Division of an Estate — Statutory Heirs, Shares and the Division Process
Statutory heirs, the class system, the surviving spouse's share, reserved portions, wills, renunciation of inheritance and the deadlines for inheritance tax returns.
In Brief
The succession opens on the death of the deceased and, subject to the exceptions provided by statute, passes to the heirs as a whole (Civil Code arts. 575 and 599). Where a declaration of presumed death is made, the passing of the estate is subject to special rules such as security and the obligation to return.
Statutory succession is established through the descendants, the parental class and the grandparental class. The surviving spouse takes a share according to the class with which they inherit. An adopted child and their descendants inherit from the adopter as blood relatives do. A certificate of inheritance does not create the status of heir; it is the document that proves that status and the shares. The starting point of the three-month period for an express renunciation may not be the same for every heir.
Who Are the Statutory Heirs?
The statutory heirs are the deceased's descendants; failing descendants, the mother and father and their descendants; and failing those, the grandmothers and grandfathers and their descendants. The surviving spouse inherits together with every class, in particular proportions. An adopted child and their descendants inherit from the adopter; the adopter and their relatives, however, do not inherit from the adopted child.
The estate of a person who dies without leaving heirs passes to the State (Civil Code art. 501). In this assessment, account is taken not only of statutory heirs but also of whether an heir has been validly appointed.
The Class System
First Class: Descendants
Children inherit in equal shares. A child who predeceased the deceased is replaced, at every degree, by their own descendants through representation (Civil Code art. 495).
Second Class: The Mother and Father
Failing descendants, the mother and father inherit in equal shares. A mother or father who predeceased the deceased is replaced by their own descendants; if there is no heir on one side, the whole estate passes to the other (Civil Code art. 496).
Third Class: Grandmothers and Grandfathers
Where there is no heir among the descendants or the parental class, the grandmothers and grandfathers inherit in equal shares. Those who predeceased are replaced by their own descendants. Where there is a surviving spouse, the rules of representation in the third class apply with the special restrictions in Civil Code art. 497. The statute provides for no fourth class.
The Surviving Spouse's Statutory Share
| Those with whom the spouse inherits | The spouse's statutory share | Total share of the other heirs |
|---|---|---|
| Descendants | 1/4 | 3/4 |
| Parental class | 1/2 | 1/2 |
| Grandparental class | 3/4 | 1/4 |
| No heir in these classes | The whole estate | — |
Shares within a class are calculated according to the persons living and the lines of representation; it cannot be said, for example, that “the mother and father always take equal shares”, because a prior death and representation by descendants may alter the result.
Reserved Portions
The reserved portion is that part of certain heirs' statutory share which is protected against the deceased's dispositions (Civil Code arts. 505-506).
| Heir entitled to a reserved portion | Proportion of the reserved portion |
|---|---|
| Descendants | 1/2 of the statutory share |
| Each of the mother and father | 1/4 of the statutory share |
| Surviving spouse — together with descendants or the parental class | The whole of the statutory share |
| Surviving spouse — in other cases | 3/4 of the statutory share |
Siblings have no reserved portion.
Action for Abatement
Benefits exceeding the disposable portion are subject to abatement on the application of heirs who have not received their reserved portion. The right of action lapses one year after the impairment of the reserved portion comes to the heir's knowledge. The ten-year outer limit runs from the date of the opening of a will and, for other dispositions, from the opening of the succession (Civil Code art. 571). The defence of abatement, by contrast, may be raised at any time on the statutory conditions.
Types of Will
| Type | Basic form and conditions |
|---|---|
| Public will | Drawn up by a public officer with the participation of two witnesses. The public officer may be a magistrate, a notary or another official authorised by law (Civil Code arts. 532 et seq.). |
| Holograph will | Must be written in the testator's own handwriting from beginning to end, dated with the year, month and day, and signed (Civil Code art. 538). |
| Oral will | Where a public or holograph will cannot be made because of an extraordinary situation such as imminent danger of death, the severing of communications, illness or war, the last wishes are related to two witnesses. The witnesses bring the document before the judge by the statutory procedure, or have it recorded before the judge. If one month passes after the testator gains the opportunity to make a will in one of the other forms, the oral will ceases to have effect (Civil Code arts. 539-541). |
The statute contains no ranking of the types of will as having “low, medium or high evidential force”. Validity is assessed according to the formal requirements of each type.
Renunciation of Inheritance
An inheritance may be renounced by statutory and appointed heirs. Renunciation is made by oral or written declaration to the magistrates' court for civil matters; it must be unconditional and unqualified.
For statutory heirs the three-month period runs, as a rule, from the date on which they learned of the deceased's death; if they prove that they learned of their status as heirs later, the period runs from that knowledge. For heirs appointed by will, the period runs from the date on which the disposition was officially notified to them (Civil Code art. 606). Where there are important reasons, the magistrate may extend the period for renunciation or grant a new one (Civil Code art. 615).
If the deceased's insolvency was manifest or officially established at the date of death, the inheritance is treated as renounced (Civil Code art. 605/2). Because of this possibility of “deemed renunciation”, it is not correct to state in absolute terms that everyone who has not made an express declaration of renunciation within three months will necessarily be liable for all the debts out of their own property. The options of an official inventory and official liquidation are also assessed separately where the conditions are met.
The Certificate of Inheritance
A certificate of inheritance is the document showing the status and share of the statutory or appointed heirs. It may be issued to statutory heirs by the magistrates' court for civil matters or by a notary; for appointed heirs the procedure in Civil Code art. 598 applies. The certificate is valid until the contrary is proved, and its cancellation may be sought at any time.
The certificate of inheritance is not the constitutive act that brings about the passing of the estate. The estate passes automatically to the heirs on death. It is, however, in practice a necessary means of proof in most land registry, banking, tax and division transactions.
Deadlines for the Inheritance and Transfer Tax Return
The rule “four months from death in every case” is incorrect. The general periods announced by the Revenue Administration for 2026 are as follows:
| Place of death | Taxpayer's place of residence | Deadline for the return |
|---|---|---|
| Türkiye | Türkiye | 4 months following the death |
| Türkiye | A foreign country | 6 months following the death |
| A foreign country | Türkiye | 6 months following the death |
| A foreign country | The same foreign country in which the death occurred | 4 months following the death |
| A foreign country | A foreign country other than the one in which the death occurred | 8 months following the death |
| Presumed death | — | 1 month following the date on which the declaration of presumed death was entered in the death register |
Common Mistakes
- Treating the certificate of inheritance as the mandatory first step that creates the status of heir.
- Starting the period for renunciation from the date of death alone for all heirs.
- Disregarding the possibilities of deemed renunciation and official liquidation.
- Assuming a four-month tax return deadline without regard to the place of death and the place of residence.
- Overlooking the proportion of the surviving spouse's reserved portion in the other cases.
- Treating every apparent sale as a simulated transaction by the deceased. For such a finding, the apparent transaction, the concealed intention to make a gift and the aim of putting assets beyond the heirs' reach are assessed together on the concrete evidence; not every sale automatically leads to cancellation of the title deed.
Conclusion
The succession opens on death and passes to the heirs. The certificate of inheritance does not create that passing; it proves it. The classes, the spouse's share, the reserved portion, renunciation and the tax return deadlines are each subject to different legal conditions. In particular, the three-month period for renunciation and the one-year and ten-year abatement periods must be calculated by reference to the specific dates of knowledge and notification.
Official sources: Turkish Civil Code no. 4721, Revenue Administration — 2026 Inheritance and Transfer Tax Information
This article was prepared by Av. Mustafa MALGIR.
