Turkish laws strictly regulate inheritance matters and accept a specific system for the division and distribution of assets. In this article, we explain the legal provisions and fundamental concepts regarding inheritance under Turkish law. We also provide general information regarding the inheritance shares of foreign citizens who inherit from their Turkish relatives. You can read our detailed article on the registration of immovable property left in Türkiye by a foreign national in the name of the heirs here.
Provisions concerning inheritance are regulated in Article 495 and the subsequent articles of the Turkish Civil Code No. 4721. The statutory (legal) heirs of the deceased are determined between Articles 495 and 501 of the Code. Accordingly, legal heirs can be listed in order of priority as follows:
- Descendants of the deceased (Children, grandchildren)
- Parents of the deceased (Mother and father)
- Grandparents of the deceased (Grandmothers and grandfathers)
First of all, those listed above are blood relatives of the deceased. It should be noted that there is a strict order of priority among them. That is, upon the death of the deceased, the order determines which group of heirs will receive the estate. If a person has no children or grandchildren, the heirs become their mother and father. Lastly, the grandparents can become legal heirs.
Parentela (Class) System – If the deceased has a surviving spouse at the time of death, the spouse becomes a co-heir along with one of the three groups mentioned above. This framework under Turkish law is known as the parentela system. There is an inheritance system where the share changes depending on which group the surviving spouse inherits with.
Thus, when the deceased passes away, it is first examined whether there are any descendants. If there are no descendants, the priority passes to the second group, consisting of the mother and father. If the parents are also deceased, it should be noted that the inheritance passes to the descendants of the mother and father. If there are no descendants of the parents either, the inheritance falls to the final group, which includes the grandparents. The surviving spouse becomes an heir together with one of these groups.
If the inheriting spouse becomes an heir along with the descendants of the deceased in the first group, 1/4 of the inheritance goes to the surviving spouse, and the remaining 3/4 is divided equally among the descendants. This is referred to as the inheritance of the first parentela (class)
If the inheriting spouse becomes an heir along with the parents of the deceased in the second group, 1/2 of the inheritance goes to the spouse, and the remaining 1/2 is divided equally between the mother and father. This is referred to as the inheritance of the second parentela.
If the inheriting spouse becomes an heir along with the grandparents of the deceased in the third group, 3/4 of the inheritance goes to the spouse, and the remaining 1/4 is divided equally between the grandmothers and grandfathers. This is referred to as the inheritance of the third parentela.
In addition to this distribution system, it should be noted that adopted children are treated as descendants. Likewise, in cases where a child is born out of wedlock but a legal paternity relationship is established with the father, the child is also considered a first-degree heir as a descendant.
If the first-degree children are not alive, the inheritance passes to their descendants. In other words, the grandchildren of the deceased are also included among the descendants. Similarly, if the second-degree heirs (the mother and father of the deceased) are not alive at the time of the inheritance, their descendants becomes heirs.
Explanation of Inheritance Distribution Under Turkish Law with Examples:
EXAMPLE 1: Suppose a person named X passes away leaving a surviving spouse and 3 children named A, B, and C. Looking at the order under the parentela (class) system, descendants inherit first. Since X has 3 children, the children and the surviving spouse become the heirs. As this is the inheritance of the first parentela, the surviving spouse receives 1/4 of the inheritance, and the remaining 3/4 is shared equally among the 3 children.
EXAMPLE 2: When the deceased A passes away, his spouse E, mother M, and siblings K and L survive him. In this case, the parentela order will be examined. Deceased A has no children, grandchildren, or other descendants. Since no first-degree heir survives, the succession moves to the second degree. As the law stipulates that the mother and father of the deceased are heirs in this degree, we can determine that the surviving mother M is an heir. We see that the father of deceased A is not alive; therefore, we look to the father’s descendants. In this case, siblings K and L become heirs. Thus, due to the second-degree order, the remaining heirs are the mother M, siblings K and L, and the surviving spouse E. Under the distribution rule, 1/2 of the inheritance goes to spouse E. The remaining 1/2 would normally be divided equally between the mother and father. The mother receives her share of 1/4, which is half of 1/2. A 1/4 share would likewise remain for the father; however, since he is no longer alive, this share is passed down to his children K and L, giving them an equal share of 1/8 each from the estate.
Please note that all the information provided above applies to cases governed by Turkish law where the deceased is a Turkish citizen. Pursuant to Article 20 of Law No. 5718 on Private International and Procedural Law (MÖHUK), the law of the country of which the deceased was a citizen applies to the inheritance left in Türkiye by a foreign national. However, Turkish law applies in all cases to immovable property. Therefore, the rules explained in this article apply to immovable property left in Türkiye by foreign nationals as part of their estate.
