Inherited property in Turkey: Turkish inheritance law for UK heirs, from the certificate of inheritance to the title deed and sale

In short

1. Certificate of inheritance (mirasçılık belgesi or veraset ilamı). Where the deceased was a foreign national, this certificate is issued by a Turkish civil court of peace (sulh hukuk mahkemesi), not by a notary. Turkish law governs who inherits property located in Turkey, whatever the deceased's nationality. For this reason, a UK grant of probate is not enough on its own: the Turkish land registry requires a certificate of inheritance issued by a Turkish court.
2. Turkish inheritance tax return (veraset ve intikal vergisi beyannamesi). Inheritance tax applies to property located in Turkey regardless of the nationality of the deceased or the heirs. The return is due 4, 6 or 8 months after the date of death, depending on where the death occurred and where the heirs live. A missed deadline does not prevent the process: the return can still be filed and the tax paid, with a penalty. For children and the surviving spouse the exemption amounts are relatively high, and the rates are relatively low.
3. Registration of the heirs at the land registry (intikal). The heirs are entered on the title deed and pay the land registry fees. Any outstanding annual municipal property tax must also be paid at this stage. Any one heir can apply, but whether the heirs apply together or separately affects the form of ownership in which they are registered. Only after this step can the property be sold.

The inheritance and the title deed transfer can be completed without the heirs travelling to Turkey, using a power of attorney given to a lawyer in Turkey.

Why the property cannot simply be sold

A Turkish title deed shows a named owner. On death, ownership passes to the heirs by operation of law. However, the land registry will only change the registered owner when it receives a certificate of inheritance issued by a Turkish court. In practice, it also asks for a letter from the tax office confirming that there is no inheritance tax debt on the property. In any event, the inheritance tax on the property must be paid in full before the property can be sold. Until then, no buyer can be registered, and banks will not lend against the property.

Delay has practical costs. Municipal property tax, utility bills and service charges continue to accrue. If one of the heirs dies before registration, another certificate of inheritance becomes necessary.

Which law decides who inherits

Under the Turkish Act on Private International Law and International Civil Procedure (Law No. 5718, Art. 20), succession is in principle governed by the law of the deceased's nationality, but Turkish law applies to immovable property located in Turkey. For a British national who owned a flat in Antalya, this means that the Turkish Civil Code decides who the heirs to that flat are and what share each receives, even if the rest of the estate is dealt with under the law of England and Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland.

The difference can matter. Under the Turkish Civil Code, if the deceased leaves descendants, the surviving spouse receives one quarter and the descendants share the rest (Art. 499). UK rules that give the surviving spouse a different position do not change who is registered on a Turkish title deed. For the Turkish property, Turkish law applies.

Reserved shares. Turkish law also protects the deceased's descendants, parents and surviving spouse with a reserved share (saklı pay) (Art. 506). A will that leaves the Turkish property entirely to one person, for example to the surviving spouse, may therefore be challenged by the other heirs.

Wills. If the deceased left a will, whether made in the UK or in Turkey, it should be examined in detail by a competent lawyer before any application is made. Mistakes at this point can prolong the process considerably and, in some cases, make it very difficult to resolve.

Step 1: The Turkish certificate of inheritance

Who issues it. In purely domestic cases, Turkish notaries issue certificates of inheritance. Notaries cannot issue one where it is requested by foreign nationals, where the Turkish civil registry records are insufficient, or where a hearing is needed (Notaries Act No. 1512, Art. 71/B). In practice, this means an application to the civil court of peace whenever the deceased or an heir is a foreign national. The application is made in the district where the property is located or where the deceased last lived in Turkey.

Can a UK document be used instead? A UK grant of probate or letters of administration (in Scotland, confirmation) appoints personal representatives. It does not decide who the heirs to the Turkish property are under Turkish law, and it does not replace the Turkish certificate of inheritance. In Turkey, the heirs themselves, not the executor, are registered on the title deed. The UK documents serve as evidence in the Turkish application, and Turkish courts sometimes specifically ask for them.

Documents usually required:

• the death certificate;
• documents establishing the family relationships of the deceased and the heirs (for example full birth and marriage certificates);
• passports or identity documents of the heirs;
• the will, if there is one;
• the title deed details of the Turkish property.

The United Kingdom and Turkey are both parties to the 1961 Hague Apostille Convention, so consular legalisation is not needed. Each document must be apostilled in the country where it was issued, under that country's rules; Turkish authorities cannot apostille foreign documents. The document is then translated into Turkish by a sworn translator, and the translation is certified by a Turkish notary. A lawyer in Turkey can arrange the translation and certification.

Every case is different. A small error in the documents or the application can delay the court proceedings by months, sometimes years, which is why it is worth taking advice from a lawyer before the documents are gathered.

