Turkish Inheritance Law for Foreigners: MÖHUK Article 20, Property and Heirs

1. A foreign inheritance file must separate applicable law from procedure

International succession problems often become confused because several legal questions are discussed as if they were one. The first question is which country’s substantive inheritance law determines heirs and shares. The second is which court or authority has jurisdiction. The third is what procedure is needed to obtain an inheritance certificate, access accounts or transfer title. The fourth concerns taxation.

MÖHUK Article 20 addresses the applicable-law layer. Article 43 addresses jurisdiction in inheritance disputes. Turkish procedural, land-registry, tax and banking rules then govern their own fields. A foreign heir can therefore face Turkish procedure even where a particular substantive issue is governed by foreign law.

This separation is especially important when the deceased owned a Turkish apartment and a foreign bank account. The apartment does not necessarily follow the same substantive succession law as every movable asset abroad.

2. The deceased’s national law is the general succession rule

MÖHUK Article 20(1) begins with a general rule: inheritance is governed by the national law of the deceased. If a French national dies, French succession law is therefore the starting point for matters within that general rule—unless Article 20 itself creates a specific exception.

The deceased’s nationality must be established accurately. Dual nationality can require application of MÖHUK’s general nationality provisions, including the special treatment of a person who is also a Turkish citizen. An old residence card, place of birth or long stay in Türkiye is not the same as nationality.

The content of applicable foreign law can be established under MÖHUK Article 2. The Turkish judge applies the designated foreign law ex officio and may request assistance from the parties. If the content cannot be determined despite all research, Turkish law applies under Article 2(2).

3. Turkish real estate is a major exception: Turkish law governs

Article 20(1) expressly states that Turkish law applies to immovable property situated in Türkiye. This is the central rule for foreign owners of apartments, houses, land and other Turkish real estate.

As a result, a foreign national’s Turkish apartment can be subject to Turkish inheritance rules even though the deceased’s national law governs other parts of the estate. This can affect the identity of heirs, reserved-share consequences and the structure of inheritance rights in the Turkish property.

The rule prevents a simple statement such as “my father was British, so British law controls everything he owned.” For Turkish real estate, the statute points directly to Turkish law.

Property classification should be confirmed from the Turkish title registry. Rights such as usufruct, mortgages and shares in co-owned property can affect what actually entered the estate.

4. Bank accounts and other movable assets require a different analysis

Cash, bank accounts, securities, vehicles and company interests are not automatically governed by the Turkish-real-estate exception. The deceased’s national law can remain central under Article 20, while separate company, banking and procedural rules control transfer mechanics.

A Turkish bank may require a Turkish inheritance certificate or other estate documentation before releasing funds. That administrative requirement does not itself mean that every substantive succession issue is governed by Turkish law.

For company shares, the company statute and Turkish Commercial Code can create additional transfer, registration or management questions. The inheritance entitlement and the corporate steps should therefore be analysed separately.

5. Foreign heirs often need an inheritance certificate usable in Türkiye

An inheritance certificate (mirasçılık belgesi/veraset ilamı) identifies heirs and their shares for Turkish legal purposes. For estates with a foreign element, the appropriate authority and proof requirements depend on the assets, nationality and legal issue.

Foreign heirs commonly need official death records, civil-status documents showing family relationships and sometimes foreign-law material. Documents issued abroad can require apostille or other legalisation and Turkish translation.

A foreign probate document is not automatically a substitute for every Turkish inheritance certificate. Its effect should be assessed under Turkish private international law and the particular transaction. Our existing Grant of Probate in Türkiye guide examines that narrower question.

Where a foreign heir is missing from Turkish or foreign civil-status evidence, the defect should be corrected rather than ignored. Our guide on an overseas heir missing from population records addresses that type of evidentiary problem.

6. Reserved shares can matter when Turkish law governs the immovable estate

Where Turkish law governs Turkish immovable property, the Turkish Civil Code’s succession system—including statutory heirs and reserved-share protections where applicable—must be considered. A will cannot simply be analysed under the deceased’s foreign law while ignoring the Article 20 Turkish-real-estate rule.

The existence and extent of a reserved-share claim depend on the heir relationship, the disposition and the applicable Turkish Civil Code provisions. Lifetime gifts, testamentary dispositions and reductions can require separate calculations.

The website contains a specific guide on reserved-share reduction claims by heirs abroad. That page addresses litigation mechanics; this article remains the broader conflict-of-laws hub.

7. A foreign will may be formally valid even when Turkish assets are involved

MÖHUK Article 20(4) states that the form of a testamentary disposition is governed through Article 7, and also recognises dispositions made in accordance with the deceased’s national law. Article 7, in turn, provides alternative formal-validity connections involving the law of the place where the legal act was made or the law governing its substance.

This structure means a will should not be rejected merely because it was not executed before a Turkish notary. A foreign will can be formally valid under the applicable conflict rules.

