Inheritance Law

The reserved portion is the minimum share that the deceased may not freely dispose of and that is allocated by law to certain heirs. The heirs entitled to a reserved portion are the descendants, the parents and the surviving spouse. Siblings have no reserved portion.

The deceased may freely dispose, by will or inheritance contract, of the portion exceeding the reserved shares. This portion is called the disposable portion.

An heir whose reserved portion has been infringed may bring an action for abatement. Through this action, dispositions exceeding the reserved portion are reduced to the extent needed to complete the reserved portion.

Heirs may renounce the inheritance. The declaration of renunciation is made, in writing or orally, to the civil court of peace of the place where the succession was opened. The declaration must be unconditional and unqualified.

The period for renunciation is three months. For statutory heirs, this period runs from the date they learned of the deceased's death, unless it is proven that they learned of their status as heir later. For appointed heirs, the date on which the disposition was notified to them is taken as the basis.

If the deceased's insolvency at the date of death is manifestly evident or officially established, the inheritance is deemed renounced. In this case a declaration of renunciation is not additionally required; however, in practice, filing an action for a declaratory judgment is preferred.

A will may be drawn up in three forms: an official will, a holographic will, and an oral will. An official will is made before a notary or a civil peace judge, with two witnesses present.

A holographic will must be handwritten and signed by the deceased from beginning to end, and must also indicate the year, month and day it was made. A text typed on a computer and signed is not valid.

An oral will is possible only in extraordinary circumstances, such as imminent danger of death, interrupted transport, illness, or war, and only when no other form of drawing up a will is possible.

The court with subject-matter jurisdiction over inheritance actions varies according to the type of dispute. Requests such as the issuance of a certificate of inheritance, the determination of the estate, and partition among co-owners are heard in the civil court of peace.

Actions such as abatement, cancellation of the land registry entry and registration due to a collusive transfer by the deceased, and annulment of a will fall within the jurisdiction of the civil court of general jurisdiction.

As a rule, the court with territorial jurisdiction is the court of the deceased's last place of residence. For actions concerning title to immovable property, the court of the place where the immovable is located has jurisdiction.

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A will may be annulled on the grounds that the deceased lacked capacity to dispose, that it was made under the influence of mistake, deception, intimidation or duress, that its content is contrary to law or morality, or that the formal requirements set out in law were not observed.

Where lack of capacity is alleged, the deceased's health condition at the date of the will is examined. Hospital records, medication reports and witness statements form the basis of this examination; a forensic medical examination is obtained where necessary.

An action for annulment must be filed within one year of the date the interested party learned of the disposition and the ground for annulment. In any event, the right to bring the action lapses once certain longer periods have elapsed from the date the disposition took effect.

Yes. The deceased may disinherit an heir entitled to a reserved portion in two situations: where the heir has committed a serious offense against the deceased or their relatives, or where the heir has seriously failed to fulfil obligations arising from family law toward the deceased.

Disinheritance is carried out through a testamentary disposition, and stating the reason in the disposition is mandatory. If no reason is stated, the disposition is given effect subject to the reserved portion rules.

A disinherited person receives no share of the inheritance and may not bring an action for abatement. However, the disinherited person's descendants may claim their reserved portion as though the disinherited person had died before the deceased.

A collusive transfer by the deceased occurs where the deceased, in order to keep assets away from the heirs, disguises what is in fact a gift as a sale. This is among the most common inheritance disputes encountered in practice.

The action is brought seeking cancellation of the land registry entry and registration. The heir must prove that the transfer does not reflect the true underlying transaction concealed behind the apparent transaction. Whether the price was actually paid, the payer's financial capacity, the relationship between the parties, and the conditions at the date of transfer are examined.

This action does not require a reserved portion to be affected; any heir may bring it. In addition, this action is not subject to a limitation period and may be brought at any time after the deceased's death.

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An action for abatement is brought by an heir whose reserved portion has been infringed. The action results in dispositions exceeding the reserved portion being reduced to the extent needed to complete the reserved portion.

Abatement is carried out by proportionally reducing the entirety of the gains obtained through the appointment of an heir or through other testamentary dispositions, unless it appears from the disposition that the deceased intended otherwise.

