Foreigners’ assets in Türkiye upon death

A certificate of inheritance (veraset ilamı) is an official document showing who a person’s heirs are and their inheritance shares upon the person’s death. For foreigners, obtaining this document is possible through an action filed before the civil court of peace. This action is a request for a certificate of inheritance.

When applying to the civil court of peace, certain documents must be attached to the petition, and care must be taken that these documents are apostilled and translated into Turkish. The documents generally required for the application are:

• The decedent’s death certificate,
• The will, if any, made abroad,
• Foreign official documents showing the heirship relationship,
• A civil registry extract and a photocopy of the passport,
• The heirs’ identity documents and address details,
• A copy of the real estate title deed,
• A power of attorney (if the case will be handled through a lawyer).

The competent court in these cases:

Jurisdiction in Cases Arising from Inheritance

Article 11 of the Code of Civil Procedure (HMK)

(1) In the following cases, the court of the decedent’s last place of residence has exclusive jurisdiction:

a) Actions concerning division of the estate, invalidity of a division agreement, annulment and reduction of dispositions mortis causa, and claims for recovery of property based on inheritance, as well as disputes between heirs arising from management of the estate.

b) All actions to be brought against the heirs until the final division of the estate.

(2) An action for recovery of property intended to be brought concerning an asset in the estate may also be brought where the asset was located at the time the estate was inventoried and recorded.

(3) In actions for annulment of a certificate of inheritance and issue of a new certificate of inheritance, the court of the place where each of the heirs resides also has jurisdiction.

We recommend consulting a lawyer about the procedures for a foreign natural person’s acquisition of real estate in Türkiye through inheritance.