Inheritance Recovery Action in Turkey: Civil Code Articles 637–639 for Foreign Heirs
1. What is an inheritance recovery action in Turkey?
The inheritance recovery action, known in Turkish as miras sebebiyle istihkak davası, is a special inheritance-law remedy. It is designed for the situation in which a legal or appointed heir has the superior inheritance right but another person possesses the entire estate or one or more estate assets.
The claim is broader than an ordinary dispute about physical possession. Article 637 expressly allows the court to decide controversies about heirship within the same action. The claimant can therefore assert both: first, “I am the person with the superior inheritance right,” and second, “the defendant must deliver the estate property held without a superior inheritance title.”
This structure is particularly useful in cross-border estates. A foreign heir may discover that a Turkish apartment, bank-related document, movable asset or other estate property is controlled by a relative, a purported beneficiary or another person who disputes the claimant’s inheritance status. The action provides a direct statutory route focused on the claimant’s superior heirship.
The current wording of Articles 637–639 is published in the Turkish Grand National Assembly text of the Civil Code.
2. Who may file the action under Civil Code Article 637?
Article 637 gives standing to a legal heir or an appointed heir. A legal heir derives heirship from the statutory succession rules. An appointed heir derives heirship from a valid testamentary disposition. In both cases, the claimant must assert a superior inheritance right against the person possessing the estate or the relevant estate asset.
The statutory wording matters. A person who merely expects to benefit economically from an estate does not automatically have standing under Article 637. The claim belongs to a person whose right is based on heirship. A testamentary beneficiary who has only a claim to a specific legacy must distinguish that position from appointed heirship and use the remedy appropriate to the testamentary right.
For foreign claimants, proof of heirship often becomes the first major evidentiary issue. A Turkish certificate of inheritance may be required, particularly where Turkish assets and foreign civil-status records are involved. Our guide on certificate of inheritance in Turkey for foreign heirs explains Article 598 and the court process.
If the claimant’s status depends on a will, the Turkish opening and notification procedure should also be checked. See opening and reading a will in Turkey under Articles 595–597.
3. Who can be sued?
The defendant is the person who holds the estate or an estate asset against which the claimant asserts the superior inheritance right. The defendant’s legal position matters because Article 639 treats good-faith and bad-faith possessors differently for limitation purposes.
The action is not limited to a person claiming to be an heir. The statutory focus is possession of the estate or an estate asset coupled with the claimant’s superior inheritance right. The factual and legal basis on which the defendant holds the property must therefore be identified precisely.
For Turkish real estate, current and historical title records are central. A claimant should determine whether the property is still registered in the deceased’s name, has been registered to an heir, or has been transferred further. The remedy and necessary parties may change when the asset has entered a third-party transaction chain.
For movables or records, possession must be proven with objective evidence where possible. Photographs, inventory records, delivery documents, correspondence, insurance records and witness evidence can establish that an estate asset was in the deceased’s estate and is now under the defendant’s control.
4. Protective measures: security and land-registry annotation
Article 637 gives the judge an express protective power. At the claimant’s request, the court may order any necessary measure to protect the right, including requiring the defendant to provide security or placing an annotation in the land registry.
This rule is commercially important where the disputed asset is Turkish real estate. A lawsuit can take time; a property can be offered for sale, encumbered or otherwise placed at risk while the parties litigate heirship. A properly framed request for an annotation can place the dispute into the land-registry record and help preserve the effectiveness of the eventual judgment.
The statute uses examples rather than an exhaustive list. The court determines the measure required by the actual risk and the right asserted. A claimant should therefore identify the specific asset, current registration, threatened transaction and reason why protection is necessary. A generic statement that “the estate may be lost” is weaker than documentary evidence of a sale listing, transfer attempt, mortgage step or other concrete risk.
Where urgent protection is required, Article 637 should also be considered together with the procedural rules governing interim measures. The petition should distinguish the substantive inheritance-law protection from any separate procedural request and satisfy the conditions applicable to each.
5. What happens if the claimant wins? Article 638
Article 638 states that when the inheritance recovery action is accepted, the estate or the estate asset is delivered to the claimant according to the rules governing possession. The judgment therefore produces a recovery consequence tied directly to the disputed estate property.
The second sentence of Article 638 is equally significant: the defendant may not argue that the estate asset was acquired by acquisitive prescription in the inheritance recovery action. The statutory rule prevents the defendant from defeating the heir’s special inheritance claim by invoking prescription-based acquisition of the estate property.
This does not eliminate the need to analyze transfers involving third parties, registration effects or other property-law questions. The legal position of a person who directly possesses an estate asset is not necessarily identical to that of a later purchaser whose rights arise from a separate transaction. The chain of ownership and possession should be reconstructed before drafting the claim.
For foreign heirs, the practical objective should be stated from the beginning. If the disputed asset is real estate, the requested judgment and protective measures should be coordinated with the land-registry outcome. If it is a movable or other estate asset, the petition should identify the property sufficiently for enforcement.
6. Article 639: the one-year, ten-year and twenty-year periods
Article 639 contains a specific limitation structure. Against a good-faith defendant, the action becomes time-barred one year after the claimant learns both that he or she is an heir and that the good-faith defendant possesses the estate or estate asset. The rule therefore requires knowledge of both the claimant’s own inheritance status and the relevant possession.
There is also an absolute period. Against a good-faith defendant, the action is barred in any event ten years after the death of the deceased or the opening of the will, depending on the statutory starting point applicable to the case.
Against a bad-faith defendant, Article 639 sets a twenty-year period. The distinction between good faith and bad faith can therefore materially change the viability of an older inheritance claim.
