Inheritance and probate

Who inherits, and in what shares

Turkish law groups relatives into three lines (zümre). A nearer line excludes the ones after it (Civil Code, TMK art. 495–497):

1. Descendants. Children inherit in equal shares. A child who died before the deceased is replaced by their own descendants.
2. Parents’ line. If there are no descendants, the parents inherit in equal shares; a parent who died first is replaced by their descendants, that is the deceased’s siblings and their children.
3. Grandparents’ line. If neither of the first two lines exists, the grandparents and their descendants inherit.

Children born outside marriage inherit like children born within marriage once paternity is established by recognition or a court decision (art. 498). An adopted child inherits from the adoptive parent like a natural child, but the adoptive parent does not inherit from the child (art. 500). If there are no heirs, the estate passes to the State (art. 501).

The surviving spouse inherits alongside whichever line is present (art. 499):

The inheritance share calculator gives a preliminary figure under these rules.

Reserved shares and the free portion

A person with descendants, parents or a spouse can leave by will only what lies outside those heirs’ reserved shares (saklı pay); a person with none of them may leave everything (TMK art. 505). The reserved shares are (art. 506):

A worked example (hypothetical). A married person dies leaving a spouse and two children. The statutory shares are 1/4 for the spouse and 3/8 for each child. The reserved shares are the spouse’s whole 1/4 and half of each child’s share, 3/16 each: 10/16 of the estate in total. By will, this person could have freely left the remaining 3/8 of the estate to anyone.

Wills

A will (vasiyetname) can be made in three forms (TMK art. 531):

• Official will, made before a civil judge of peace, a notary or another authorised official, with two witnesses (art. 532–534).
• Handwritten will, written wholly by hand, dated with the year, month and day, and signed. It may be left open or sealed with a notary, a civil judge of peace or an authorised official for safekeeping (art. 538).
• Oral will, allowed only in an emergency such as imminent danger of death. It lapses one month after the testator could make a will in another form (art. 539–541).

A will made abroad is valid in form if it follows the law of the country where it was made, the law that governs the succession, or the testator’s national law (MÖHUK art. 7, 20). Whoever holds a will after the death must hand it to the civil judge of peace at once; the judge opens it within one month and reads it to those concerned (TMK art. 595–596).

Reduction, sham transfers and annulling a will

Suits to annul or reduce the deceased’s dispositions, to share the estate and to recover estate property are heard by the court where the deceased last lived (TMK art. 576). For the court’s jurisdiction the general rule of HMK art. 2 points to the civil court of first instance (asliye hukuk mahkemesi). The list of disputes for which mediation is a condition of suing (HUAK art. 18/B) does not name these suits.

Reduction claim (tenkis davası)

Heirs who do not receive their reserved shares may sue to reduce the deceased’s dispositions that exceed the free portion (TMK art. 560). Unless the deceased’s wish is clear from the disposition, reduction is spread proportionately over everything given by appointing an heir or by other dispositions on death (art. 563). The order is: dispositions on death first, until the reserved share is made up; if they are not enough, lifetime gifts, from the most recent back to the oldest (art. 570).

These gifts without consideration are reduced like dispositions on death (art. 565):

• lifetime advances on the share of a statutory heir who loses the status of heir; transfers of assets or releases from debt to a descendant on the footing that they need not be returned; or an unusually large dowry or start-up capital;
• gifts made to settle succession rights before death;
• gifts in which the deceased kept the right to revoke, and gifts made within a year before death other than customary presents;
• gifts clearly made to defeat the reserved-share rules.

A recipient in good faith must return only what is left in their hands when the succession opens (art. 566). If a specific bequest that cannot be divided without losing value is reduced, the legatee may pay the value of the part to be reduced and ask for the item, or ask instead for a sum equal to the value of the free portion (art. 564).

Time limit. The right lapses one year after the heirs learn that their reserved shares were infringed and in any case ten years after the will was opened or, for other dispositions, after the succession opened. Where annulling one disposition revives an earlier one, the periods start when the annulment becomes final. Reduction can be raised as a defence at any time (art. 571).

To prepare. The certificate of inheritance, any will, the deeds and land registry entries for lifetime gifts and transfers, and a list of the estate’s assets and debts.

Sham transfer claim (muris muvazaası davası)

Muris muvazaası is the name given to a sham (collusive) transaction made by the deceased to deprive one or more heirs of their inheritance rights. The claim rests on the Court of Cassation’s unification decision (İçtihadı Birleştirme Kararı) of 1 April 1974, E. 1974/1, K. 1974/2. This page was prepared without reading that decision from an official source, so it does not describe the decision’s scope, conditions or rules of proof; it sets out only the statutory provisions.

