FOREIGNER'S RIGHT OF SUCCESSION 26 October 2022
FOREIGNER'S RIGHT OF SUCCESSION
Can foreigners be heirs in Turkey?
Being a citizen of a foreign state does not constitute an obstacle to being an heir in Turkey. On the other hand, determining whether foreigners have the title of heir is essential for the heir to acquire the goods. For this, it is necessary to obtain a certificate of inheritance from the Turkish Courts.
Which law applies in the case of inheritance?
Pursuant to article 20 of the International Private and Civil Procedure Law if the inherited property is an immovable located in Turkey, Turkish Law directly; If the inherited property is a movable property located in Turkey (such as money, vehicles and other securities), the national law of the deceased will apply. In addition to these, the provisions regarding the opening, acquisition, and distribution of the inheritance will be subject to the law of the country where the estate is located. In the case of writing a will, there are two different alternatives. Accordingly, if a will is written:
- The law of the country where the will was made may apply,
- The national law of the deceased may apply.
Is it possible to acquire the movable properties of a foreigner in Turkey by foreigners? Which path should be followed?
Pursuant to article 20 of the International Private and Civil Procedure Law, the basis is the national law of the legator. According to this, the national law to which the legator died before she died will be applied for the movable property of the inheritor who lost her life before becoming a Turkish citizen.
In case the inheritors and foreign heirs do not have any records in the population registers in Turkey so that the heirs can acquire the property, they are required to request a certificate of inheritance from the Turkish Courts, together with the documents issued by the courts of the country of which the deceased is a citizen or the population directorates of that country and showing that the foreign person is the heir of the deceased.
Since only definitive foreign court decisions can be recognized and enforced in Turkish Law, the verdict or documents proving the lineage of the foreigner and issued by foreign courts or civil registry offices cannot be the subject of recognition and enforcement proceedings in Turkey, and direct inheritance is given to persons with these documents. However, these documents can be used as a means of proof when a certificate of heirship is requested by foreigners before the Turkish Courts. Pursuant to article 43 of the International Private and Civil Procedure Law, inheritance lawsuits will be heard in the court of the last place of residence of the deceased in Turkey, and if the last place of residence is not in Turkey, in the court of the place where the goods included in the estate are located.
Is it possible for foreigners to acquire the movables of Turkish citizens?
If the deceased is a Turkish citizen and his heirs are foreign, Turkish law will be applied for both movable and immovable properties. In addition, since population records will be created during the citizenship process, no additional process will be run in order for the people added to the records to be entitled to inheritance. However, if all heirs are not included in the records, the heir who cannot be found in the records will have to apply to the Turkish Courts for a certificate of inheritance, similar to the one described above.
Is it possible to acquire immovable by foreign heirs?
If the heir is a foreign national, he must be a citizen of a country determined by the President in order to inherit the immovable property. If the heir is a citizen of a country not included in this list, it is not possible for that foreigner to inherit the immovable property. Therefore, if the deceased owns an immovable in Turkey when he/she dies of citizenship, this immovable can only be inherited if he/she is a citizen of one of the listed countries.
Can foreign national heirs who cannot acquire the immovable by inheritance be entitled to the sale price in case the immovable is sold?
Even if the foreign heir, who is a citizen of a country other than 183 countries included in the list prepared by the Council of Ministers in 2012, cannot acquire ownership of the real estate in Turkey, he will be entitled to the sale price in case the said real estate is sold.
