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Turkish inheritance law applies to all real estate located in Turkey and, in many situations, to the worldwide estates of Turkish citizens. Heirs living abroad face an additional layer of practical difficulty: documents in a foreign language, deadlines that run whether or not you are aware of them, and proceedings that require presence before Turkish courts, banks and land registries. Our office in Bakırköy, Istanbul represents both foreign heirs with assets in Turkey and Turkish citizens living abroad, and conducts the entire process under a power of attorney so that our clients rarely need to travel.
Inheritance Law in Turkey: What It Covers
Inheritance law under the Turkish Civil Code determines who inherits, in what shares, and how the estate is transferred, divided and — where necessary — litigated. The typical matters we handle are the certificate of inheritance, transfer of title to real estate, access to bank accounts of the deceased, partition of the estate among heirs, protection of reserved shares, challenges to wills and to suspicious lifetime transfers, and renunciation of insolvent estates.
Two features of the Turkish system surprise many foreign clients. First, for immovable property in Turkey the Turkish courts apply Turkish law even if the deceased was a foreign national, so the shares may differ from what a will or the law of your home country provides. Second, several key steps are subject to short statutory periods — renunciation must be declared within three months — so early legal advice genuinely matters.
Certificate of Inheritance for Foreign Heirs
The certificate of inheritance (veraset ilamı) is the document that officially identifies the heirs and their shares; without it, banks and the land registry will not act. Turkish citizens can usually obtain it from a notary within a day. Where the file has a foreign element — a foreign deceased, a foreign heir, or foreign civil status records — the notary route is generally closed and the certificate must be requested from the civil court of peace.
For heirs abroad we prepare the application, obtain sworn translations and apostilles for foreign birth, marriage and death certificates, and follow the court file to the final certificate. We then use the certificate to complete land registry transfers and to collect balances held at Turkish banks.
Wills, Reserved Shares and Estate Disputes
A will (vasiyetname) may be made before a notary or in the testator’s own handwriting, and is opened and read by the civil court after death. Turkish law protects the reserved shares of descendants, parents and the surviving spouse: a will or lifetime gift that goes beyond the disposable portion can be reduced through a tenkis (abatement) action.
A separate and very common dispute in practice is muris muvazaası — the deceased transferring real estate during their lifetime, formally as a sale but in reality as a gift, in order to favour one heir over the others. Such transfers can be challenged without a time limit by the heirs whose shares were defeated. We review land registry records and the financial reality of the transfer, and litigate these claims before the civil courts.
Partition of the Estate
Until the estate is divided, the heirs own it jointly and none of them can freely dispose of individual assets. If the heirs agree, we draft a partition agreement and complete the transfers at the land registry. If they do not, the action for dissolution of co-ownership (ortaklığın giderilmesi) allows any heir to force a division — usually through a court-supervised sale by auction and distribution of the proceeds according to the shares in the certificate of inheritance.
Heirs Living Abroad
Most of our inheritance clients never come to Turkey during the process. A power of attorney issued at a Turkish consulate — or before a foreign notary with an apostille — authorises us to apply for the certificate of inheritance, represent you before courts, tax offices, banks and the land registry, and transfer sale proceeds to your account abroad. We report at every stage in English and share all documents digitally. Inheritance transfers also involve the inheritance and transfer tax declaration, which we prepare and file as part of the engagement; the tax is modest by international standards and is calculated on the official values of the estate.
Where the deceased or the heirs are foreign nationals, questions of applicable law arise. As a rule, Turkish law governs immovables in Turkey, while the national law of the deceased governs the remainder of the estate. We regularly work alongside notaries and lawyers in other countries so that the Turkish leg of a cross-border estate fits into the wider succession.
How Long Does It Take?
An uncontested file — certificate of inheritance, tax declaration and land registry transfer — is typically completed within a few weeks to a few months, depending on how quickly foreign documents can be legalised. Contested litigation such as tenkis or muris muvazaası claims takes considerably longer, commonly measured in years including appeal; we give a realistic assessment of duration and cost at the outset, before you commit to litigation.
If you are dealing with an inheritance connected to Turkey, you can contact our office by phone or WhatsApp; an initial review of the title records and civil status documents usually allows us to set out your options within days. Related practice areas: Real Estate Law and Immigration and Foreigners Law.
Who are the legal heirs under Turkish law?
Turkish law ranks heirs in classes. The first class consists of the deceased's descendants (children and grandchildren); the second class is the parents and their descendants; the third class is the grandparents and their descendants. The surviving spouse inherits together with whichever class is called to the estate, and the spouse's share grows as the class becomes more remote. If there is a valid will, it is applied to the extent that it does not violate the reserved shares.
I live abroad. Can you handle the entire inheritance process without me coming to Turkey?
Yes. In almost all inheritance matters you can be represented under a power of attorney issued at a Turkish consulate or prepared abroad with a notary and an apostille. Obtaining the certificate of inheritance, land registry transfers, bank withdrawals and court proceedings can all be carried out by your lawyer while you remain abroad.
How does a foreign heir obtain a certificate of inheritance (veraset ilamı)?
Turkish notaries generally cannot issue a certificate of inheritance where the case has a foreign element, so foreign heirs normally apply to the civil court of peace. The court examines the family relationship on the basis of civil status records; foreign documents must be translated, certified and, where applicable, apostilled.
Does Turkish law apply to the estate of a foreigner who owned property in Turkey?
For immovable property located in Turkey, Turkish courts apply Turkish inheritance law regardless of the deceased's nationality. For movable assets, the national law of the deceased is in principle applied under Turkish private international law. In practice most disputes concern real estate in Turkey and are therefore resolved under Turkish law.
What is a reserved share (saklı pay)?
A reserved share is the portion of the estate that the law protects for close heirs — descendants, parents and the surviving spouse — even against the deceased's will or lifetime gifts. If a will or transfer infringes the reserved share, the affected heir may bring an abatement (tenkis) action to restore it.
How can I renounce an inheritance in Turkey?
Renunciation (reddi miras) is declared before the civil court of peace within three months of learning of the death, or of learning that you are an heir. If the estate is clearly insolvent, the renunciation may be presumed. Missing the deadline generally means you are treated as having accepted the estate together with its debts.
Can the heirs divide the estate without going to court?
Yes. If all heirs agree, the estate can be divided by a written partition agreement signed by every heir; real estate transfers are then completed at the land registry. Court proceedings — including the action for dissolution of co-ownership — become necessary only when the heirs cannot agree.
I believe assets were transferred to bypass the heirs. What can be done?
Transfers made by the deceased to defeat the heirs' rights — for example a sale that was in reality a gift — can be challenged through actions such as muris muvazaası (collusion of the deceased) and tenkis. Title deed records, bank movements and witness evidence are examined; if the claim succeeds, the transfer is set aside or compensated to the extent of the infringed share.
In the office or by video, we listen to your situation and review your documents.
We set out in writing which action to file, the estimated timeline and cost items.
Filings, hearings and evidence are followed by a single lawyer.
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