The right to bring the action lapses one year from the date the heirs learned that their reserved portion had been infringed, and in any event ten years from the date the will was opened, or, for other dispositions, from the date the succession was opened.

If an inherited immovable passes to more than one heir and no agreement can be reached on partition, an action for partition among co-owners is filed. This action terminates co-ownership in shares or joint ownership without shares.

The court first examines whether physical division is possible. If the immovable can be divided without significant loss in value, physical division is ordered; otherwise, partition through sale is ordered.

The sale is carried out by public auction through the enforcement office or a sales officer. If the co-owners have agreed on a sale, the auction may also be held among the co-owners only.

An agreement between heirs for the transfer of an inheritance share is subject to a written form requirement. Such agreements, made without the deceased's participation, have no effect before the estate is partitioned.

An heir's agreement to transfer a share to a third party is not valid unless executed by a notary. This agreement does not give the transferee the right to participate in the partition; it only gives the right to demand that the share falling to the heir at the end of the partition be handed over to the transferee.

Agreements made during the deceased's lifetime, without the deceased's participation, between one heir and the others or with a third party, are not valid.

Equalization means that gratuitous transfers made by the deceased to descendants during their lifetime are, unless otherwise indicated, deemed to have been made against the inheritance share and are taken into account in the partition.

Dowry, start-up capital, debt payments and similar transfers fall within this scope. Ordinary education and maintenance expenses, and gifts customary under prevailing usage, are not subject to equalization.

The person subject to equalization either returns the value received in kind or has it deducted from their share. If the value received exceeds the inheritance share, that person is liable to return the excess unless it is proven that the deceased intended it as a gift.

An action for the determination of the estate has the deceased's assets as of the date of death recorded by the court. This is not a partition action; it merely establishes the existing situation.

The action may be brought by any of the heirs. Bank accounts, land registry and vehicle records, company shares and debts fall within the scope of the determination.

The determination forms the evidentiary basis for any subsequent partition, abatement or collusive-transfer action. For this reason, particularly where there is a lack of trust among the heirs, it is advisable to apply for it at an early stage.

A will is a unilateral disposition; the deceased may revoke it alone at any time. An inheritance contract, on the other hand, is bilateral and, as a rule, cannot be terminated unilaterally.

An inheritance contract is drawn up in the form of an official will; the parties must communicate their wishes to the official at the same time and sign in the presence of two witnesses.

Withdrawal from the contract is only possible through the parties' written agreement or in the cases listed in law. For this reason it is a highly binding instrument, and its consequences should be evaluated in advance.

A certificate of inheritance is a document showing who the heirs are and in what proportion they inherit. It may be obtained from a notary or from the civil court of peace.

In situations such as a foreign national being among the heirs, deficient civil registry records, or a disputed line of descent, a notary may not issue the certificate; in such cases application must be made to the court.

A certificate of inheritance does not constitute a final and conclusive judgment. The contrary may always be proven; its annulment may be sought on the ground that it does not reflect the true situation.

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Statutory succession under Turkish law is based on a system of classes (parentela). The first class consists of the deceased's descendants; children and their descendants fall within this group. If there are no descendants, the second class, the parents and their descendants, inherits, and if there are none, the third class, the grandparents and their descendants, inherits.

The surviving spouse is an heir alongside every class; the spouse's share varies according to which class they inherit alongside. The spouse's share is lowest when inheriting alongside descendants and highest when inheriting alongside the third class.

As long as an heir exists within a class, the next class does not inherit. An adopted child and their descendants inherit like blood relatives; conversely, the adopting parent does not inherit from the adopted child.

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Heirs who accept the inheritance unconditionally and unqualifiedly are liable for the deceased's debts with their personal assets, jointly and severally. This liability is not limited to the estate.

An heir wishing to limit their liability may renounce the inheritance or request that an official inventory be drawn up. If an official inventory is drawn up, the heir is liable only for the debts entered in the inventory.

These choices are subject to time limits. If no action is taken within the period, the inheritance is deemed accepted unconditionally and unqualifiedly, and this cannot later be reversed.