• Real intention. In deciding the type and content of a contract, the parties’ real and common intention counts, whatever words they used by mistake or to hide their real aims (TBK art. 19/1).
• Form. A sale of land, and a promise to give land, are valid only in official form (TBK art. 237, 288).
• Land register. A person whose real right is harmed by an unlawful registration can sue to have the register corrected; a third party who knew or should have known of the defect cannot rely on the registration, while rights acquired by third parties in good faith are preserved (TMK art. 1024–1025).
• Relation to reduction and equalisation. If the transfer was a genuine gift that infringes a reserved share, reduction (art. 565) and, for gifts to a descendant without consideration, equalisation (denkleştirme; art. 669) may apply. Which suit fits depends on the nature of the transfer.
• Court. The court where the property lies has exclusive territorial jurisdiction in suits that may change who owns a right in land (HMK art. 12); for subject-matter jurisdiction the general rule is HMK art. 2.
• Time limit. No special period for this claim was found in the statutory text; whether one applies depends on the decision and later practice, and it is not given here.

To prepare. The land registry entry and transfer deed for the property concerned, bank records of any price, the death certificate and the certificate of inheritance.

Annulling a will (vasiyetnamenin iptali)

A will can be annulled if it was made while the testator lacked capacity, under error, fraud, threat or duress, with unlawful or immoral content or conditions, or without the form the law requires (TMK art. 557). Any heir or legatee with an interest may sue, for the whole will or part of it. If the defect lies in the involvement of beneficiaries (or their spouses or relatives) in drawing up the disposition, only those gifts are annulled, not the whole will (art. 558).

Time limit. The right lapses one year after the claimant learns of the will, the ground and their own entitlement. In any case it lapses ten years after the will was opened or, for other dispositions, after the succession passed; against a defendant in bad faith the outer limit is twenty years. Invalidity can be raised as a defence at any time (art. 559). Being given a certificate of inheritance does not affect the right to sue for annulment (art. 598).

To prepare. The original will or the record of its opening, medical records bearing on the testator’s capacity, the names of witnesses and documents showing the circumstances when the will was made.

Refusing an inheritance

An heir who does nothing acquires the estate with its debts (TMK art. 610). Refusal (mirasın reddi) is the way out, and the declaration is made to the civil court of peace:

1. Count the three months. The period runs from the day a statutory heir learned of the death, unless the heir proves they learned only later that they were an heir. For an heir appointed by will it runs from official notice of the will (art. 606).
2. Declare the refusal to the court. It is an oral or written declaration to the civil court of peace, and it must be unconditional. The court records it and enters it in its register; on request the heir receives a document showing the refusal (art. 609).
3. Do not deal with the estate in the meantime. An heir who acts beyond ordinary administration of the estate, or hides or takes estate assets, loses the right to refuse. Filing a claim or starting enforcement only to stop a time limit running does not count against the heir (art. 610).

The civil judge of peace may extend the period, or grant a new one, for important reasons (art. 615). If the deceased’s insolvency was evident or officially established at the date of death, the estate is treated as refused without any declaration (art. 605).

Effect of a refusal. If one statutory heir refuses, their share passes to the others as if they had not been alive when the succession opened (art. 611). If all descendants refuse, their shares pass to the surviving spouse (art. 613). If all the nearest statutory heirs refuse, the civil court of peace liquidates the estate under the bankruptcy rules, and any surplus goes to those entitled as if they had not refused (art. 612). The right to refuse of an heir who dies without having refused passes to their own heirs (art. 608). Where a refusal passes the estate to people who were not heirs before, their period runs from when they learn that the earlier heirs refused (art. 608).

To prepare. The death certificate, your own identity documents, the population register entry showing you are an heir, and a note of the date you learned of the death.

Between accepting and refusing there are two further options. An heir may ask the civil judge of peace for an official inventory of the estate (resmî defter) within one month, following the rules for refusal; a request by one heir benefits the others (art. 619). An heir may also ask for official liquidation (resmî tasfiye), under which the heirs are not liable for the estate’s debts; the request is ignored if a co-heir accepts the estate (art. 632).

The certificate of inheritance

The certificate of inheritance (mirasçılık belgesi, often still called veraset ilamı) names the heirs and their shares. The civil court of peace or a notary issues it on an heir’s application, and its invalidity can be raised at any time (TMK art. 598). For an heir or legatee named in a will, the civil court of peace issues the certificate, provided that the heirs and other legatees have not objected within one month of the disposition being notified to them. The right to sue for annulment of a disposition on death is preserved (art. 598).

The application must go to the civil court of peace, not a notary, when (Notaries Law art. 71/A, 71/B):

• the applicant is a foreign national;
• the civil-registry records are not enough to identify the heirs;
• the matter needs a court’s assessment.

A certificate issued by a notary can be challenged before the civil court of peace (art. 71/C).

For heirs who live abroad, the usual steps are:

1. Choose the route. A Turkish citizen whose family records are complete can apply to a notary; a foreign national applies to the civil court of peace.
2. Arrange representation. A representative in Türkiye needs a power of attorney given at a Turkish consulate, or before a notary abroad with an apostille and a sworn translation (how this works from the UK).
3. Gather the records. A death certificate issued abroad needs an apostille and a sworn translation before a Turkish court or notary can use it.
4. Use the certificate. Institutions in Türkiye, including the land registry, rely on it to identify the heirs. As a rule, a certificate issued abroad needs a Turkish court’s approval before inherited land is registered (Land Registry Law art. 37).

