Preparing a Will: Important Considerations for Effective Estate Planning

Capacity to make a will

Article 502 of the Turkish Civil Code requires capacity of discernment and attainment of age fifteen. A will and an inheritance agreement have different capacity requirements. Advanced age alone does not establish incapacity; the person’s condition when making the disposition matters.

Forms of wills

An official will must follow the statutory procedure before an authorised official and two witnesses. A holographic will must be entirely handwritten by the testator, including the year, month and day, and signed. Signing a typed text does not satisfy these requirements. An oral will is available only under exceptional circumstances and procedures prescribed by law.

Revocation

A testator may revoke all or part of an earlier will through a new will in a legally valid form. Destruction and subsequent dispositions are governed by Articles 542–544. A later will does not invariably cancel every provision of an earlier one; supplementary and conflicting provisions must be distinguished. A handwritten cancellation note requires separate assessment of form and intention.

Reserved shares and invalidity

Infringement of a reserved share does not automatically invalidate the whole will; reduction may be available. Incapacity, defects of intention, unlawful or immoral provisions and formal defects raise different invalidity issues. Assets, heirs, debts and earlier dispositions should be examined together.

Legal basis

Türk Medeni Kanunu / Turkish Civil Code, Articles 502–503, 531–544, 557–571

Legal information: This article provides general information on Turkish law. The documents, dates and applicable rules of each case require individual assessment.