Inheritance law is a branch of law that regulates how the estate (tereke) left behind by a person in case of death, disappearance or presumption of death will be transferred to legal or appointed heirs. Inheritance processes usually come with emotional difficulties and the complexity of legal procedures can make this process even more exhausting.

1. Basic Concepts: Heir and Inheritance Lawyer

What Does an Inheritance Lawyer Do?

An inheritance lawyer plays important roles not only in disputes that arise after death, but also while the person is alive.

While Testator is Alive: Provides legal consultancy on matters such as preparing wills, inheritance contracts, or renunciation of inheritance.
After Death: Prevents loss of rights by managing processes such as estate determination, inheritance distribution, reduction lawsuits, and termination of partnership.

Who is an Heir?

An heir is a person who succeeds to the rights, debts and receivables of the deceased person (testator). Divided into two:

Legal Heir: Those who are heirs by law (descendants, spouse, parents, etc.).
Appointed Heir: People whom the testator includes in their inheritance through a will by their own free will.

2. Fraudulent Conveyance (Hiding Assets from Inheritance)

"Muris Muvazaası", known as "hiding assets from inheritance" among the public, is the most common dispute in inheritance law.

What is it?

It is when the testator transfers their properties to someone else through "gift" while showing it as "sale" in the title deed, in order to deprive some heirs of their inheritance.

Solution:

In this case, heirs whose reserved portion is damaged can file a Title Deed Cancellation and Registration Case to prove the transaction was fraudulent (collusive) and recover their rights.

3. Types and Requirements of Wills

A will is a "testamentary disposition" that determines how assets will be distributed after a person's death. According to the Turkish Civil Code, there are three types of wills:

A. Official Will

The most reliable type of will made in the presence of an official (Notary or Peace Judge) and two witnesses.

Who Cannot Be a Witness? Those without legal capacity, illiterate persons, testator's spouse, descendants, ascendants and siblings cannot be witnesses.

B. Handwritten Will

A will written entirely by the testator in their own handwriting.

Requirements: Date of preparation (day, month, year) must be fully stated, entire text must be handwritten and signed.

C. Oral Will

Used in extraordinary situations such as war, illness or sudden danger when there is no possibility of making a will in other forms. The testator tells their last wishes to two witnesses.

4. Reserved Portion and Reduction Case

Can the testator dispose of their assets as they wish? No, the law protects the inheritance rights of some close relatives. This is called "Reserved Portion".

Reserved Portion Rates

Heir	Reserved Portion Rate
Descendants (Children/Grandchildren)	Half of legal inheritance share (1/2)
Mother and Father	Quarter of legal inheritance share (1/4)
Surviving Spouse	Varies by co-heirs; all if alone or with descendants, 3/4 otherwise
Siblings	No reserved portion

What is a Reduction Case?

If the testator has violated the rights of heirs with reserved portions through will or pre-death donations, a Reduction Case is filed to remedy this violation.

Lawsuit Period: 1 year from learning of violation, 10 years from opening of will in any case.

5. Inheritance Distribution and Rates

Legal inheritance distribution is done according to the group system:

First Group (Descendants): Children receive equal shares. The share of deceased child passes to their children (grandchildren).
Second Group (Parents): If there are no descendants, inheritance goes to parents.

Surviving Spouse's Situation:

If heir with children: 1/4
If heir with parents: 1/2
If heir with grandparents: 3/4
If no one else: All

6. Common Inheritance Cases

Inheritance law is an area with intensive technical details and calculations. Basic cases that should be conducted with lawyer support are:

Estate Determination Case: Official determination of all assets and debts of the testator.
Termination of Partnership: When inherited assets cannot be divided, selling through court and distributing the proceeds.
Fraudulent Conveyance Case
Reduction Case
Will Cancellation Case
Inheritance Rejection Case: Heirs rejecting inheritance when estate is in debt.

Why Should You Work with an Inheritance Lawyer?

Preclusion periods in inheritance law cases (for example, 1 year in reduction cases) are very critical. Also, reserved portion calculations require mathematical expertise. A small mistake can cause you to lose a large part of your inheritance right or incur heavy debts.

Inheritance Law

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