Sharing the estate

The civil court of peace decides on partition of an estate (TMK art. 642; HMK art. 4), in the court where the deceased last lived (TMK art. 576). Until the estate is shared, the heirs own it together (elbirliği) and must act jointly in all dealings with it. At one heir’s request the civil court of peace can appoint a representative for the heirs until partition (TMK art. 640).

Any heir may ask for the estate to be shared at any time, unless a contract or the law requires the estate to stay undivided. If the heirs cannot agree, the civil court of peace divides the assets in kind or, where that is impossible, by sale. Where it can, the court gives a whole property to one heir and settles the difference in value with a cash payment (art. 642).

How the shares are formed. Unless a rule says otherwise, the heirs are free to agree how to share (art. 646), and a partition agreement is valid only in writing (art. 676). Without agreement, any heir may ask the civil court of peace to form the shares; the judge takes account of local custom, the heirs’ personal circumstances and the wishes of the majority, and the shares are allotted by agreement or, failing that, by drawing lots (art. 650). An item that cannot be divided without a considerable loss of value goes whole to one of the heirs; if they cannot agree, it is sold and the price divided (art. 651). A surviving spouse may ask that ownership of the home the spouses shared and the household effects be allotted to them against their share, or, for good reason, a right of usufruct or residence instead (art. 652). Statutory heirs must bring back into the estate, for equalisation, gifts without consideration that they received from the deceased on account of their share; gifts without consideration to a descendant are equalised unless the deceased clearly said otherwise (art. 669).

To prepare. The certificate of inheritance, a list of the estate’s assets and debts, land registry records, and papers on gifts the deceased made to heirs in their lifetime.

Mediation must be tried before a suit to end the co-ownership of property (Mediation Law art. 18/B). Whether this also covers a suit to divide an estate is not settled. Sharing the estate does not end the heirs’ liability for its debts at once: they remain jointly liable for five years from the partition, or from the due date of a later debt (TMK art. 681).

Heirs abroad and foreign heirs

• Which law applies. Succession follows the deceased’s national law, but Turkish law always governs real estate in Türkiye (MÖHUK art. 20). For a dual national who is also a Turkish citizen, Turkish law applies (art. 4).
• Which court. Succession cases are heard where the deceased last lived in Türkiye or, if they never lived in Türkiye, where the estate’s assets are (art. 43).
• Foreign decisions. Before a Turkish authority will act on a foreign court decision, including one in a non-contentious matter, a Turkish court generally has to recognise it (art. 58).
• Foreign heirs and real estate. A foreign national can inherit real estate in Türkiye, but keeping it depends on the rules for foreign buyers, including the country list and the area limits (real estate). Property outside those rules must be disposed of within the period the Ministry of Finance sets, at most one year, or it is liquidated and the proceeds are paid to the heir (Land Registry Law art. 35).
• Blue Card holders. Former Turkish citizens by birth who gave up citizenship with permission, and their descendants to the third degree, keep most rights of Turkish citizens (Citizenship Law art. 28).

Inheritance and transfer tax: when to file

Heirs must declare what they inherit (VİVK art. 7); those abroad file at a Turkish consulate (art. 8). The declaration is due (art. 9):

The tax is paid over three years in two equal instalments each year, in May and November. Inherited real estate can be registered in the heirs’ names before the tax is assessed, but it cannot be sold or mortgaged until the tax on it is paid, unless security is given (art. 19). The tax brackets and exemptions change every year; this page does not repeat them, and the inheritance and gift tax calculator gives a preliminary figure.

Deadlines in one place

Mistakes that cost heirs their options

• Using estate assets while deciding. Taking the deceased’s money for yourself, or selling their belongings, can end the right to refuse an estate in debt (TMK art. 610).
• Waiting because you live abroad. The three months run from learning of the death, wherever the heir lives (art. 606). If you cannot decide in time, the civil judge of peace may, for important reasons, extend the period or grant a new one (art. 615).
• Assuming a UK document works on its own. A grant of probate or a foreign certificate of inheritance does not by itself transfer land in Türkiye; a Turkish court has to approve or recognise it first (Land Registry Law art. 37; MÖHUK art. 58).
• Trying to sell before the tax is paid. The land registry will not complete a sale of inherited real estate until the inheritance tax on it is settled or secured (VİVK art. 19).
• Counting on a sibling’s reserved share. Siblings lost their reserved share in 2007; a will can leave them nothing (TMK art. 506).

Documents to prepare

• The death certificate; if issued abroad, with an apostille and a sworn translation.
• A population register extract (nüfus kayıt örneği) or foreign civil-status documents showing the family.
• Each heir’s identity card or passport.
• Any will, or the record of where it is deposited.
• Title-deed details and a list of other assets, bank accounts and debts.
• For a reduction or sham transfer claim: land registry entries and deeds for transfers and gifts the deceased made in their lifetime.
• A power of attorney if you will be represented; Turkish citizens abroad give it on their Turkish identity card or passport.
• For a foreign certificate of inheritance or probate decision: the original with an apostille.