Family law, within the framework of Turkish Civil Code No. 4721 (TMK), governs marriage, divorce, maintenance, custody, matrimonial property regimes and parentage. Our firm in Ankara represents parties in uncontested and contested divorce cases and in related disputes over maintenance, custody and division of property; for clients of foreign nationality, the process can also be conducted in Persian and English.
An uncontested divorce is possible if the marriage has lasted at least one year and the spouses have agreed on the financial consequences of the divorce and the arrangements for the children. The protocol prepared by the parties must be approved by the judge, and both spouses must make their statements in person at the hearing. Setting out maintenance, custody, contact and division of property completely in the protocol prevents disputes from arising later.
The law divides the grounds for divorce into specific and general grounds. The specific grounds are adultery, attempt on life, severe maltreatment or degrading treatment, committing a crime and leading a dishonourable life, abandonment and mental illness. The general ground is the irretrievable breakdown of the marriage, which is the ground most often relied on in practice. In cases based on the general ground, the assessment of fault directly affects the outcome of maintenance and compensation claims.
Interim maintenance requested during the proceedings, child maintenance awarded for the child, and poverty maintenance awarded to a spouse who would fall into poverty after the divorce are subject to different conditions. The amount of maintenance is determined according to the parties' financial circumstances, and if circumstances change, an increase, reduction or termination may be requested.
The main criterion in deciding custody is the best interests of the child. The court considers the child's age, habits and education and each party's relationship with the child. It also orders contact between the child and the parent who is not granted custody.
For marriages concluded after 1 January 2002, the statutory matrimonial property regime is the participation in acquired property regime. Under this regime, property acquired by the spouses during the marriage is as a rule subject to division; property acquired by inheritance or gift and items for personal use are deemed personal property. Division of property is the subject of a separate action from the divorce case, and calculating the participation claim requires documenting the acquisition date of the property and the source of its financing.
In divorce cases, evidence must have been obtained by lawful means. Evidence obtained through methods such as audio and video recordings made without the other party's knowledge or unauthorised access to message content may be deemed unlawful and may also give rise to criminal liability.
In divorce cases brought in Türkiye by foreigners, the applicable law is determined according to the rules of private international law. For divorce judgments given abroad to have effect in Türkiye, an action for recognition or enforcement must be brought.
The party who is less at fault or not at fault for the events leading to the divorce may claim pecuniary damages if their existing or expected interests have been harmed. A spouse whose personality rights have been violated may claim non-pecuniary damages. These claims may be raised together with the divorce case or brought as a separate action within the time limit set by law.
Who the jewellery given at the wedding belongs to, and whether its return can be claimed, is frequently disputed in practice. In these claims, the burden of proving the type, quantity and fate of the items is important; wedding footage, witness statements and sales documents may be used as evidence.
The home in which the spouses live together cannot be transferred, nor can a limited right in rem be established over it, without the consent of the spouse who is not the owner. To benefit from this protection, a family home annotation may be requested on the land register. The annotation is a preventive measure aimed at stopping the home from being disposed of by transfer to third parties.
For persons subjected to violence or at risk of violence, protective and preventive measures may be ordered under Law No. 6284. These orders may be requested from the Family Court or, in urgent cases, from the local administrative authority or the police, and may be granted independently of the divorce case.
Cases concerning the establishment, contestation or correction of parentage between a child and its mother and father fall within the jurisdiction of the Family Court. An action to contest parentage is subject to forfeiture periods (hak düşürücü süre). In a paternity case, the claims of the child and the mother are assessed together with maintenance and the correction of the civil registry record.
Adoption takes place by court decision, provided that the conditions on age difference, period of care and consent set by law are met. In the adoption of a minor, the main criterion is again the interests of the child.
