Inheritance Law Law
This section addresses certificates of inheritance, wills, reduction (tenkis) and testator-collusion actions, and the partition of estates under the Turkish Civil Code.
Will Annulment Action: Grounds and Time Limits
Annulment of testamentary dispositions under TMK arts.557-559
On what grounds may a will be annulled? Lack of capacity, defects of will, formal defects and forfeiture periods.
A will is, as a rule, protected as the final expression of the testator's will. However, the Turkish Civil Code allows heirs to seek annulment of wills that conflict with the testator's true will or with the law. The grounds and time limits are set out in TMK arts.557-559.
Grounds for Annulment
TMK art.557 lists four grounds for annulment: (i) the disposition was made when the testator lacked testamentary capacity; (ii) the disposition resulted from mistake, fraud, threat or duress; (iii) the content of the disposition, the conditions attached to it, or its modal clauses are unlawful or contrary to morality; (iv) the disposition was made without complying with the form prescribed by law.
Lack of testamentary capacity is the most commonly invoked ground. Whether the testator had full mental capacity on the date of the will is investigated through medical records, doctors' reports, witness testimony and, where necessary, a forensic medicine report.
Formal Defects
Formal defects are particularly common with holographic wills. A will partly typed or composed on a computer, an incomplete or incorrect date, the absence of a signature or a disputed signature are all grounds for annulment.
In the case of an official will, the inability of the witnesses to act as such (TMK art.536) or the lack of authority of the official also constitutes a formal defect. In the case of an oral will, proof that the alleged extraordinary circumstance did not in fact exist renders the will invalid.
Forfeiture Periods
Under TMK art.559, the action for annulment lapses one year from the date on which the claimant learned of the disposition, of the ground for annulment and of his or her own entitlement; in any event, the action lapses ten years from the opening date of the will (or from the passing of the inheritance, for other dispositions) against good-faith defendants, and twenty years against bad-faith defendants.
The action may be brought by those entitled to the inheritance. The court of subject-matter jurisdiction is the Civil Court of First Instance; the court of territorial jurisdiction is the court of the testator's last domicile.
Practical Considerations
In inheritance disputes, the first step is to clarify the status of the heirs, the scope of the estate and any dispositions on death. Civil-registry records, certificates of inheritance, land-registry records, bank correspondence, the records of the opening of a will and any transfers made by the deceased during their lifetime should be reviewed together.
The time limits and types of action for matters such as reduction, testator collusion, renunciation of inheritance, annulment of a will and inheritance waiver differ from one another. Correctly identifying the date of knowledge, the opening of the estate, the opening of the will and the date of any renunciation declaration prevents the loss of rights.
Because intra-family transactions are often conducted without written documents, bank receipts, the values reflected in the deed, the testator's economic needs, witness accounts and patterns of actual use are particularly important. The earlier the evidence is prepared, the more soundly the legal framework of the dispute can be established.
Relevant Statutory Provisions
- TMK m.502Testamentary capacity
Original (Turkish, official):
Madde 502- Vasiyet yapabilmek için ayırt etme gücüne sahip ve onbeş yaşını doldurmuş olmak gerekir.
English summary (non-binding):
Article 502- To make a will, a person must have the capacity to discern and must have completed fifteen years of age.
Source: mevzuat.gov.tr · last reviewed: 2026-05-12
- TMK m.557Grounds for annulment
Original (Turkish, official):
Madde 557- Aşağıdaki sebeplerle ölüme bağlı bir tasarrufun iptali için dava açılabilir: 1. Tasarruf mirasbırakanın tasarruf ehliyeti bulunmadığı bir sırada yapılmışsa, 2. Tasarruf yanılma, aldatma, korkutma veya zorlama sonucunda yapılmışsa, 3. Tasarrufun içeriği, bağlandığı koşullar veya yüklemeler hukuka veya ahlâka aykırı ise, 4. Tasarruf kanunda öngörülen şekillere uyulmadan yapılmışsa.
English summary (non-binding):
Article 557- An action for the annulment of a testamentary disposition may be brought on the following grounds: 1. The disposition was made when the testator lacked testamentary capacity; 2. The disposition resulted from mistake, fraud, threat or duress; 3. The content of the disposition, the conditions attached to it, or its modal clauses are unlawful or contrary to morality; 4. The disposition was made without complying with the form prescribed by law.
