Pehlivan & Güven Law FirmPublished:
Under Turkish law, a person's immovable property and entire estate pass to their heirs upon death. The estate may be divided as laid down by law, or it may be divided differently under an estate partition agreement (miras taksim sözleşmesi). Whether the estate is divided as laid down by law or under a partition agreement reflecting the parties' wishes, certain official formalities must be completed for the property to be registered in the heirs' names.
If the deceased owned immovable property, one of the heirs must apply to the relevant Land Registry Directorate for the title deed to be transferred by inheritance (intikal). However, certain steps must be completed before the transfer can be carried out at the Land Registry Directorate.
Before applying to the Land Registry for transfer, the heirs must obtain:
Once all these documents have been collected, all of the heirs, or their attorney, must apply to the relevant Land Registry Directorate for the inheritance transfer. Following this application, the Land Registry Directorate carries out the transfer as laid down by law or in the estate partition agreement, and the title deeds are issued to the heirs.
The title deed obtained by the heirs after the transfer shows each heir's inheritance share. However, these shares are issued in the form known in our law as joint ownership (elbirliği mülkiyeti), under which no heir can transfer or otherwise deal with the property alone. For each heir to be able to deal with their own share, the heirs must request that the title deeds be converted into shared ownership (paylı mülkiyet).
There are two ways to convert title deeds held in joint ownership into shared ownership. One is for all the heirs to apply to the Land Registry together; the other is to file a lawsuit for the conversion of joint ownership into shared ownership. As a result of this process, the heirs will hold title deeds under shared ownership and will be able to deal with their inheritance shares as they wish.
Under Turkish law, a person's immovable property and entire estate pass to their heirs upon death. The estate may be divided as laid down by law, or it may be divided differently under an estate partition agreement. Whether the estate is divided as laid down by law or under a partition agreement reflecting the parties' wishes, certain official formalities must be completed for the estate to be registered in the heirs' names.
When a foreigner dies, whether in Türkiye or abroad, the heirs must complete certain procedures for the deceased's assets located in Türkiye. Otherwise, the heirs will not be able to take any action regarding these inherited assets.
If the deceased owned immovable property, all of the heirs, or their attorney, must apply to the relevant Land Registry Directorate for the title deed to be transferred by inheritance. Certain steps must be completed before the transfer can be carried out at the Land Registry Directorate.
The following steps must be taken to transfer an estate left by a foreign deceased person:
• The first step in transferring immovable property by inheritance is to request a certificate of inheritance (veraset ilamı) from the Turkish courts: a certificate of inheritance obtained in a foreign country is not recognised by the Turkish courts. For this reason, the certificate of inheritance is obtained from the Turkish courts under Turkish law.
• The deceased's death certificate bearing an apostille from the foreign country, together with documents or decisions identifying the heirs obtained under the laws of the foreigner's country, must also be submitted.
• A certificate of no tax debt must be obtained from the Inheritance and Fees Tax Office.
• Certificates of current market value for the properties must be obtained from the relevant municipalities.
• With all these documents, an appointment must be made with the Land Registry Office where the property is registered; the required documents must then be submitted and the fee paid.
Once all the documents have been submitted, a new title deed showing the heirs can be obtained for the property, since it has passed by inheritance to the heirs of the deceased foreign national (a natural person).
The title deed obtained by the heirs after the transfer shows each heir's inheritance share. However, these shares are issued in the form known in our law as joint ownership, under which no heir can transfer or otherwise deal with the property alone. For each heir to be able to deal with their own share, the heirs must request that the title deeds be converted into shared ownership.
There are two ways to convert title deeds held in joint ownership into shared ownership. One is for all the heirs to apply to the Land Registry together; the other is to file a lawsuit for the conversion of joint ownership into shared ownership. As a result of this process, the heirs will hold title deeds under shared ownership and will be able to deal with their inheritance shares as they wish.
