person has descendants (children or grandchildren), his or her share passes to those descendants. If the deceased forgives the person disqualified from inheriting (TCC Art. 578/2), the disqualification falls away. The validity of the forgiveness is not subject to any form requirement; even so, it is important for ease of proof that it be in writing.

2. Disinheritance – Iskat (TCC Art. 510)

Disinheritance (ıskat) is where the deceased, in the presence of the good cause laid down by Turkish law, deprives an heir entitled to a reserved share wholly or partly of that reserved share and of the status of heir, by a disposition made on death (a will or an inheritance contract). The disinherited heir takes no share of the estate and cannot take part in the distribution of the estate. As in the case of disqualification from inheritance, the disinherited person’s share passes to his or her own descendants, as if he or she had died before the deceased.

Grounds for Punitive Disinheritance Under TCC Art. 510:

• The heir has committed a serious offence against the deceased or against one of the deceased’s close relatives,
• The heir has failed to a significant extent to perform the family law obligations owed by law to the deceased or to the family members (for example a serious and continuing breach of the duties of loyalty, care, assistance and support).

Validity Requirements for Disinheritance in Turkey and the Action for Its Annulment:

• Duty to state the reason: The deceased must state the ground for disinheritance in the will clearly and on the basis of concrete facts. General and abstract statements (“he was disrespectful to me”, “she is an ungrateful child” and the like) are not valid grounds for disinheritance.
• Burden of proving the ground: If the disinherited heir objects, the burden of proving that the stated ground exists and is true falls on the other heirs or the legatees who benefit from the disinheritance in Turkey. For a ground of disinheritance to exist, a serious offence such as assault, violence, insult or fraud must have been committed against the deceased or his or her close relatives, and there must be a court decision proving that the offence was committed.
• Action for the annulment of disinheritance (TCC Art. 512): If the ground for disinheritance is not stated at all in the will, if the ground stated does not meet the statutory conditions, or if the existence of the stated ground cannot be proved in court, the disinherited heir may bring an action for the annulment of the disinheritance. If the disinheritance is annulled as a result of the action, the person concerned receives at least his or her reserved share, within the limits of the disposable portion.

DO FOREIGNERS HAVE INHERITANCE RIGHTS IN TURKEY?

Under the Turkish legal system, being a foreign national is no legal obstacle to being an heir. Natural and legal persons who are not Turkish citizens can also acquire the status of statutory or appointed heir in estates located in Turkey. In assessing foreigners’ inheritance rights and how they take a share of an estate, the decisive criteria are the nationality of the deceased and of the heir and whether the property in question is movable or immovable.

1. Which Country’s Law Applies to a Foreign Heir in Turkey? (PILA Art. 20)

Under Article 20 of Law No. 5718 on Private International Law and Procedural Law (PILA), the law applicable to inheritance disputes with a foreign element is determined according to the nature of the property and the subject matter of the dispute:

• Immovable property (real estate): Where immovables situated within the borders of Turkey form part of an inheritance, Turkish law alone applies, regardless of the nationality of the deceased or of the heirs (PILA Art. 20/1, sentence 2). Statutory shares, reserved share ratios and the calculation of the disposable portion are all worked out under the provisions of the Turkish Civil Code. For that reason, Turkish law will apply to inheritance procedures concerning immovable property acquired by foreigners in Turkey.
• Movable property (money, vehicles, shares and so on): For movables, the national law of the deceased (the law of the country of which he or she is a citizen) applies (PILA Art. 20/1, sentence 1). What is decisive for this rule is only the nationality of the deceased; the nationality of the heirs, the deceased’s place of residence, or the fact that the movables are physically in Turkey does not on its own change the applicable law. Under PILA Art. 4, if the deceased was also a Turkish citizen (in the case of dual nationality), Turkish law is taken as the national law.
• Opening, acquisition and division of the inheritance: Under PILA Art. 20/2, the provisions on the grounds on which the inheritance opens, its acquisition and its division are governed, independently of the deceased’s nationality, by the law of the country where the estate is situated. Accordingly, if the estate is in Turkey, the opening of the inheritance on death or on a declaration of absence, the way universal succession takes place, the creation and ending of the community of heirs, the rejection of the inheritance and the distribution of the estate are all carried out under Turkish law.
• Estates without heirs and dispositions made on death: Under PILA Art. 20/3, an estate in Turkey that has no heirs passes to the State. As to the form of a disposition made on death, PILA Art. 7 applies; in addition, dispositions made on death in a form complying with the deceased’s national law are also valid (PILA Art. 20/4). Capacity to make a disposition on death is governed by the national law of the person making it at the moment the disposition is made (PILA Art. 20/5).

