Inheritance in Turkey for Foreigners (2026): Guide for Foreign Heirs, Wills, Property and Inheritance Tax

Which Law Applies to Inheritance in Turkey for Foreigners?

Article 20 of MÖHUK (Law No. 5718) is the key rule. Succession is governed by the national law of the deceased. However, Turkish law applies to immovable property located in Turkey, whatever the deceased's nationality.

MÖHUK Article 20: succession follows the deceased's national law, but Turkish law applies to immovable property in Turkey (Source: mevzuat.gov.tr)

Situation	Law governing succession
British national dies owning a flat in Istanbul	Turkish law for the flat; UK law (the national law) for movable assets
German national dies with a bank account in Turkey only	German law as the national law, with Turkish rules on opening, acquisition and division of the estate in Turkey
Turkish citizen living abroad dies owning property in Turkey	Turkish law
Dual national who is also a Turkish citizen	Turkish law (MÖHUK Art. 4)
Foreign national dies without heirs, leaving property in Turkey	The estate in Turkey passes to the Turkish State (Art. 20/3)

Immovable Property in Turkey Is Always Governed by Turkish Law

The practical consequence is that the Turkish Civil Code decides who inherits a property in Turkey, in what shares, and whether forced heirship rules protect certain relatives, even if the deceased's home country has different rules. A foreign owner who wants a different result must plan within the limits Turkish law allows, for example through a will that respects the reserved shares.

Opening, Acquisition and Division of the Estate

Under Article 20/2, rules on the grounds for opening the succession, the acquisition of the estate and its division are governed by the law of the country where the estate is located. For assets in Turkey, the Turkish procedures therefore apply: the certificate of inheritance, the joint ownership of heirs until division, and the Turkish rules on disclaimer and partition.

Who Inherits Under Turkish Law? Statutory Heirs

Where Turkish law applies, the Civil Code determines the heirs through a system of classes (Arts. 495 to 499). Heirs of a closer class exclude those of more distant classes, and the surviving spouse inherits alongside each class.

Heirs alive	Surviving spouse's share	Remaining share
Spouse and descendants (children, grandchildren)	One quarter	Three quarters shared equally among the children
Spouse and parents (or their descendants)	One half	One half to the parents' class
Spouse and grandparents (or their children)	Three quarters	One quarter to the grandparents' class
Spouse only	The whole estate	—
No spouse	—	Descendants first, then parents' class, then grandparents' class

Children inherit equally, and a child who died before the deceased is represented by their own descendants (Art. 495). You can calculate the shares for your family with our inheritance share calculator.

Forced Heirship (Saklı Pay) in Turkey

Turkish law protects certain close relatives with a reserved share that a will cannot take away. Article 506 of the Civil Code sets the reserved shares:

Turkish Civil Code Article 506: forced heirship shares; the reserved share of siblings was abolished in 2007 (Source: mevzuat.gov.tr)

Heir	Reserved share
Descendants	Half of their statutory share
Each parent	One quarter of their statutory share
Surviving spouse with descendants or parents	The whole of the statutory share
Surviving spouse in other cases	Three quarters of the statutory share
Siblings	No reserved share (abolished in 2007)

If a will or lifetime gifts infringe a reserved share, the heir can file an abatement action to have the dispositions reduced.

Wills Made Abroad: Are They Valid in Turkey?

A will made abroad can be valid in Turkey. Under Article 20/4 of MÖHUK, the form of testamentary dispositions is governed by Article 7: a will is formally valid if it complies with the law of the country where it was made or with the law governing its substance. A will made in the form required by the deceased's national law is also valid. Capacity to make a will is governed by the national law of the testator at the time the will was made (Art. 20/5).

Turkish law itself recognises three forms of will: the official will made before an official with two witnesses, the handwritten will and, in exceptional circumstances, the oral will (Civil Code Art. 531). Whatever its form, a will cannot override Turkish forced heirship rules for property governed by Turkish law. A will must be opened by a Turkish civil court of peace before it can be relied on for assets in Turkey.