Source: mevzuat.gov.tr · last reviewed: 2026-05-12
- TMK m.558Persons entitled to bring the action
Original (Turkish, official):
Madde 558- İptal davası, tasarrufun iptal edilmesinde menfaati bulunan mirasçı veya vasiyet alacaklısı tarafından açılabilir. Dava, ölüme bağlı tasarrufun tamamının veya bir kısmının iptaline ilişkin olabilir. İptal davası, ölüme bağlı tasarrufla kendilerine, eşlerine veya hısımlarına kazandırma yapılanların tasarrufun düzenlenmesine katılmalarının yol açtığı sakatlığa dayandığı takdirde tasarrufun tamamı değil, yalnız bu kazandırmalar iptal edilir.
English summary (non-binding):
Article 558- The annulment action may be brought by any heir or legatee with an interest in the annulment of the disposition. The action may seek annulment of the disposition in whole or in part. Where the action is based on a defect caused by the participation in the disposition of persons to whom (or to whose spouses or relatives) the testamentary disposition makes a transfer, only those transfers — not the disposition as a whole — are annulled.
Source: mevzuat.gov.tr · last reviewed: 2026-05-12
- TMK m.559Forfeiture periods (1 year / 10-20 years)
Original (Turkish, official):
Madde 559- İptal davası açma hakkı, davacının tasarrufu, iptal sebebini ve kendisinin hak sahibi olduğunu öğrendiği tarihten başlayarak bir yıl ve her hâlde vasiyetnamelerde açılma tarihinin, diğer tasarruflarda mirasın geçmesi tarihinin üzerinden, iyiniyetli davalılara karşı on yıl, iyiniyetli olmayan davalılara karşı yirmi yıl geçmekle düşer. Hükümsüzlük, def"i yoluyla her zaman ileri sürülebilir.
English summary (non-binding):
Article 559- The right to bring the annulment action lapses one year from the date on which the claimant learned of the disposition, of the ground for annulment and of his or her own entitlement; and in any event ten years (against good-faith defendants) or twenty years (against bad-faith defendants) from the opening of the will or, for other dispositions, from the passing of the inheritance. The invalidity may be raised by way of defence at any time.
Source: mevzuat.gov.tr · last reviewed: 2026-05-12
- TMK m.536Capacity of witnesses to the official will
Original (Turkish, official):
Madde 536- Fiil ehliyeti bulunmayanlar, bir ceza mahkemesi kararıyla kamu hizmetinden yasaklılar, okur yazar olmayanlar, mirasbırakanın eşi, üstsoy ve altsoy kan hısımları, kardeşleri ve bu kişilerin eşleri, resmî vasiyetnamenin düzenlenmesine memur veya tanık olarak katılamazlar. Resmî vasiyetnamenin düzenlenmesine katılan memura ve tanıklara, bunların üstsoy ve altsoy kan hısımlarına, kardeşlerine ve bu kişilerin eşlerine o vasiyetname ile kazandırmada bulunulamaz.
English summary (non-binding):
Article 536- The following persons may not act as the official or as witnesses to the execution of an official will: those lacking legal capacity to act; those barred from public service by a criminal court order; the illiterate; the testator's spouse, ascendants and descendants by blood, siblings, and the spouses of any of these. No transfer by the will may be made to the official or to the witnesses who participated in its execution, nor to their ascendants and descendants by blood, their siblings or the spouses of any of these.
Source: mevzuat.gov.tr · last reviewed: 2026-05-12
- TMK m.538Form of the holographic will
Original (Turkish, official):
Madde 538- El yazılı vasiyetnamenin yapıldığı yıl, ay ve gün gösterilerek başından sonuna kadar mirasbırakanın el yazısıyla yazılmış ve imzalanmış olması zorunludur. El yazılı vasiyetname, saklanmak üzere açık veya kapalı olarak notere, sulh hâkimine veya yetkili memura bırakılabilir.
English summary (non-binding):
Article 538- A holographic will must be entirely handwritten and signed by the testator from beginning to end, with the year, month and day on which it was made indicated. A holographic will may be deposited, open or sealed, for safekeeping with a notary, a judge of the Civil Court of Peace or a competent official.
Source: mevzuat.gov.tr · last reviewed: 2026-05-12
The statutory provisions are reproduced for information purposes only. The current and official text on mevzuat.gov.tr is authoritative.
Conclusion
In a will-annulment action, the date of knowledge and the forfeiture periods must be established at the outset. Where lack of testamentary capacity is alleged, medical records, witness testimony and, where necessary, a forensic medicine assessment are essential.
This article is for information purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. If you would like professional assistance on a specific matter, you may request a consultation.
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