2. A Foreign Heir Obtaining a Certificate of Inheritance in Turkey

For a foreign heir to claim rights over an inheritance in Turkey (in particular over bank accounts or land registry records), he or she must obtain a certificate of inheritance from the Turkish courts. For this purpose it is not necessary for the heir to hold a residence permit in Turkey or to be actually resident in Turkey. The heir may apply to the Turkish courts for a certificate of inheritance through a representative.

In short, certificates of inheritance obtained in foreign countries are not on their own directly valid for the transfer of immovables in Turkey. The foreign document must either be recognised (recognition/enforcement) by the Turkish courts, or a new certificate of inheritance must be requested directly from the Turkish Civil Courts of Peace within their jurisdiction.

3. Tax Obligations of Foreign Heirs in Turkey

For estates transferred in Turkey, the fact that the heir is a foreign national or lives abroad does not give any tax exemption. Before the registration and delivery procedures, foreign heirs too must file an inheritance and transfer tax return with the Turkish tax offices under Inheritance and Transfer Tax Law No. 7338 and must pay the tax that arises.

That said, great care is needed as regards the income tax position of the deceased’s foreign-source income, earnings obtained abroad and salaries received from abroad or other income. Establishing the residence status of the deceased and of the heirs, and determining under which country’s legislation, and how, that income is to be taxed within the framework of double taxation treaties, calls for specialist knowledge. In order to avoid possible tax penalties and loss of rights, it is therefore very important that the process be conducted with professional legal support from a tax lawyer in Turkey.

4. Legal Restrictions That May Apply to Inherited Immovables in Turkey

The acquisition of property in Turkey by foreign natural persons is restricted on grounds of public interest and national security under Article 35 of Land Registry Law No. 2644 and the related special legislation:

In addition, for foreign natural persons to be able to acquire immovables in Turkey by inheritance, they must be citizens of one of the countries determined by the President under Article 35 of Land Registry Law No. 2644. If the property acquired by a foreign heir to whom an immovable passes by inheritance exceeds the statutory limits, or is in an area where acquisition is not permitted, the immovable is not transferred to the heir in kind. Under the law the immovable is liquidated and the sale price (its monetary equivalent) is paid to the foreign heir.

5. The Exceptional Status of Blue Card Holders and Former Turkish Citizens

Under Article 28 of Turkish Citizenship Law No. 5901, Blue Card holders who were Turkish citizens by birth and who left Turkish citizenship with permission have unrestricted rights in matters of inheritance law just like Turkish citizens, even though they count as foreign nationals. For these people the 30-hectare limit and the barrier of the presidential list of countries do not apply.

6. Bilateral Treaties and Related Applications

The bilateral and multilateral international treaties to which Turkey is a party are the basic texts that determine the legal regime directly applicable in inheritance disputes with a foreign element. The rights of foreign nationals to movable and immovable property in Turkey, the inheritance shares of Turkish citizens abroad, changes of citizenship status (dual nationality, Blue Card status, acquiring or leaving citizenship), reciprocity conditions and the judicial cooperation agreements Turkey has concluded each call for a separate legal analysis in the particular case.

WHY WORKING WITH AN INHERITANCE LAWYER IN TURKEY MATTERS

Inheritance law may at first sight look like a simple process of dividing the property in an estate among the heirs. In the Turkish legal system as it stands, however, succession law is a highly complex and mandatory field that is extremely technical, tied to strict form requirements and in direct contact with many other basic areas of law. Working with a specialised inheritance lawyer in this process, and taking support from a real estate lawyer where immovables form part of the inheritance, plays a critical role in preventing possible losses of rights and costly litigation that can last for years.