A foreign heir should not assume that lack of knowledge about Turkish procedure stops every period. The dates should be calculated immediately when the heir discovers Turkish property or learns that another person controls estate assets. The file should preserve proof of when knowledge occurred: emails, official notices, title searches, court service records and communications can become important if the defendant raises limitation.
7. Foreign heirs and the applicable law under Law No. 5718
An international inheritance file requires a conflicts-of-law analysis before the court can decide who has the superior inheritance right. Article 20 of Law No. 5718 on Private International and Procedural Law provides the core Turkish rule: succession is generally governed by the deceased’s national law, while Turkish law governs immovable property located in Turkey.
This is especially important in an Article 637 action concerning a Turkish apartment, land parcel or commercial property. The claimant should not rely solely on a foreign probate assumption. The law governing succession to the Turkish immovable and the Turkish evidence establishing heirship must be addressed expressly.
Our detailed guide on Turkish inheritance law for foreigners under MÖHUK Article 20 explains the applicable-law stage. When foreign public documents are required, see apostille and certified translation for documents used in Turkey.
Foreign heirs may also need to consider Article 48 of Law No. 5718 on security for foreign litigants, depending on nationality and reciprocity. This procedural issue should be checked before filing rather than discovered after the court requests security.
8. Evidence for Turkish property and other estate assets
The claimant must connect three factual points: the claimant’s heirship, the asset’s status as part of the estate, and the defendant’s possession. Each should be supported independently.
Heirship evidence can include the Turkish certificate of inheritance, the opened will, civil-status records and the foreign-law material required by the conflict-of-laws analysis. Estate evidence can include title records, bank records, invoices, company registers, tax documents or an official estate inventory. Possession evidence depends on the asset and may include registry data, physical-control evidence, correspondence and third-party records.
Where Turkish real estate is involved, obtain the current title status and historical registration changes at the beginning. If the claimant waits until after filing to learn that the property was transferred years earlier, the parties, legal basis and requested protection may need to be redesigned.
Where estate property was administered under an official inventory or liquidation, the court file can supply a structured record of assets and debts. See official estate inventory under Articles 619–629 and official liquidation under Articles 632–636.
9. How Article 637 differs from other inheritance claims
An inheritance recovery action should not be confused with a will-cancellation action. Cancellation under Articles 557–559 challenges the legal validity of a testamentary disposition. Article 637 assumes the claimant relies on superior heirship and seeks recovery of estate property held by another person. See contesting a will in Turkey.
It also differs from a reserved-share reduction action. Reduction protects the statutory reserved portion against excessive testamentary or qualifying lifetime dispositions. Article 637 addresses possession of estate property based on superior inheritance right. See reserved shares under Articles 505–506.
Finally, Article 637 is not simply an ordinary co-owner partition claim. Once several heirs share an estate, the inheritance community and partition rules create a different framework. The claimant should identify whether the real dispute is superior heirship against a possessor, administration among acknowledged co-heirs, or division of jointly inherited property.
- Obtain the Turkish certificate of inheritance and any opened will.
- Determine the law governing heirship under Law No. 5718 Article 20.
- Identify each estate asset and current possessor separately.
- For real estate, obtain current and historical title records.
- Record when you learned of heirship and the defendant’s possession.
- Classify the defendant’s good-faith or bad-faith position for Article 639.
- Request security or land-registry annotation where a concrete disposal risk exists.
- Prepare apostilled/legalized and translated foreign records.
- Distinguish Article 637 from will cancellation, reserved-share and partition claims.
- Check foreign-litigant security requirements before filing.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. Who can file an inheritance recovery action in Turkey?
A legal or appointed heir with a superior inheritance right may sue under Article 637.
2. Can the court decide who the real heir is in the same case?
Yes. Article 637 expressly states that the judge resolves disputes concerning heirship in the action.
3. Can the court protect disputed real estate during the lawsuit?
Yes. At the claimant’s request, Article 637 permits necessary measures including security and an annotation in the land registry.
4. What happens after a successful claim?
Article 638 requires delivery of the estate or estate asset according to the rules on possession.
5. Can the defendant rely on acquisitive prescription?
No. Article 638 states that the defendant may not claim acquisition of the estate asset by prescription in this action.
6. What is the deadline against a good-faith possessor?
Article 639 provides one year from learning of the claimant’s heirship and the good-faith defendant’s possession, subject to the absolute ten-year period.
7. When does the ten-year period run?
The absolute period runs from the deceased’s death or opening of the will according to the statutory starting point applicable to the case.
8. What is the period against a bad-faith possessor?
Article 639 provides a twenty-year period against a person who is not in good faith.
9. Can a foreign heir file the action?
Yes. Foreign nationality does not remove standing where the person is the legal or appointed heir; the applicable law and Turkish procedural requirements must be established.
10. Is this the same as contesting a will?
No. Article 637 seeks recovery based on superior heirship; Articles 557–559 concern invalidation of a testamentary disposition.
Author and legal review
Attorney Halil Bakırcı — Mersin Bar Association, Registration No. 3472. Bakırcı & Keskin Law Office advises international clients on Turkish inheritance disputes, estate property and cross-border litigation. Files throughout Turkey are managed from the Mersin office.
Last reviewed: 15 September 2026. This guide is based on Turkish Civil Code Articles 637–639 and Law No. 5718.
Mersin office
Bakırcı & Keskin Law Office can assess heirship, Article 639 deadlines, protective measures and the Turkish inheritance recovery action for clients living abroad.
Hukuki konu hakkında iletişim
İlk iletişimde konuyu, bulunduğunuz ülke veya ili ve varsa tebliğ ya da son işlem tarihini kısaca belirtebilirsiniz. T.C. kimlik numarası, sağlık verisi veya kişisel belge göndermeyiniz. Mesajlaşma tek başına hukuki görüş veya avukatlık ilişkisi oluşturmaz.
