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):

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).

Challenging a will: annulment and reduction

Annulment. 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 (art. 558). The right lapses one year after the claimant learns of the will, the ground and their own entitlement, and in any case ten years after the will was opened; against a defendant in bad faith the outer limit is twenty years (art. 559).

Reduction (tenkis). An heir whose reserved share has been infringed may sue to cut back the gifts or bequests that exceed the free portion (art. 560). Some lifetime gifts can be reduced too, such as gifts made in the year before death beyond customary presents, and transfers made with the clear aim of defeating reserved shares (art. 565). The claim must be brought within one year of learning of the infringement and in any case within ten years (art. 571). Both annulment and reduction can be raised as a defence at any time (art. 559, 571).

Refusing an inheritance

An heir who does nothing acquires the estate with its debts (TMK art. 610). Refusal (mirasın reddi) is the way out:

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).

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).

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

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).

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.

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.
• 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.