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Inheritance Law In Turkey Treats a foreign citizen in the distribution of inheritance on state lands as a Turkish citizen would be treated without any difference.
The application for the distribution of the inheritance is submitted to the Magistrate’s Court or the Court of First Instance, then a sum of 4% is paid when the application is submitted, and the state undertakes the process of collecting the property within a month.
Types of inheritance in Turkey
All the rest of the deceased’s movable and immovable property and money on Turkish lands are considered his inheritance, and they are of three types:
- The financial inheritance, including the balance of the deceased in the bank, or the regular cash money found with the deceased
- Property, which includes homes, cars, companies, shops, land, and everything that belongs directly to the deceased.
- Receivables: This includes unpaid debts and taxes
Inheritance distribution ratios in Turkey
Section One: Husband/Wife and Children
Section Two: Parents, Brothers, Grandparents, and Grandchildren
The first section always has priority in distributing the inheritance in Turkey and obtaining the largest share of it.
Who are the legal heirs in Turkish law
According to the Turkish laws of inheritance, after the death of a person, it is necessary to consider whether he has a documented will in the Notary Department in Turkey , the “Notary Clerk”, and then the inheritance quota is applied according to the following distribution:
If there is a living husband / wife and children, the inheritance is divided as follows:
Quarter for husband/wife
The rest of the inheritance is shared equally among the children
In the absence of children, the inheritance is distributed according to the following shares:
Half of the husband/wife
The remaining half is shared between the parents and siblings of the deceased person.
If there are no children and parents :
Three-quarters of the inheritance for the husband/wife
A quarter to the rest of the heirs such as grandparents, uncles and aunts
In the event that there are no relatives other than the husband/wife :
All heirs are transferred to the husband/wife
In the absence of a husband/ wife
If there are other relatives such as parents and children, the inheritance is distributed equally among them.
in case they do not exist, the inheritance is distributed to grandparents and uncles
If there is no relative, the inheritance is withheld by the Turkish government and transferred to charitable causes.
The method of receiving the inheritance and the mechanism of its distribution in Turkey
Turkish law distributes inheritance either in a European system or in a Turkish-Islamic system.
When a foreign person dies in Turkey, several papers are extracted, some of which are from inside Turkey and the other is from the original home of the deceased.
According to Inheritance Law In Turkey The most important papers that are required from the original country:
- Family tree
- Legacy inventory statement
- These papers are translated and legalized at the Turkish embassy and brought to Turkey
Papers to be extracted from inside Turkey:
- The family tree is extracted from Turkish Nufus
- Family statement
- A will issued by a notary public for the deceased
- Valid passport
- Photos
A person, like many in the countries of the world, can write his will and submit it to the notary, leaving his property to the people he wishes to leave it to them, and he has the power to prevent one of the heirs from distributing the inheritance.
Conditions of the will in Turkish law
In writing the will stipulated by Turkish law, the following is required:
- The person must be over fifteen years old.
- The will must be handwritten with the month, day and year written and signed by its owner.
- Turkish law stipulates that in the absence of a will, the inheritance is distributed to the closest relatives by blood, meaning that the closest are the wife and children in the first stage.
Inheriting property and real estate in Turkey
Real estate properties are also subject to the same inheritance laws in Turkey that we explained in the previous paragraphs, and the heirs can limit the inheritance and distribute it either by Turkish law or the law of the mother country
Also, the fees for inheriting real estate are calculated after valuing the property.
Inheritance tax turkey
Transaction fees for inheritance determination cases in Turkey vary according to the amount of money left by the deceased, and range from 1 to 10 % as shown in the following table:
| Fee rate | inheritance value |
| 1% | 350,000 TL or less |
| 3% | 850,000 TL |
| 5% | 1,800,000 TL |
| 7% | 3,300,000 TL |
| 10% | 6,300,000 TL or more |
The minimum limits for the value of the inheritance vary almost every year according to the exchange rate of the Turkish lira against the euro at the beginning of each year, and these percentages were issued for the year 2020 .
These percentages are considered low if they are measured by the fees charged by European courts for distributing foreigners’ inheritance on their lands.
Inheritance according to foreign nationality in Turkey
There are three cases regarding this topic:
If the country of the deceased was within the Hague Convention
If the foreign deceased had the nationality of one of the Hague Convention signatory countries, the heirs have the right to bring the inheritance information documents and the family statement, which are approved in Turkish courts after being translated into Turkish and ratified by the notary in Turkey, and the inheritance is distributed according to Turkish law or the law of the deceased’s home country. Due to the heirs’ wish.
If there is a reciprocity agreement between Turkey and the country of the deceased
In the absence of the country of the foreign deceased within the Hague Convention, the court looks at the treatment received by the Turks in the country of the deceased, and accordingly, if there is a principle of reciprocity between the two countries, the inheritance information documents and the family statement are brought from the mother country of the foreign citizen, then translated and certified, a transaction is initiated Inheritance in Turkey in the competent courts.
In the absence of the previous two options
In this case, the heirs need to file a lawsuit in the Turkish court to demand that the inheritance notification be removed from Turkey, and the court will verify the declaration of death and identify those involved in distributing the inheritance and those entitled to it by making contact with the competent authorities in the home country of the deceased
After granting the document informing the heirs from Turkey, the process of limiting the inheritance in the Turkish court begins normally.
Funerals in Turkey
Death is an inevitable aspect of existence. It’s an unavoidable natural process, however dying in Turkey or losing a loved one may come as a surprise to you.
This blog article will teach you all you need to know about death, paperwork, and funerals in Turkey so that you may prepare correctly.