Certificate of Inheritance (Mirasçılık Belgesi) for Foreign Heirs

A certificate of inheritance (also called veraset ilamı) identifies the heirs and their shares. Title deed offices, banks and other institutions in Turkey require it before releasing any asset. Under Article 598 of the Civil Code, it is issued by a civil court of peace or a notary.

Notaries issue certificates on the basis of Turkish civil registry records. Where the deceased or the heirs are foreign nationals, or family relationships must be proved with foreign documents, the certificate is usually obtained from the civil court of peace. The court will ask for:

• the death certificate, apostilled and translated if issued abroad,

• documents proving family relationships (birth and marriage certificates, family registers),

• the heirs' passports or identity documents,

• any will, together with information on whether it has been opened.

Which Court Hears Inheritance Cases Involving Foreigners?

Under MÖHUK Article 43, inheritance cases are heard at the court of the deceased's last domicile in Turkey. If the deceased had no domicile in Turkey, the court of the place where estate assets are located is competent. For a foreigner who lived abroad but owned a flat in Istanbul, this is usually an Istanbul court.

Using a Foreign Certificate of Inheritance in Turkey

A certificate of inheritance or a similar document issued abroad is generally not accepted directly by Turkish land registries and banks. Either a Turkish certificate of inheritance is obtained, or the foreign document is recognised by a Turkish court. Which route is faster depends on the documents available and on whether the foreign certificate reflects the Turkish rule that immovable property in Turkey follows Turkish law.

Transferring Inherited Property in Turkey to Foreign Heirs

Step	What happens
Certificate of inheritance	Obtained from the civil court of peace or a notary
Inheritance tax return	Filed with the tax office within the legal deadline
Tax clearance	The tax office certifies the inheritance tax position for the transfer
Application to the title deed office	The heirs are registered as joint owners of the property
Division or sale	By agreement among the heirs, or through a partition case

After the transfer, the heirs hold the property in joint ownership (elbirliği mülkiyeti): no heir owns a specific part, and decisions such as selling require all of them. A foreign heir can also sign all steps through a power of attorney issued at a Turkish consulate or before a foreign notary with an apostille and translation.

When a Foreign Heir Cannot Keep the Property

Article 35 of the Land Registry Law allows nationals of countries determined by the President to acquire property in Turkey within area limits and outside restricted zones. Inheritance does not override these conditions. Property acquired by inheritance outside the limits of the first paragraph of Article 35 must be liquidated by the owner within a period of up to one year set by the Ministry; otherwise it is liquidated by the State and the proceeds are paid to the heir.

Land Registry Law Article 35: property inherited outside the limits must be sold within the period given; otherwise it is liquidated and the value paid to the heir (Source: mevzuat.gov.tr)

For most heirs from the EU, the UK, the US and other countries whose nationals may buy property in Turkey, this rule does not bite for an ordinary apartment. It matters for property in military or security zones, large land holdings, and heirs whose country is not on the permitted list.

The Two-Year Rule for Unregistered Inheritances

Heirs sometimes leave a deceased's property registered in the deceased's name for years. Under Additional Article 1 of the Land Registry Law, if the inheritance transfer has not been registered within two years of the death, the title deed office may itself apply to court for a certificate of inheritance and register the property in the heirs' joint names. It is better for heirs to control the process themselves.

Inheritance Tax in Turkey for Foreign Heirs

Assets located in Turkey that pass by inheritance are subject to Turkish inheritance and transfer tax (Law No. 7338). Heirs file an inheritance tax return with the tax office. The deadline depends on where the death occurred and where the heirs live (Art. 9):

Place of death	Heirs living in	Deadline from the date of death
Turkey	Turkey	4 months
Turkey	Abroad	6 months
Abroad	Turkey	6 months
Abroad	The same country as the deceased	4 months
Abroad	Another foreign country	8 months

The tax is progressive, with exemption amounts for descendants and the surviving spouse that are updated every year. The assessed tax is paid in six equal instalments over three years, in May and November. Most of Turkey's double taxation treaties cover income taxes rather than inheritance tax, so check with a tax adviser in your home country whether Turkish inheritance tax can be credited there.

