Turkish succession law does not allow a person to leave their estate entirely as they please. A defined group of close relatives holds a reserved share (saklı pay) that cannot be taken away by will or by gift. When it is taken away anyway, usually through a will or through a transfer made during the deceased's lifetime that was not really a sale, the remedy is a lawsuit, and each type of lawsuit has its own deadline.
The reserved share is a fraction of the heir's statutory share, not of the whole estate.
| Heir | Reserved portion of their statutory share |
|---|---|
| Descendants (children, grandchildren) | One half |
| Mother and father | One quarter |
| Surviving spouse, when inheriting alongside descendants or alongside the parents' branch | The whole of the statutory share |
| Surviving spouse, in other cases | Three quarters |
Siblings no longer hold a reserved share. Whatever is left after the reserved shares, the disposable portion, the deceased was free to give to anyone.
Where a will or a lifetime gift has eaten into a reserved share, the remedy is an abatement action (tenkis davası). It does not annul the disposition; it cuts it back to the extent needed to restore the reserved share.
The time limit is the trap. The right to bring an abatement action is lost after one year from the date the heir learns that their reserved share has been infringed, and in any event after ten years, running from the opening of the will for testamentary dispositions and from the opening of the succession for other dispositions. One year is short, and it starts when you learn of the infringement, not when the estate is finally distributed.
The most common pattern in Turkish estates is not a will at all. The deceased transfers property during their lifetime to one child, recorded at the Land Registry as a sale, while in reality it was a gift intended to keep that property out of the estate and away from the other heirs.
Where this is established, the recorded sale is treated as void as a simulated transaction, and the underlying gift is void as well for want of the required form. The remedy is cancellation of the title and re-registration in favour of the estate, a materially better outcome than abatement, because the property returns to the estate in full rather than being cut back to the reserved share.
The critical practical difference: this claim is not subject to the one-year abatement period. Heirs who believe they are out of time on a tenkis claim frequently still have this route.
What the court looks for is the gap between the recorded transaction and reality: a sale price far below value, no evidence that any price was ever paid, a transferee with no means to pay it, the deceased continuing to use the property, and the timing and health of the deceased at the transfer.
A will can be annulled where the testator lacked capacity when making it, where it was the product of mistake, fraud, duress or undue influence, where its content is unlawful or contrary to morality, or where the formal requirements were not observed. Turkish law recognises official wills made before a notary, wills written entirely in the testator's own hand and signed and dated, and oral wills in narrowly defined emergencies.
An annulment action is subject to limitation periods running from the date the claimant learns of the ground and of the will, so, as with abatement, the moment of knowledge has to be established carefully.
Establish the estate before arguing about it. Obtain the certificate of inheritance, then the title deed records, including the transfer history, which is where lifetime transfers become visible, and the bank and vehicle records. Most claims in Turkish estates are won or lost on the registry history, and it is available before any case is filed.
Not if you hold a reserved share. Descendants, parents and the surviving spouse hold a protected fraction of their statutory share which cannot be removed by will or by gift. Only the disposable portion beyond those shares can be given away freely.
An abatement action is barred one year after the heir learns that the reserved share has been infringed, and in any event ten years after the opening of the will for testamentary dispositions or the opening of the succession for other dispositions.
That is the classic collusive transfer (muris muvazaası). Where a recorded sale was in reality a gift, the sale is treated as void and the underlying gift fails for want of form, and the remedy is cancellation of title and re-registration in favour of the estate. Importantly, this claim is not subject to the one-year abatement period.
Yes, on grounds of lack of capacity, mistake, fraud, duress or undue influence, unlawful or immoral content, or failure to observe the required form. Limitation periods run from when the claimant learns of the ground and of the will.
No. The estate can be administered and disputes litigated under a power of attorney. Note that where an heir is a foreign national the certificate of inheritance is obtained from the court rather than a notary, and Turkish courts have exclusive jurisdiction over property located in Türkiye.
