Although the Turkish Civil Code does not count substance addiction as a separate ground for divorce, the damage the addiction causes to the family order may be assessed within the scope of the irretrievable breakdown of the marital union. We examine the proof of addiction, its effect on custody, and the court with jurisdiction.
The contact rights of the parent not granted custody, and of third persons close to the child, are shaped by the criterion of the child’s best interests. We examine the conditions for an action for the establishment of personal contact, the forms contact may take, the limits of the right and the enforcement of handover judgments from a practical perspective.
Where one of the spouses dies, the surviving spouse’s housing arrangements may be placed at risk by the heirs’ claims over the dwelling. We examine the conditions, the time limits and the practice of the courts governing a request under Turkish Civil Code No. 4721 Art. 240 for the family residence to be allocated set off against the participation claim.
The Constitutional Court has annulled the words for an indefinite period in Article 175 of the Turkish Civil Code No. 4721. We assess the timetable for the decision to take effect, its impact on final alimony awards and the course the parties should follow during this transitional period.
Assistance alimony allows a person who can no longer meet their own subsistence to obtain support by court order from close relatives of sufficient means. We address its conditions, the criteria for fixing the amount, its duration and the circumstances in which it ends.
Ending a marriage union by court judgment depends on choosing the right ground and submitting the evidence in accordance with proper procedure. We examine the legal bases of a divorce action, the operation of the contested and uncontested routes, the effect of fault on the ancillary consequences and the interim measures available during the proceedings.
The assumption that alimony is awarded only to a spouse with no earnings at all does not hold in practice. We examine the position of a spouse with a regular income in respect of interim alimony, poverty alimony and child support, the criteria the courts apply, and the circumstances in which alimony comes to an end.
The duty of the parent who is not granted custody to contribute to the care, education and health expenses of the common child is termed child support. We examine the cases in which this obligation arises, the criteria for determining the amount, the conditions for its alteration and termination, and the court with jurisdiction.
Maintenance once awarded may cease to meet the recipient’s needs as economic conditions change. We examine the legal basis of a claim for the increase of maintenance, the conditions required, who may raise it, how the rate of increase for future years is determined, and the procedure that applies.
Where maintenance awarded by a court goes unpaid, the creditor has effective means at his or her disposal, including attachment and coercive imprisonment. We examine the enforcement routes that vary according to the type of maintenance, the assets that may be attached, the competent enforcement office and the application of Art. 344 of the Enforcement and Bankruptcy Act No. 2004.
The custody decision is left to the judge’s discretion within the framework of the best interests of the child. We address the settled practice by age group, criteria such as living conditions and the sibling bond, the limits of joint custody, and the circumstances in which custody may be left with the father.
Establishing parentage between a father and a child born outside marriage requires the biological relationship to be demonstrated. We examine the evidential value of DNA testing in a paternity action, orders for examination by force, and the legal validity of tests arranged without a court order.
Maintenance orders that exceed the capacity to pay can come to threaten the paying party’s economic existence rather than secure a balance. In light of the Constitutional Court’s individual application case law, we assess the legal character of disproportionate maintenance, the criteria governing the amount, and the avenues available.
An intentional attempt by one spouse upon the life of the other is regulated in the Turkish Civil Code as an absolute ground for divorce. We examine the conditions of the action, the preclusive periods, the means of proof, and its effect on damages, custody and the matrimonial property regime.
Where one of the spouses commits an offence regarded as shameful in the eyes of society, this constitutes a ground for divorce not on its own, but on condition that it renders the shared life intolerable. We examine the conditions of this relative ground under Turkish Civil Code No. 4721 Art. 163, the means of proof, and the consequences it produces as regards damages, alimony and custody.
Where the spouses have been unable to come together for one year following the dismissal of an action for divorce, the statute deems the marriage union to have broken down irretrievably. In this briefing note we address the conditions of that ground for divorce, the calculation of the period and the burden of proof.
The general ground for divorce known as irreconcilable differences rests on common life having become unsustainable. We address the statutory elements of the action, the role of the balance of fault, the means of proof, the interim measures available during the proceedings and the consequences of divorce.
Where a spouse makes settled a way of life irreconcilable with society’s understanding of morality and decency, the other spouse acquires a right of divorce that is subject to no time limit. We address the conditions of this special ground under Turkish Civil Code Art. 163, the routes to proving it, and its effect on damages, alimony and custody.
