Inheritance in Turkey: certificate of inheritance, heirs' shares and dividing the estate

The short answer

After a death, the first step is usually the certificate of inheritance: it is needed to release bank funds, transfer title deeds and vehicles, and file the tax return. If the applicant is not a foreign national and the civil registry records are sufficient, any notary can issue it, often the same day. Otherwise you apply to the civil court of peace (sulh hukuk mahkemesi).

Two deadlines start at once: three months to renounce the inheritance (Turkish Civil Code, TMK Art. 606) and four months to file the inheritance tax return if the heirs live in Turkey (Law No. 7338, Art. 9). If the deceased's debts may exceed the assets, the three-month window is critical.

What is a certificate of inheritance?

Its statutory name is mirasçılık belgesi (TMK Art. 598); it is commonly called veraset ilamı. It identifies the statutory heirs and each heir's share. It is not conclusive: if it is wrong, its invalidity can be raised at any time.

Notary or court?

Since 2011, the certificate can be obtained from a notary or from the civil court of peace. Notaries rely on civil registry records; the fee follows the annual Notarial Fee Tariff.

Under Article 71/B of the Notaries Act, a notary cannot issue the certificate, and you must go to court, if:

• determining the heirs requires a judicial examination (for example a will, disinheritance or a dispute)
• the civil registry records are insufficient (old records, births or deaths abroad)
• the applicant is a foreign national

This last point matters for many foreign residents: if you are a foreign heir of a spouse or parent who died in Turkey, you will need to apply to the court, usually with translated and apostilled civil status documents. A person whose interests are harmed can challenge a notarial certificate before the civil court of peace.

Who inherits and in what shares?

Turkish law ranks relatives in classes. Descendants (children and their descendants) inherit first; if there are none, parents and their descendants (siblings); if none, grandparents and their descendants. The surviving spouse always inherits alongside the class that applies (TMK Arts. 495–499).

Children inherit equally, whether sons or daughters. A child who died before the deceased is replaced by their own children. Children born outside marriage inherit equally once paternity is established, and adopted children inherit like biological children. If there are no heirs, the estate passes to the State (TMK Art. 501).

Example: if a man leaves a wife and two children, the wife takes 1/4 and each child 3/8. If someone with no children leaves a spouse and both parents, the spouse takes 1/2 and each parent 1/4.

Which law governs succession for foreign nationals depends on the deceased's nationality, but under Turkish private international law, immovable property in Turkey is always subject to Turkish law.

Reserved shares

A person may dispose of their estate by will or gift, but may not infringe the reserved share (saklı pay) of certain relatives (TMK Art. 506): descendants, half of their statutory share; each parent, a quarter; the surviving spouse, all of the statutory share when inheriting with descendants or parents, otherwise three quarters. Siblings have had no reserved share since 2007.

An heir whose reserved share is infringed can bring an action for reduction (tenkis davası) within one year of learning of the infringement and in any case within ten years of the will's opening or, for other dispositions, of the death (TMK Art. 571). Transfers disguised as sales to favour one heir (muris muvazaası) are challenged by a separate action to cancel the title registration.

Renouncing an inheritance

Heirs take over the estate's debts along with its assets. If the debts exceed the assets, the inheritance can be renounced (reddi miras) by an unconditional oral or written declaration to the civil court of peace (TMK Art. 609).

• Deadline: three months, running for statutory heirs from the date they learned of the death (Art. 606).
• Missed deadline: the court may extend it or grant a new one for important reasons (Art. 615), but this is the exception.
• Conduct that bars renunciation: selling, using or hiding estate assets, or acting beyond ordinary administration, before the deadline (Art. 610).
• Deemed renunciation: if the deceased was clearly or officially insolvent at the time of death, the inheritance is deemed renounced (Art. 605(2)); this can be confirmed by the court.

A renouncing heir's share passes to their own children as if the heir had died first (Art. 611). With an insolvent estate, grandchildren may also need to renounce, through their parents or guardian if they are minors. If all descendants renounce, their shares pass to the surviving spouse; if all nearest heirs renounce, the court liquidates the estate under bankruptcy rules (Arts. 612–613).

Who is liable for the estate's debts?

Heirs who do not renounce are jointly and severally liable for the estate's debts (TMK Art. 641), which can extend to their own assets. If you are unsure whether the estate is in debt, you can ask the court within one month for an official inventory (resmî defter, Art. 619), which lists assets and liabilities so that you can decide on renunciation with the full picture.

Dividing the estate

Until division, the heirs own the estate jointly (elbirliği mülkiyeti) and must act together (TMK Art. 640); one heir cannot sell the family home alone.

1. Agreement: a written partition agreement (Art. 676), or converting joint ownership into shared ownership at the land registry. This is the quickest and cheapest route.
2. Mandatory mediation: since 1 September 2023, mediation is a precondition for a partition action (Law No. 6325, Art. 18/B).
3. Partition action (ortaklığın giderilmesi): if mediation fails, any heir can ask the civil court of peace to divide the assets in kind or, where that is not possible, by sale (Art. 642). Real estate is usually sold at public auction and the proceeds are split by shares.

A partition action often takes more than a year, plus the sale stage, so trying to reach agreement first is usually in everyone's interest.

Inheritance tax return

An inheritance tax return (veraset ve intikal vergisi beyannamesi) is filed under Law No. 7338. The deadlines (Art. 9) are:

• Heirs can file separately or jointly; heirs abroad can file through a Turkish consulate (Art. 8).
• Children and spouses have exemption thresholds that are updated every year; current figures are published by the Revenue Administration (gib.gov.tr).
• The tax is paid in six equal instalments over three years, each May and November (Art. 19).
• Inherited real estate can be registered in the heirs' names before the tax is assessed, but it cannot be sold or transferred until the tax on it has been paid in full (Art. 19).

Step by step after a death

1. Obtain the certificate of inheritance from a notary or the court.
2. Identify assets and debts (land registry, vehicles, banks, loans, enforcement files); if debts are likely, keep the three-month deadline in mind.
3. File the inheritance tax return within the applicable deadline.
4. Register real estate in the heirs' names at the land registry.
5. Agree on division, or go through mediation and then a partition action.

Because inheritance matters involve short deadlines, tax obligations and often family disagreements, legal advice can help where there are debts, a will, foreign heirs or a dispute over division. If you would like us to look at your case, you can reach us through our contact page; our inheritance law page describes our work, and our guide to legal fees explains how fees are set. A surviving spouse's claim under the matrimonial property regime is separate from, and settled before, the inheritance; our divorce guide summarises that regime.