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The Dual Law Split under Turkish Private International Law
Article 20/1 of Law No. 5718 (MÖHUK) states the rule and its exception in one sentence: succession is governed by the deceased's national law, while Turkish law applies to immovables situated in Türkiye. It is not a symmetrical two-track system — the national law is the rule, and Turkish-situs real estate the carve-out:
- Immovable Property (Real Estate): Real estate, land, and villas located in Türkiye are strictly governed by Turkish substantive inheritance law (lex rei sitae), regardless of the deceased person’s nationality or domicile.
- Movable Assets (Bank Accounts & Company Shares): Cash deposits, bank balances, and vehicle titles fall under the general rule and are governed by the national law of the deceased.
A second paragraph is easy to miss and often decisive. Under art. 20/2, the grounds on which the estate opens, its acquisition and its partition are governed by the law of the country where the estate is situated. So even where a foreign national law decides who inherits, Turkish law governs how a Turkish-situs estate is disclaimed, acquired and divided.
Use our interactive tool to verify whether Turkish real estate or bank assets pass to the surviving spouse, children, or parents under the Turkish Civil Code (TMK 4721).
Open Inheritance Succession Check →Step 1: Obtaining the Turkish Certificate of Inheritance (Veraset İlamı)
A foreign grant of probate, letters of administration, or foreign notarial certificate is not directly executable in Türkiye. To establish who the lawful heirs are and their precise fractional shares, an application must be filed before the Civil Court of Peace (Sulh Hukuk Mahkemesi) in Türkiye.
Under art. 71/B of the Notaries Act, a notary cannot issue a certificate of inheritance where it is requested by a foreigner — as well as where the matter requires adjudication or the population records are insufficient. For heirs abroad this makes the court route the normal one. The court requires:
- An apostilled and sworn translated official death certificate.
- Apostilled family census records or birth/marriage certificates establishing heir relationships.
- A copy of any registered Turkish or foreign testamentary will.
Step 2: Filing the Inheritance and Transfer Tax Declaration
Under the Turkish Inheritance and Transfer Tax Law (Law No. 7338), all assets transferred by inheritance in Türkiye are subject to a progressive tariff running from 1% to 10% (art. 16). The rate does not depend on the degree of relationship — relationship affects only the statutory exemption thresholds under art. 4, which are revalued annually. The higher 10% to 30% band applies to gratuitous transfers between the living, not to inheritance. Filing deadlines are set by art. 9:
- Death occurring in Türkiye: 4 months if heirs reside in Türkiye; 6 months if heirs reside abroad.
- Death occurring abroad: 6 months if the heirs are in Türkiye; 4 months if the heirs are in the country where the deceased was; 8 months if the heirs are in a third country.
Your attorney submits the tax declaration to the competent Tax Office (Veraset Vergi Dairesi), pays the assessed duty or sets up an installment schedule, and obtains the crucial Tax Clearance Certificate (İlişik Kesme Belgesi).
Step 3: Unfreezing Turkish Bank Deposits
Once the Tax Clearance Certificate and the certified court Veraset İlamı are filed with the relevant Turkish bank, the block on the account can be lifted. It is rarely a single step, because until the estate is partitioned the heirs hold it in joint ownership (elbirliği mülkiyeti, TMK art. 640): banks generally require all heirs to act together, or a partition or an authorisation between them, before any payment is made. Each bank then applies its own compliance and transfer procedure.
Step 4: Transferring Real Estate Titles (Tapu İntikali)
For villas, flats, and land, the attorney presents the succession documents to the Land Registry Directorate (Tapu Müdürlüğü). The deceased owner’s name is formally removed from the title deed register and replaced by the new foreign heirs as co-owners (elbirliği mülkiyeti or paylı mülkiyet).
Protection of Statutory Forced Shares (Saklı Pay & Tenkis)
Under TMK arts. 505–506, descendants, the surviving spouse and the parents hold a reserved share (saklı pay); arts. 507–509 govern how the freely disposable portion is computed. If a will exceeds that disposable portion, those heirs may bring an action in abatement (tenkis davası) under TMK arts. 560 et seq. Under TMK art. 571 the action must be brought within one year of the date the heir learns that the reserved share has been infringed, and in any event within ten years.
Scope. This page is general information about Turkish law and procedure. It is not legal advice, it is not an assessment of your situation, and reading it does not create a lawyer-client relationship. Statutory figures, thresholds and rates are revised periodically — check the current position before relying on any of them. Any particular case turns on its own documents and facts.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I have to fly to Istanbul or Antalya to receive my inheritance?
No. The entire process from court filing to tax clearance and bank payout is completed by your Turkish lawyer under an apostilled Power of Attorney.
What if there are debts attached to the estate?
Under Turkish law, heirs have a strict 3-month statutory window from learning of the death to formally refuse or disclaim the inheritance (Mirası Red) before the court, thereby avoiding liability for the deceased's debts.