Opening and Reading a Will in Turkey: Civil Code Articles 595–597 for Foreign Heirs
1. Why the Turkish will-opening procedure matters
A will does not become operational in Turkey merely because a family member reads it privately. The Turkish Civil Code establishes a court-supervised sequence after the testator’s death: delivery of the will, court examination and protective measures, formal opening and reading, and notification of the relevant provisions to persons with rights in the estate.
The procedure protects several interests at the same time. It prevents a person holding the will from suppressing it, creates a formal court record of the testamentary document, alerts legal heirs and beneficiaries, and enables the Civil Court of Peace to take measures for the estate before disputes or unauthorized transfers occur.
For a foreign family, this formal process is even more important. The will may have been signed abroad, stored with a foreign lawyer or notary, written in another language, and discovered after a death that occurred outside Turkey. If the deceased owned Turkish assets, the will may still need to enter the Turkish judicial process before those assets can be administered consistently with the testamentary disposition and mandatory Turkish rules.
2. Article 595: the will must be delivered immediately
Article 595 of the Turkish Civil Code is explicit: a will discovered after the testator’s death must be delivered immediately to the Civil Court of Peace, regardless of whether it appears valid. The delivery obligation therefore does not depend on a private legal opinion about form, capacity, authenticity or enforceability.
The rule applies to the official who prepared or kept the will, a person who stored it at the testator’s request, a person who otherwise came into possession of it, and a person who found it among the deceased’s belongings. Once that person learns of the death, the delivery obligation arises.
Article 595 attaches liability to non-compliance. A person who fails to perform the delivery duty is responsible for the loss caused by that failure. This is a concrete statutory consequence. Someone who finds a document marked “last will” should therefore preserve it and deliver it through the legally appropriate channel instead of keeping it in a private file while the family negotiates.
After receiving the will, the Civil Court of Peace examines it immediately and takes necessary protective measures. Where possible, the court hears interested persons and decides whether the estate should be delivered provisionally to the legal heirs or placed under official administration.
The official wording of Articles 595–597 is available in the Ministry of Justice publication of the Turkish Civil Code.
3. Article 596: opening and reading within one month
Article 596 provides that the will is opened and read by the Civil Court of Peace at the deceased’s domicile within one month from delivery. The statute again states that this procedure applies regardless of whether the will is valid. The court does not postpone opening until every potential validity issue has been resolved.
Known heirs and other interested persons are invited so that they may attend if they wish. Attendance is a right, not a condition for the court to create the formal record. The practical purpose is to ensure transparency and give interested persons timely knowledge of testamentary provisions affecting them.
If another will is discovered later, Article 596 requires the same procedure for that later-discovered document. This matters where a person signed several wills at different dates or where documents were stored in different countries. The emergence of a later will can change the legal analysis, but the court-opening step must still be completed.
The one-month rule should be understood correctly. It is a statutory period directed to the opening process after the will is delivered. It is not permission for the holder of the will to wait one month before delivery. Article 595 requires immediate delivery; Article 596 then sets the opening timetable from the date of delivery.
4. Article 597: certified notice to persons entitled under the estate
After opening, Article 597 requires the judge to serve each person who has rights in the inheritance with a certified copy of the parts of the will concerning that person. The expense is borne by the estate.
If the location of an interested person is unknown, the relevant part of the will is notified by publication. This mechanism is important for international families where an heir may have moved abroad, changed address or lost contact with other relatives. A missing address does not give the remaining family authority to ignore that person’s testamentary rights.
Foreign beneficiaries should provide a reliable service address and monitor Turkish proceedings once they learn that a will-opening file exists. Proper notice can affect the start of later legal periods, including the practical timing of objections and litigation concerning the testamentary disposition.
5. What if the will was made outside Turkey?
A will made abroad can still be relevant to a Turkish estate. The first task is to separate three issues: the formal post-death opening procedure, the legal validity of the testamentary disposition, and the law governing succession to each asset.
The opening procedure under Articles 595–597 creates the Turkish court record and notice process. The validity and legal effect of a foreign will require a separate private-international-law analysis under Law No. 5718. Article 20 governs succession and contains special rules for immovable property located in Turkey. The official Law No. 5718 text is published by the Ministry of Justice.
For Turkish real estate, the applicable-law analysis is particularly important because Turkish law governs immovable property located in Turkey. A foreign will cannot be administered on the assumption that the testator’s home-country succession rules automatically control a Turkish apartment or land parcel.
Foreign public records accompanying the will may require apostille or legalization and certified Turkish translation. See our guide on apostille and certified translation for documents used in Turkey.
6. Opening a will does not mean the will is legally valid
The repeated wording in Articles 595 and 596 is deliberate: delivery and opening occur irrespective of whether the will is valid. Formal opening is therefore not a judgment that the will satisfies every substantive and formal requirement.
A testamentary disposition may later be challenged on statutory grounds. Article 557, for example, regulates actions to invalidate a testamentary disposition where the testator lacked testamentary capacity, acted under mistake, fraud, fear or coercion, where the content or conditions violate law or morality, or where the legally required form was not observed.