Where a marriage carries a foreign element, the applicable law and the court with jurisdiction are determined by connecting rules rather than by domestic law alone. We examine the cascading rule, service on a spouse abroad, the consequences for custody, maintenance and property, and the fate of residence and work permits.
Adultery is a special ground of action that the Turkish Civil Code counts among the absolute grounds for divorce and that, once proved, calls for no further justification. We examine the conditions of the action, the preclusive period, the rules of proof and its effects on damages and the matrimonial property regime from a practical standpoint.
Although alcohol dependency is not listed in the Code as a separate ground for divorce, it is assessed under Turkish Civil Code No. 4721, Art. 166 where it renders the marital union intolerable. We examine the conditions of the action, its effects on fault and custody, the means of proof and the court with jurisdiction.
The failure of a spouse who has left the common residence to return does not on its own bring about a divorce. We address the six-month period under Art. 164 of the Turkish Civil Code No. 4721, the conditions of validity of the notice to return home, the qualities required of the residence to which the spouse is invited, and the burden of proof.
Where one spouse places the other in a financial vice, the result is a form of pressure that erodes the marital union from within. We examine the definition of economic violence, its legal basis, its manifestations in practice and the means of proving it from the perspective of a divorce action.
Although gambling addiction is not listed in the Turkish Civil Code as a self-standing ground for divorce, the marital union is accepted as having broken down irretrievably to the extent that the addiction leads to a breach of the duties arising from the marriage. We examine the conditions of the action, the means of proof and the effect on custody from the standpoint of practice.
Serious attacks on a spouse’s honour and dignity constitute an absolute ground for divorce under Article 162 of the Turkish Civil Code. We examine the conditions of this ground of action, the preclusive periods, the means of proof and the consequences for damages and custody.
Mental illness arising in one of the spouses constitutes a ground for divorce only where certain conditions are met together. We address the nature of the illness, the role of the official medical board report, the burden of proof, custody and the appointment of a guardian from a practical perspective.
Fault determines not only whether the marriage will be brought to an end, but also the fate of claims for damages, alimony, custody and the division of property. We address, from a practitioner’s perspective, the conduct that gives rise to fault, how it is proved, and the consequences attached to its degrees.
Where no acknowledgement has taken place, the parentage between a child born outside marriage and the father is established by court judgment. We examine the parties to a paternity action, the conditions required, the presumption of paternity, the means of proof, the time limits and the legal consequences it produces.
The residence forming the centre of the marital union is closed to unilateral disposal, whoever holds the title deed. We examine the function of the family residence annotation, the limits of the owner spouse’s powers, the special protection provided for leased residences, and the actions available against transactions made without consent.
In an uncontested divorce, the protocol submitted to the court is the document evidencing the parties’ agreement on custody, alimony, damages and the division of property. We address the elements the protocol must contain, together with a specimen text set out article by article.
Poverty alimony awarded under Article 175 of the Turkish Civil Code No. 4721 is not subject to any time limit. We assess the historical development of that rule, the debates it has generated and the time-limited alimony models found in common law, European, Islamic and Asian legal systems.
We address, from a practical perspective, the legal basis of the temporary alimony awarded for the subsistence of the spouses and the care of the children while divorce or separation proceedings are pending, the persons who may claim it, the criteria for fixing the amount and the grounds on which it ends.
Although custody is as a rule granted to a single parent after divorce in Turkish law, the 2017 decision of the 2nd Civil Chamber of the Court of Cassation opened the way to joint custody. We examine its legal foundations, the conditions the courts require, the rights and obligations of the parents, and the content of a joint custody agreement.
The Constitutional Court’s decision annulling Article 187 of the Turkish Civil Code took effect on 28.01.2024, ending the obligation of a woman who marries to take her husband’s surname. We examine the new position, the practice of the civil registry offices and the judicial route.
Identifying the values that will enter the division once a marriage ends rests on the distinction between acquired and personal property. We address how the participation claim is calculated, when the action may be brought, the ten-year period, and the measures available where assets are alleged to have been concealed.
By means of a matrimonial property agreement executed before a notary, spouses may determine in advance how their assets will be managed and how they will be divided in the event of a divorce or a death. We examine the regimes provided for in the Code, the liquidation process and the questions most often raised in practice.