Formal validity is only one issue. The will’s substantive effect on Turkish real estate, reserved shares, interpretation and implementation must be analysed under the applicable law. A validly executed will can still face substantive limitations.

Article 20(5) separately states that testamentary capacity is governed by the deceased’s national law at the time of the testamentary disposition. Capacity and form should therefore not be merged into one test.

8. Heirs should identify estate debts before accepting the economic risk

Inheritance is not only about assets. Mortgage debts, loans, tax liabilities, unpaid common expenses and other obligations can accompany an estate. A foreign heir should not sell or distribute assets before understanding the liabilities and the legal consequences of estate conduct.

Turkish law contains a three-month renunciation period in the situations governed by the Turkish Civil Code, with timing rules that depend on how and when the heir learned of the succession. A foreign heir should not assume that residence abroad automatically suspends every deadline.

Our existing Renouncing an Inheritance in Turkey from Abroad guide focuses specifically on rejection of inheritance, debts and conduct that can affect the legal position.

If there is uncertainty about liabilities, official inventory and estate-protection mechanisms can be relevant. The decision should be based on the estate’s actual records rather than family assurances that “there are no debts.”

9. Applicable inheritance law and Turkish inheritance tax are separate questions

Succession rights under MÖHUK and liability for Turkish inheritance and transfer tax do not answer the same question. Turkish tax law has its own connecting rules, exemptions, valuation provisions and filing obligations.

A foreigner can therefore need a Turkish inheritance-tax declaration even when some substantive succession questions are governed by foreign law. Conversely, determining who inherits does not by itself calculate the tax.

The site’s 2026 inheritance and transfer tax guide addresses current tax thresholds and filing separately. Keeping tax content separate reduces legal and SEO cannibalisation.

10. Inherited Turkish real estate must be transferred through the land registry

An heir does not complete the practical ownership process merely by possessing a death certificate. The succession must be reflected in the Turkish land registry using the required inheritance and tax documents.

Before transfer, the title record should be reviewed for mortgages, attachments, usufruct rights and other annotations. An inherited property can carry the same encumbrances that affected it before the owner’s death.

Where several heirs succeed together, the form of co-ownership and later division require attention. One heir cannot simply sell the entire property as sole owner because that person happens to possess the original title deed.

11. An heir living abroad can arrange a sale, but authority and tax steps must be planned

A foreign or overseas heir can generally use a properly prepared power of attorney for delegable title and sale steps in Türkiye. The document should contain the specific authority required for inheritance transfer, sale, receipt of price and related acts according to the transaction design.

The safer workflow is to complete or coordinate inheritance registration before marketing the asset as if one family member has clear title. A buyer should know which heirs must sign and whether any estate dispute or restriction exists.

Sale proceeds, currency transfer and capital-gains consequences can raise additional banking and tax questions. Those should be addressed separately from the inheritance entitlement.

12. Disagreement among heirs can lead to partition, accounting or other claims

International estates often become contentious when one heir occupies property, collects rent, withholds estate information or refuses a sale. The remedy depends on the ownership structure and facts.

For Turkish property, partition of co-ownership (ortaklığın giderilmesi) can be relevant where heirs cannot agree. If one heir has collected rental income alone, an accounting/payment claim can arise. If assets were transferred before death to defeat reserved shares, reduction or other succession claims may require examination.

A broad inheritance article should not present one lawsuit as a universal remedy. The title record, succession certificate, possession, payments and prior transfers determine the claim.

13. Foreign death and kinship documents must establish identity and family relationship clearly

Death certificates, birth certificates, marriage records and family-register extracts issued abroad often form the evidentiary backbone of a foreign heir’s Turkish file. Depending on the country and treaty system, apostille or consular legalisation and Turkish translation can be required.

Name variations are especially common. A person may appear under a maiden name, transliterated Cyrillic or Arabic spelling, or a shortened passport form. The documents must show that the records concern the same individual.

Our apostille and translation guide explains the authentication framework for foreign public documents.

14. MÖHUK Article 43 contains a specific jurisdiction rule for inheritance cases

Article 43 provides that inheritance cases are heard by the court of the deceased’s last residence in Türkiye. If the deceased had no last residence in Türkiye, the competent court is where property included in the estate is located.

This jurisdiction rule should be distinguished from the applicable-law rule in Article 20. A Turkish court can have jurisdiction because estate property is in Türkiye while still needing to apply foreign law to a particular movable-asset succession issue.

Before filing, the deceased’s residence history and location of Turkish estate assets should be documented. Filing in a convenient city merely because an heir lives there can result in a jurisdiction objection.

Conclusion: classify the asset before choosing the law

Turkish inheritance law for foreigners is best understood through MÖHUK Article 20. The deceased’s national law is the general rule, but Turkish law governs immovable property in Türkiye. Estate opening, acquisition and distribution, testamentary form and capacity each have their own statutory treatment. Foreign heirs should therefore map the assets, identify the applicable law, obtain legally usable civil-status evidence and only then plan title transfer, renunciation, litigation or sale.