Bank Accounts and Other Assets of the Deceased in Turkey

Banks block the accounts of a deceased customer once they learn of the death. To release the funds, heirs generally present the certificate of inheritance and the inheritance tax clearance. Where there are several heirs, the bank pays according to the certificate, usually with the consent or presence of all heirs or their attorneys. Vehicles, company shares and receivables follow similar documentary steps.

Disclaiming an Inheritance in Turkey (Mirasın Reddi)

An inheritance may include debts. A statutory heir can disclaim the inheritance within three months, which for statutory heirs generally starts from the date they learned of the death (Civil Code Art. 606). The disclaimer is made orally or in writing before the civil court of peace and must be unconditional (Art. 609). If the deceased was clearly insolvent at the time of death, the inheritance is deemed disclaimed (Art. 605).

You can see what a disclaimer petition contains in our sample petition for renunciation of inheritance.

Dividing the Estate Between Heirs

Until the estate is divided, heirs own it jointly and must decide together (Civil Code Art. 640). Any heir can ask for division at any time (Art. 642). Where the heirs cannot agree on selling or dividing a specific asset, the route is a partition action before the civil court of peace, which can order division in kind or sale by auction. Before filing, mandatory mediation is required for disputes on the division of movable and immovable property (Mediation Law Art. 18/B).

At the request of any heir, the civil court of peace can also appoint a representative of the community of heirs until division (Art. 640/3), which is useful when some heirs live abroad and the estate needs day-to-day management.

Handling an Inheritance in Turkey From Abroad

Foreign heirs rarely need to travel to Turkey. A lawyer acting under a power of attorney can obtain the certificate of inheritance, file the tax return, transfer the property and bank assets, and represent the heir in any partition or abatement case. The power of attorney can be signed at a Turkish consulate or before a local notary with an apostille and certified translation, and should expressly cover inheritance proceedings, tax matters and title deed transactions. How a power of attorney for Turkey is signed abroad, and how lawyers' fees work, is explained in a separate guide.

Common Mistakes Foreign Heirs Make

• Assuming home-country law governs a Turkish property: Turkish law always applies to immovable property in Turkey.

• Relying on a will that ignores forced heirship: Reserved shares under Turkish law can be claimed through an abatement action.

• Missing the inheritance tax deadline: Late filing leads to penalties and delays the transfer.

• Using estate assets before deciding whether to disclaim: This can remove the right to refuse an indebted inheritance.

• Leaving the property in the deceased's name for years: Joint heirs multiply over generations and division becomes harder.

• Ignoring Article 35 limits: Heirs who cannot acquire property must sell within the period given.

Inheritance Lawyer in Istanbul and Ankara: Which Court Hears the Case

Actions for dividing an estate, challenging a will or reducing excessive gifts are heard by the court of the deceased's last domicile (Article 11 of the Code of Civil Procedure); for a foreign deceased with no domicile in Turkey, the court where the estate's assets are located is competent (Article 43 of the Private International Law Act). If the deceased lived in Ankara, the Ankara courts hear the case even if the heirs live in Istanbul or abroad. A certificate of inheritance itself can be obtained from any civil court of peace.

We act as an inheritance lawyer in Istanbul and before the courts in Ankara for foreign heirs. See our inheritance lawyer in Turkey page, and Buying Property in Turkey as a Foreigner for property-related rules.

Conclusion

Inheritance in Turkey for foreigners follows a clear logic: the deceased's national law generally governs succession, but Turkish law governs property located in Turkey. Foreign heirs need a certificate of inheritance, must file the inheritance tax return on time, and should decide whether to disclaim before touching any asset. Wills made abroad can be valid, but they cannot defeat Turkish forced heirship for Turkish property. For guidance on estates, cross-border succession, disclaimers and partition, see our inheritance lawyer in Turkey page, and for property questions our guide to buying property in Turkey as a foreigner.

Sources

• Law No. 5718 on Private International and Procedural Law (MÖHUK) (Arts. 4, 7, 20, 43)

• Turkish Civil Code No. 4721 (Arts. 495-499, 506, 531, 598, 605-610, 640, 642)

• Land Registry Law No. 2644 (Art. 35, Additional Art. 1)

• Inheritance and Transfer Tax Law No. 7338 (Art. 9)

• Mediation Law No. 6325 (Art. 18/B)