It’s a common occurrence that when individuals pass away, they leave behind assets and liabilities. In such cases, the heirs of the deceased assume certain rights and obligations over the remaining assets and debts. If the debts of the deceased exceed the assets, the legal situation that arises will be addressed in another article. This article will focus on how heirs can obtain the properties left to them through inheritance.
Foreign heirs who wish to obtain inherited properties in Turkey must first prove that they are indeed heirs. The document that serves this purpose is the Inheritance Certificate. If the deceased person is a citizen of the Republic of Turkey, the heirs can request the inheritance certificate from any notary public by applying. The records showing the relationship between the deceased and the heirs are centralized in the system because both of them are citizens of the Republic of Turkey. This enables notaries to issue the inheritance certificate.
However, if the deceased person or the heirs are foreigners, they cannot obtain the inheritance certificate from notaries. In this case, foreigners must obtain the inheritance certificate by applying to the court in Turkey. It should be noted that foreigners must obtain the inheritance certificate proving their status as heirs from the competent authorities in their own countries. The inheritance certificate issued in their own countries must have an Apostille endorsement.
After obtaining the inheritance certificate from their own countries, foreigners must file a lawsuit in Turkey to obtain the inheritance certificate. They must attach the inheritance certificate they obtained from their own countries, with the Apostille endorsement, to their lawsuit. Turkish courts will verify whether the plaintiffs are truly heirs based on the inheritance certificate obtained from their own countries.
In cases where the properties inherited by foreigners are both movable and immovable properties, there will be differences in their distribution. Specifically, Turkish laws will be applied in the inheritance and distribution of immovable properties located in Turkey, even if the deceased and the heirs are foreigners. Therefore, the distribution of immovable properties located in Turkey through inheritance will be in accordance with Turkish laws. If the inherited properties are movable, they will be distributed according to the national laws of the deceased.
For example, let’s assume a person who is a citizen of the Russian Federation has an apartment in Istanbul and accumulated savings in a bank account, and lefts behind a child and mother as the heirs. When this person passes away, the heirs must first apply to the competent authorities in the Russian Federation to obtain the inheritance certificate. After adding the Apostille endorsement to the inheritance certificate, a lawsuit for the inheritance certificate must be filed with the competent courts in Istanbul. At this point, the Turkish court will determine the characteristics of the remaining properties. Since the apartment in Istanbul is immovable property, its distribution will be in accordance with Turkish laws. Therefore, only the child of the deceased will remain as the heir to the apartment in Istanbul, as Turkish laws stipulate that if the deceased has descendants, their ascendants cannot inherit. For the money in the bank account, the distribution will be in accordance with the laws of the Russian Federation, and the child and the mother will inherit their shares as heirs.
After obtaining the inheritance certificate, the heirs can ensure the transfer of the properties to them. For the immovable properties, heirs must apply to the Land Registry Directorate with the inheritance certificate for the properties to be transferred to them. Depending on the value of the immovable properties, inheritance tax may also need to be paid. For the transfer of vehicles, heirs must also apply to the Traffic Registration Directorates with the inheritance certificate. For the money in bank accounts, it is sufficient to apply to the banks with the inheritance certificate.
Where should a lawsuit for the inheritance certificate for inherited properties in Turkey be filed?
If the deceased person has a registered place of residence in Turkey, the lawsuit for the inheritance certificate must be filed in the court where the deceased person’s registered place of residence is located. If the deceased person does not have a registered place of residence in Turkey, the lawsuit must be filed in the courts where the inherited properties are located.
How can I find the properties of my deceased relative in Turkey?
Heirs who do not know which properties the deceased person left behind must file a lawsuit to determine the inheritance properties. Through this lawsuit, the courts determine the immovable properties, vehicles, bank accounts, stock exchange accounts, stocks, safety deposit boxes in banks, and similar properties owned by the deceased.