Dying Without a Will in Turkey: Intestate Succession Rules

When someone dies without a valid will in Turkey, the Turkish Civil Code (TMK) dictates exactly who inherits and how much they get. There's no discretion, no negotiation, no "what they would have wanted." The statutory formula applies automatically — and it produces outcomes that shock foreign families who assume Turkish law works like common-law systems.

How Turkish Intestate Succession Divides the Estate

The TMK uses a parentelic system that prioritizes heirs in a strict hierarchy:

First group — Descendants (children, grandchildren). If the deceased has children, they inherit equally. If a child predeceased the parent, that child's share passes to their own children (the deceased's grandchildren) by representation.

Second group — Parents. If there are no descendants, the deceased's parents inherit equally. If one parent is deceased, that parent's share goes to their descendants (the deceased's siblings).

Third group — Grandparents. If no one from the first two groups survives, grandparents and their descendants (aunts, uncles, cousins) inherit.

The surviving spouse doesn't belong to any group — they inherit alongside whichever group exists:

The Unmarried Partner Gets Nothing

This is the provision that devastates expat families most often. Under Turkish law, unmarried partners, cohabiting partners, and spouses of unregistered religious marriages (imam nikahı) have absolutely zero statutory inheritance rights. It doesn't matter if you lived together for 30 years, raised children together, or both names are on the mortgage.

If an expat dies intestate in Turkey, their entire Turkish estate — real property, bank accounts, vehicles — bypasses the surviving partner completely. It passes to the deceased's biological relatives: children first, then parents, then siblings and beyond. If no relatives exist at all, the estate goes to the Turkish State.

The only protection is a valid will. A Turkish notary-approved will can designate an unmarried partner as an heir, though the reserved portion rules (below) limit how much they can receive if the deceased also has children or parents.

Reserved Portions (Saklı Pay) — The Floor You Can't Cut Below

Even with a will, Turkish law protects certain close relatives with mandatory minimum shares called the "reserved portion" (saklı pay):

• Children — Reserved portion is 1/2 of their statutory intestate share
• Parents — Reserved portion is 1/4 of their statutory share
• Surviving spouse — Reserved portion equals their full statutory share

So if a deceased person had two children and a spouse, the spouse's statutory intestate share is 1/4 and their reserved portion is also 1/4. Each child's statutory share is 3/8, and their reserved portion is 3/16.

If a will or lifetime gifts violate these reserved portions, the affected heirs must file a tenkis (reduction) lawsuit within one year of learning about the violation, and no later than ten years from the disposition. Missing this deadline permanently extinguishes the claim.

You Inherit the Debts Too

Under Article 599 of the TMK, Turkey follows universal succession — heirs inherit the deceased's liabilities personally and without limitation, not just the assets. If the deceased owed 500,000 TL in credit card debt and had 200,000 TL in the bank, each heir is personally liable for their proportional share of the 300,000 TL shortfall.

The only escape is formal renunciation (mirasın reddi), filed at the Civil Court of Peace within three months of death. But here's the trap: if you've already touched the estate — withdrawn cash, driven the deceased's car, paid their bills with estate funds — the court treats that as implied acceptance, and your right to renounce is permanently gone.

The Immovable vs. Movable Split for Foreigners

Turkish inheritance law applies a critical jurisdictional split under MÖHUK Article 20: Turkish real estate is always governed by Turkish succession law regardless of the deceased's nationality. But movable assets (bank accounts, investments, vehicles) are governed by the national law of the deceased at the time of death.

This means a British expat who dies intestate with a flat in Bodrum and a bank account in Istanbul could have their property divided under Turkish intestate rules and their bank account divided under English intestate rules — two different formulas producing different shares for the same heirs. Coordinating these dual regimes requires professional legal advice.

What You Should Do About It

The entire intestate problem is avoidable with a valid will. A Turkish notary-approved will costs roughly 1,000-2,000 TL and takes one appointment. It can designate specific heirs, allocate assets, and protect an unmarried partner — within the reserved portion constraints.

The Someone Died in Turkey guide walks through both intestate settlement and estate planning strategies for expats, including the exact process for executing a legally sound Turkish will.

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