Step 2: Turkish inheritance tax

Who is liable. Turkish inheritance and gift tax (Law No. 7338) applies to property located in Turkey regardless of the nationality or residence of the deceased and the heirs. Each heir is taxed on their own share, after a personal exemption that is revised every year (Art. 4). This exemption applies only to descendants, including adopted children, and to the surviving spouse, and it is relatively high; other heirs, such as siblings, have no inheritance exemption. Rates are progressive and relatively low, from 1% to 10% (Art. 16). The property is valued for this tax at its municipal property tax value (Art. 10), which is usually below its market value.

Tax number. Each heir needs a Turkish tax identification number. It can be obtained from a Turkish tax office, or by a lawyer in Turkey on the heir's behalf.

Filing deadlines (Law No. 7338, Art. 9; counted from the day following the death):

A British national who dies in the UK, leaving heirs who live in the UK, therefore has heirs with a four-month deadline, the same as a purely domestic Turkish case. If the death occurs in Turkey and the heirs live in the UK, the deadline is six months. A missed deadline does not prevent the process from being completed: the return can still be filed and the tax paid, with a penalty.

Where the return is filed. If the deceased never lived in Turkey, the return is filed with the tax office for the place where the property is located. Otherwise, it is filed with the tax office for the deceased's last residence in Turkey. Heirs may file one joint return, and a lawyer may sign it under a power of attorney.

Payment. The tax office calculates the amount due, and the tax is then paid. The tax office then issues a letter confirming that there is no inheritance tax debt on the property. In practice the land registry asks for this letter, so the tax is usually paid before the heirs are registered.

Tax in the UK. Heirs should take advice in the UK on whether the inheritance has tax consequences there and whether Turkish tax paid can be credited.

For the current exemption amounts, rates, payment and penalties, see Inheritance tax in Turkey for foreigners.

Step 3: Registration of the heirs at the land registry

With the certificate of inheritance and the tax office letter, the heirs (or their lawyer) apply to the land registry office (tapu müdürlüğü) for the district where the property is located. How the heirs are registered depends on how they apply:

• Any one heir can apply. In that case, all the heirs are registered as joint owners of the whole property (elbirliği mülkiyeti). As long as joint ownership continues, a sale requires all the heirs to act together. Joint ownership can later be converted into defined shares.
• If all the heirs apply together, they can be registered as co-owners in defined shares (paylı mülkiyet). Each heir then holds a specified share, for example one half or one quarter.

For registration, the land registry will usually ask for:

• a valid compulsory earthquake insurance policy (DASK);
• a statement of the property's value from the municipality, which is issued only once any unpaid municipal property tax has been settled;
• the tax office letter confirming that there is no inheritance tax debt on the property;
• payment of the land registry fees (döner sermaye).

Are there restrictions on foreign heirs? British nationals can acquire property in Turkey, including by inheritance. Restrictions apply in military and security zones and above certain area limits. However, if the property was already owned by a foreign national, it can usually be inherited by foreign heirs as well. Whether a particular heir can acquire a particular property should nevertheless be checked in each case, depending on the heir's nationality and where the property is located.

Step 4: Selling the property

Once the heirs are registered and the inheritance tax on the property has been paid, the property can be sold like any other. The heirs may sign at the land registry in person or through a lawyer holding a power of attorney that specifically authorises the sale. If the heirs cannot agree on a sale, any one of them can ask a Turkish court to end the co-ownership (ortaklığın giderilmesi). The court then divides the property or orders its sale.

A sale of inherited property is not subject to Turkish capital gains tax, because the heirs did not acquire it for consideration (Income Tax Act No. 193, Art. 80 (mükerrer)). Title deed fees and the usual sale costs must still be paid.

Doing it from the UK: the power of attorney

All of the steps above can be handled by a lawyer in Turkey on the strength of a power of attorney (vekaletname). It can be signed:

• at a Turkish consulate in the UK, which drafts it in Turkish; or
• before a notary public in the UK, then apostilled, translated into Turkish by a sworn translator and certified by a Turkish notary.

The power of attorney must expressly cover each act: the court application for the certificate of inheritance, obtaining a tax number, the tax filings, registration of the inheritance at the land registry and, where intended, the sale. A general power of attorney is often rejected. The wording matters, and an error usually means signing a new power of attorney. In either case, the lawyer in Turkey can provide the text to be used.

How long it takes

Timescales vary with the court's workload, how quickly documents arrive from abroad and the number of heirs. No one can guarantee how long a Turkish court will take, and heirs should be wary of anyone who promises a fixed timeframe. Gathering, apostilling and translating documents is often the longest part, and it can begin straight away. If all the documents are in order and everything goes smoothly, the process can be completed within a few months.