A marriage contracted without the conditions required by statute is brought to an end not by divorce but by an action for annulment. We address the grounds of absolute and relative nullity, the capacity to bring the action, the preclusive periods and the consequences of an annulment decision for the spouses and the children.
Parentage between a child born outside marriage and the father is not established automatically. We address, from a practitioner’s perspective, the forms in which acknowledgement may be made, its conditions of validity, the rights it creates, and the parties and time limits in the action for its annulment.
Unless the spouses make a different choice before a notary, the assets acquired during the marriage are divided under the rules of the statutory regime. In this note we address the distinction between acquired and personal property, the grounds on which the regime ends, the calculation of the participation claim from the residual value, and the limitation regime.
Poverty alimony is a safeguard mechanism afforded to the spouse who will face hardship in providing for himself or herself by reason of the divorce. We examine the conditions for the claim, who may apply, the criteria for determining the amount, the scope for adjustment and the grounds on which it comes to an end.
A divorce concluded before a foreign court is not reflected automatically in the Turkish civil registry records. We address applications to the civil registry office and the consulate, the distinction between recognition and enforcement, the documents required, and the consequences arising as regards custody, maintenance, damages and the matrimonial property regime.
A divorce judgment does not only change the personal status of the spouses; it also produces consequences for their assets under the heads of damages, maintenance and liquidation of the matrimonial property regime. We examine the conditions for these three heads and how they operate in practice.
The family residence is a special status the law affords to the place in which the marital union is actually lived out. We address the criteria by which that status is determined, the protections it provides, and the process of placing an annotation on the land registry record and having it removed.
Economic interests injured by a divorce and personality rights that have been infringed are protected as separate heads of damages under the Turkish Civil Code. We address the conditions for pecuniary and non-pecuniary damages, the criteria for determining the amount, the limitation period and the practice in an uncontested divorce.
A union formed by a religious ceremony alone is not a marriage in Turkish law. We examine the consequences this carries for a woman in terms of inheritance, maintenance, damages and the matrimonial property regime, together with the legal status of children born of the relationship.
In Turkish law a marriage is contracted only before an authorised registrar. We address the consequences that unions established by a religious ceremony alone produce for custody, alimony, damages and succession, together with the power to conduct marriages granted to muftis’ offices.
The share a surviving spouse receives from the estate cannot be found by looking at the statutory proportions of inheritance alone. The liquidation of the matrimonial property regime, the reserved portion, claims over the family residence and equalisation must be assessed together; in this briefing note we address these topics from a practical perspective.
Uncontested divorce is the shortest route to ending a marital union; the court, however, separately reviews the will of the parties and the content of the protocol. We address the process in all its aspects, from the one-year requirement to the mandatory content of the protocol, and from custody and alimony arrangements to the court with jurisdiction.
In an uncontested divorce, the protocol setting down in writing the matters agreed by the spouses becomes, upon the judge’s approval, an inseparable part of the judgment. We address the legal nature of the protocol, its requirements of form and its mandatory and optional elements from a practitioner’s perspective.
Sale, gift or mortgage transactions over the family residence are subject to the express consent of the other spouse. We examine the conditions, the parties, the rules of proof and the outcomes of the action for annulment of title deed and registration brought against transfers made without that consent.
Maintenance is a financial obligation directed at remedying the economic imbalance that emerges after a divorce or separation. We examine the conditions and duration of the four types of maintenance, the criteria by which the amount is determined and the remedies available where it goes unpaid.
Once the divorce judgment becomes final, a woman as a rule reverts to the surname she bore before marriage. Art. 173 of the Turkish Civil Code No. 4721 allows a woman with an interest, and where no harm is caused to the former husband, to continue bearing that surname. We address the conditions, the time limits and the route of objection.
A custody order is shaped by the circumstances prevailing when it was made; when those circumstances change, custody may fall to be reconsidered. We examine the grounds for a request to vary custody, the procedure, interim measures and the effect on maintenance.
Maintenance awarded upon divorce is an obligation directed at preserving the economic balance between the parties, but it is not inviolable. We examine the cases in which maintenance lapses automatically, the situations in which its removal may be sought from the court and the limits drawn by the practice of the Court of Cassation.