1. Inheritance Law in Turkey Is an Interdisciplinary and Intricate Field

The law of succession cannot be considered in isolation; it is directly intertwined with the other main branches of the Turkish legal order:

• Link with property law: The ownership structure of the immovables in the estate, the conversion of joint ownership into co-ownership in shares, actions for the cancellation of title and re-registration, possession, and rights of usufruct and residence are all governed directly by the principles of property law.
• Link with the law of obligations: Collusive (fiduciary) contracts made by the deceased during his or her lifetime, promises of maintenance until death, wills and the misuse of powers of attorney, as well as the claims and debts between the heirs, fall within the scope of the general law of obligations.
• Tax law and financial obligations: The transfer of an inheritance is not only a transfer of ownership but also a serious taxation process. Filing inheritance and transfer tax returns on time, calculating the tax base, exemptions, tax debt liabilities and obtaining tax clearance must be handled carefully under the Tax Procedure Law.

2. Mandatory Rules in Turkish Inheritance Law

In Turkish inheritance law the free will of the parties is bounded by the mandatory limits set by the Code:

• Strict form requirements: The validity of a handwritten will, an official will or an estate division contract can be lost entirely through the smallest defect of form laid down in the Code (a missing date, signature or witness, for example), rendering it void.
• Rules of public policy: The reserved share ratios, the requirement that the grounds for disinheritance be made concrete, and the calculation of reductions are all mandatory. A transaction that is badly designed defeats the deceased’s true intention and leads to the annulment of the disposition made on death.

3. Time Bars in Turkish Inheritance Law

In inheritance disputes in Turkey, failure to observe the time limits set by law means the case is dismissed on procedural grounds, however well founded it may be:

• Time limits: Keeping track of critical deadlines such as the 3-month time bar for rejecting an inheritance and the relative period of 1 year / absolute period of 10 years in reduction lawsuits is vitally important.
• Exclusive subject-matter and territorial jurisdiction: Bringing the action before the wrong court (for example before a Civil Court of Peace instead of a Civil Court of First Instance, or before a court that lacks territorial jurisdiction) means starting the process all over again, with a serious loss of time and money.

4. The Preventive Role of an Inheritance Lawyer in Disputes Among Heirs

Inheritance disputes are not merely a technical division of property; they are among the most sensitive and exhausting processes there are, where past family resentments, emotional baggage and financial expectations all meet. Because the parties are siblings, relatives or parent and child, there is a risk that the legal conflict turns into personal hostility.

Where no agreement can be reached over an inheritance in Turkey, the actions for the dissolution of joint ownership, for the cancellation of title and re-registration or for reduction that follow, together with expert examinations, site inspections and the appeal and Court of Cassation stages, can last for years. These long proceedings lead to:

• Properties standing idle and losing economic value,
• Immovables being sold below their value through the courts by way of enforcement auctions,
• And, most importantly, ties between family members being broken beyond repair.

People generally see a lawyer as someone to turn to only once a dispute has broken out and reached the courts. In Turkish succession law, however, the most critical function of a specialised lawyer is the “preventive law” role (as conciliator and adviser) that stops disputes before an action is ever brought.

Taking all of this together, the distribution of inheritances in Turkey, the transfer of estates and the inheritance lawsuits that may follow are not merely a mathematical sharing out of property; they are subject to highly technical and mandatory rules woven together with real estate law, the law of obligations and tax law. In a process dominated by strict form requirements, time bars and complex statutory provisions, acting without a specialised inheritance lawyer in Turkey will pave the way for irreparable losses of rights, the dismissal of cases because of procedural errors, high litigation and tax costs and, most importantly, exhausting legal disputes among the heirs that go on for years. Both to protect relationships within the family and to avoid unnecessary litigation, and also to secure the rights in the estate fully and as quickly as possible, it is vital that the whole process be conducted under the legal guidance of an inheritance lawyer specialised in the field.