General Information on Inheritance in Turkey

A Turkish Will is the document according to which it can be stated how a person would like his assets in Turkey to be distributed after his death. Please bear in mind that, this can only be achieved if a Turkish Will is drafted in a form prescribed by the Turkish inheritance law governing inheritance in Turkey, taking into consideration all of your personal and financial circumstances. We would like to briefly explain the Turkish system as it is different.

Please be advised that although one can prepare a Will for his property, as Turkish law will be applicable to any matters related to Turkish immobile properties (land, property etc.), he has limited freedom over what can be left to whom as the Turkish law pre-prescribes the legal inheritors.

According to Turkish Legal system,  some close relatives who are inheritors have untouchable legal shares (i.e. protected by law).

Inheritance in Turkey

A Turkish Will cannot be issued by a lawyer and must be issued by the testator in person, in front of a Notary public. Please find below more information on issuing a Will in Turkey.

Arranging a Will in Notary in Turkey:

A formal Will is directly issued by the Notary Public based on the Will wording which should be in a form prescribed by Turkish inheritance law.

A foreign testator states his/her Will with the help of a sworn interpreter and with the presence of the notary and two witnesses. The notary records the Will in a formal form and keeps a copy of it in the archive. One copy of the Will can be delivered to the testator upon his/her demand.  Please note that the notary public may ask for a health report from a local state hospital in order to verify the mental capacity of the person who issues a Will.

Acacia Lawyers assistance on drafting a Turkish Will:

Should it be requested, our lawyers can draft a specific wording in Turkish for inheritance in Turkey based on the statement to us and within the parameters of the Turkish Legal system. Once the document is drafted, this shall be sent to the client for his review accordingly.

In addition to the above, if the client also requires so, one of our lawyers can be appointed to make necessary arrangements (such as witnesses, sworn translator, notary appointment etc) and to assist them during the transaction.