We examine the action for the determination of the estate, which secures the official establishment of the deceased’s assets and liabilities as at the moment of death: its scope, the inventory procedure, the court with jurisdiction, and the legal position resulting from the action.
The testator’s final intention does not take effect of its own accord once the will has been read out. We examine, from a practical standpoint, the conditions, parties, time limits and consequences of the enforcement action available where the obligation under a legacy is not performed.
Not every disposition upon death survives in law. We address the defects for which a will may be annulled, who may bring the action, the preclusive periods, and the effect of a judgment of annulment on the estate.
Transfers recorded in the land registry as sales but in truth intended as gifts strike directly at the heirs’ inheritance rights. We examine the elements of simulation by the deceased, the routes of proof, the constitution of the parties and the consequences of the proceedings from a practitioner’s perspective.
Disinheriting an heir by testamentary disposition does not exclude that heir’s children from the estate. We examine the effect of a disinheritance on the descendants, the distinction between punitive and protective disinheritance, and the allocation of the burden of proof.
No dealing with an estate is possible without the certificate of inheritance that establishes the status of heir. We examine how the document is obtained from a notary and from the Civil Court of Peace, who may apply for it, and the avenues for annulment.
An heir whose name appears nowhere on the certificate of inheritance may find their share transferred to others on the strength of a document that does not reflect the true position. We examine the concealment of an heir, the actions available and the principles governing the proceedings.
Containing an undertaking of lifelong care in return for the transfer of assets, this contract is subject to the form of a contract of inheritance, and its breach brings with it disputes over abatement and simulation. We examine how the contract is concluded, who its parties are, how it comes to an end, and the legal remedies open to the heirs.
While still alive, the deceased may agree with an heir to extinguish the inheritance rights that would otherwise arise in the future. We examine the types of waiver contract laid down in Art. 528 of the Turkish Civil Code No. 4721, the mandatory official form, the effect on the descendants and the grounds for annulment.
That an inheritance passes automatically on death does not mean that the land registry and bank records change at the same moment. We address the order of the devolution formalities, the inheritance and transfer tax return, the basis of calculation and the differences in files containing a foreign element.
Universal succession passes the whole of the estate to the heirs; penal sanctions, however, fall outside that whole. We address the legal basis for judicial and administrative fines lapsing on death, the distinction between the principal tax and tax penalties, and the remedies open to the heirs.
As a rule the Code does not permit the share of an heir with a reserved portion to be touched; disinheritance is one of its few exceptions. We examine the conditions for punitive and protective disinheritance, how each is effected and the consequences it produces.
The deceased’s freedom of disposition is limited by the minimum share the Act accords to certain heirs. We examine the proportions of the reserved portion, the dispositions subject to abatement, the rule on the order of abatement, and how the proceedings unfold.
What passes to the heirs on death is not only property but also the obligations attached to the estate. We examine, within the framework of the Turkish Civil Code, which debts an heir may be held liable for, with which assets, and for how long.
Delivering a will that comes to light upon death to the court, opening it, entering it in the record and notifying those entitled is a mandatory judicial stage. We examine how this process operates, the time it takes and the legal consequences it produces.
When an insolvent heir renounces the estate, the step sometimes becomes a means of escaping enforcement by his creditors. We examine the conditions of the action for annulment of the renunciation under Art. 617 of the Turkish Civil Code, the six-month preclusive period, the parties to it and the consequences for liquidation.
An inheritance merges into the heir’s own property automatically at the moment of death, and the debts are part of that transfer. We examine the routes of actual and deemed renunciation open to an heir who does not wish to take on the estate, the three-month period, the form of the declaration and the consequences renunciation produces.
A gift presented in the land registry as a sale is most often devised to erode the heirs’ shares. We address the elements of simulation by the deceased, the transactions that fall outside it, the burden of proof, the regime of time limits and its relationship with abatement from a practitioner’s perspective.
Who takes a deceased person’s assets and in what proportion where they die or are declared absent, how the status of heir is documented, the protection of the reserved portions and the division of the estate form the core of succession law. In this briefing note we address the field’s basic concepts, institutions and types of dispute as a whole.
Foreign nationals may acquire the status of heir in Türkiye, but the acquisition of immovable property is subject to statutory limits. We assess the applicable law, international jurisdiction, and the documentary and tax obligations in succession relationships with a foreign element.
Public receivables that arose up to the date of death form part of the liabilities of the estate and are directed at the heirs. We examine the distinction between the principal tax and the tax penalty, the limit set by the inheritance share, the effect of renouncing the inheritance, and the action to be brought against a payment order.
Unlike a will, a contract of inheritance is a bilateral disposition upon death that also binds the testator. We address the types of the contract, the mandatory official form, the consequences it produces, the routes to termination and the regime governing its annulment, from a practical standpoint.
The holographic will, in which the deceased may set down his final intention entirely on his own, carries as much risk of invalidity as it offers convenience. We address the formal conditions for this disposition, the methods of keeping it safe, the grounds of annulment and the opening process followed after the death.
Executed with the participation of a public officer and two witnesses, the official will carries the greatest evidential weight among dispositions upon death. We examine its conditions as to form, the prohibitions on acting as a witness, the notarial procedure and the prospects of annulment from a practical perspective.
Who receives the assets a person leaves behind, and in what proportions, follows an order drawn by statute. We examine the system of classes of heirs, the position of the surviving spouse, the rates of the reserved portion and the process of division from a practical standpoint.
From the determination of the estate to transfer procedures, and from disputes over wills to the dissolution of co-ownership, the succession process demands a technical discipline of litigation and procedure. We examine the functions undertaken by a succession lawyer, the types of action most frequently encountered in practice, and the critical points of process management.
The right of renunciation lapses if it is not exercised within the three-month preclusive period laid down by statute. We examine when that period begins to run, the starting points that differ according to the group of heirs, and the possibility of an extension.
Who may make a will, which forms are valid, what may be arranged by will, and how does the reserved portion limit that disposition? We address every stage, from the making of the disposition upon death to its implementation after the testator’s death.
A share in an estate may be disposed of before the division is complete, but the validity of the transfer turns on formal rules that vary with the identity of the transferee. We examine the conditions of the transfer contract, the balance of liability for the debts of the estate and the principles governing attachment of the share.