Reserved-share rules are also separate from validity. A will can be valid yet reduce a protected heir below the reserved share. In that situation the remedy is reduction to restore the protected portion, not necessarily invalidation of the will. Our guide on reserved shares in Turkish inheritance law explains Articles 505–506 and the disposable portion.
Foreign heirs should therefore avoid statements such as “the court opened the will, so no one can challenge it.” Opening establishes the procedural record. Validity, reduction and competing succession rights remain separate legal questions.
7. Connection with the inheritance certificate under Article 598
Immediately after Articles 595–597, Article 598 addresses inheritance certificates. Legal heirs can obtain a document showing their heirship, and appointed heirs or testamentary beneficiaries may obtain the relevant certificate under the statutory conditions after notification of the testamentary disposition.
The two procedures are connected but not identical. Opening the will gives interested persons formal knowledge of its provisions. The inheritance certificate identifies heirship or testamentary status for use before Turkish authorities and institutions.
For a foreign applicant, the court route is normally required because the file may involve foreign civil-status records and foreign law. See our detailed guide on certificate of inheritance in Turkey for foreign heirs under Article 598.
8. Effect on Turkish property, bank accounts and estate administration
A will-opening decision does not automatically register Turkish real estate in the beneficiary’s name. Land-registry transfer requires the appropriate inheritance and title documents, and the testamentary disposition must be legally capable of implementation against the relevant asset.
Bank accounts likewise require a separate estate-release process. The bank will require proof of death, heirship or beneficiary status, tax compliance and other institution-specific documentation. The court file opening the will is part of the evidence chain, not a substitute for all asset-administration requirements.
If the will appoints an executor, Articles 550–556 govern the Turkish executor’s role. The executor can inventory and administer the estate, collect receivables, pay debts, carry out legacies, prepare a partition plan and represent the inheritance community in estate litigation and enforcement, subject to court supervision and statutory limits. See our guide on executor of a will in Turkey under Articles 550–556.
9. What a foreign heir or beneficiary should do from abroad
A foreign heir who learns that a will exists should first secure a complete copy and identify where the original is held. The original should not be altered, annotated, stapled to new documents or otherwise physically changed. If the original is outside Turkey, legal counsel should determine the correct route for presenting it to the competent Turkish authority together with the death record and required authentication.
Second, the heir should identify the deceased’s Turkish assets and last Turkish domicile or other jurisdictional connection relevant to the court file. Third, foreign civil-status and identity documents should be apostilled or legalized where required and translated into Turkish. Fourth, the heir should provide a reliable address for service and appoint Turkish counsel if the process will be handled without travel.
Finally, the heir should calendar any substantive deadlines triggered by notice of the testamentary disposition. The opening process and the later litigation timetable are related but different. A person who intends to challenge validity, reserved-share infringement or estate administration should obtain a deadline analysis immediately after service.
- Preserve the original will exactly as found.
- Deliver it promptly to the competent Civil Court of Peace under Article 595.
- Record the date the court receives the will.
- Monitor the Article 596 opening within one month of delivery.
- Provide a current service address to avoid publication-only notice.
- Prepare apostilled/legalized civil-status records and Turkish translations.
- Separate will opening from validity, reserved-share and title-registration issues.
- Obtain the Article 598 inheritance or beneficiary certificate when required.
- Identify Turkish property, banks and other estate assets.
- Check litigation deadlines immediately after formal notice.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. Must every will found after death be delivered to court?
Yes. Article 595 requires immediate delivery to the Civil Court of Peace regardless of whether the will appears valid.
2. Who has the delivery duty?
The duty applies to the official or person who prepared or kept the will, a person who stored it for the deceased, anyone who otherwise obtained it, and anyone who finds it among the deceased’s belongings.
3. What happens if the holder does not deliver the will?
Article 595 makes the person responsible for loss caused by failure to perform the delivery duty.
4. When is the will opened?
Article 596 requires opening and reading by the Civil Court of Peace within one month from delivery.
5. Can heirs attend the opening?
Known heirs and other interested persons are invited and may attend if they wish.
6. What if a second will is found later?
Article 596 applies the same opening procedure to wills discovered later.
7. How are beneficiaries notified?
Under Article 597, each person entitled under the estate receives a certified copy of the portions concerning that person, with the expense charged to the estate.
8. What if the beneficiary’s address is unknown?
Article 597 provides for notification by publication of the relevant parts where the person’s location is unknown.
9. Does opening prove that the will is valid?
No. Articles 595 and 596 expressly require delivery and opening regardless of validity. Validity can be litigated separately under the Civil Code.
10. Can the process be followed from outside Turkey?
Yes. A foreign heir can appoint Turkish counsel under a properly issued power of attorney to follow the court and related estate procedures.
Author and legal review
Attorney Halil Bakırcı — Mersin Bar Association, Registration No. 3472. Bakırcı & Keskin Law Office advises international clients on Turkish wills, inheritance, estate administration and cross-border private-law matters. Files throughout Turkey are managed from the Mersin office.
Last reviewed: 15 September 2026. This guide is based on the current wording of Turkish Civil Code Articles 595–597 and the cross-border succession framework in Law No. 5718.
Mersin office
Bakırcı & Keskin Law Office can coordinate delivery and opening of the will, foreign-document formalities, inheritance certificates and the subsequent Turkish estate procedures.
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.
