Does an Adopted Child Have Inheritance Rights in the Birth Family? The Settled Case Law of the Court of Cassation — Atty. Gizem Gonce
This article provides general information. Legislation, time limits and amounts may change over time; obtain an up-to-date assessment of your specific situation.
Attorney Gizem Gonce
Does the adoption of a child by another family completely sever the inheritance bond with the child’s birth family? Can a child who has been adopted receive a share of the estate when their biological mother or father dies? And is it possible to inherit both from the birth family and from the adoptive family?
The answer to these questions is very important under Turkish law. This is because adoption is not a transaction that removes the child’s right of inheritance in the birth family.
Article 500 of the Turkish Civil Code expressly regulates the effects of the adoption relationship on inheritance. Under this provision, the adopted child and their descendants inherit from the adoptive parent as blood relatives would. In addition, the adopted child’s right to inherit within their own family also continues.
Can a child who has been adopted into another family inherit from their biological mother and father?
Yes. A child who has been adopted into another family retains the right to inherit from their biological family. Article 500 of the Turkish Civil Code is very clear on this point.
The legislator did not accept that adoption should sever the child’s inheritance bond with the birth family. Accordingly, when the biological mother or father dies, the adopted child may receive a share of the estate like the other statutory heirs.
The point I particularly want to emphasise is this: the fact that a child is raised by another family, that the child’s civil registry record is moved to the adoptive family, or that the adoption decision has become final does not by itself remove the child’s right of inheritance in the birth family.
Can an adopted child inherit both from the birth family and from the adoptive family?
Yes. This is one of the most important features of the system adopted by Turkish law.
While the adopted child keeps their right to inherit in the biological family, they also inherit from the adoptive parent as a blood relative would. In other words, there is a right of inheritance with respect to two separate families.
For example, suppose a child was adopted by another family at a young age. When the biological father dies years later, the child’s statutory right of inheritance in the birth family continues. Likewise, when the adoptive parent dies, the child may also be that person’s heir.
For this reason, the idea that adoption removes the child’s right to inherit from the birth family is legally incorrect.
What decision did the Court of Cassation give on this issue?
The decision of the 18th Civil Chamber of the Court of Cassation dated 1 March 2016, docket no. 2015/8094, decision no. 2016/3588, is noteworthy in this respect.
The dispute concerned establishing the descent relationship between a child born out of wedlock and later adopted by another family and the child’s biological father.
The Court of Cassation accepted that the child’s adoption did not prevent the descent relationship with the biological father, based on the blood tie, from being established by a court decision. It held that the court’s dismissal of the case solely on the ground of the adoption was unlawful and reversed the judgment.
The significance of this decision is that adoption does not prevent biological descent from being established or the related inheritance rights from being protected.
Can a right of inheritance arise even if the biological father did not acknowledge the child?
In this case, the legal descent relationship must be assessed first.
If the descent relationship between the child and the biological father has not been legally established, it may be necessary, in order to exercise the right of inheritance, to have paternity established by a court decision or to consider the other ways of establishing descent provided for by law.
The Court of Cassation’s 2016 decision also clearly showed that having been adopted is no obstacle to a paternity action.
Accordingly, the fact that the biological father did not register the child in his civil registry record does not mean in every case that there is no right of inheritance. What matters is that descent is legally established.
Can an adopted child also inherit from the mother and father of the adoptive parent?
No. There is an important legal distinction here.
The adopted child inherits directly from the adoptive parent. However, the child does not automatically inherit from the adoptive parent’s mother, father, siblings or other blood relatives.
The decision of the 7th Civil Chamber of the Court of Cassation dated 4 March 2026, docket no. 2025/3367, decision no. 2026/1255, also sets out this distinction.
The decision held that the adopted child and their descendants may inherit only from the adoptive parent and cannot, by stepping into the adoptive parent’s place, inherit from the other persons whose heir the adoptive parent would have been.
Accordingly, the continuation of the adopted child’s right to inherit within their own biological family and the question of inheriting from the adoptive parent’s other relatives are different legal matters.
An adopted child can inherit when the adoptive parent dies. Can the adoptive parent, in turn, inherit from the adopted child?
No. Article 500 of the Turkish Civil Code provides for a one-way system of inheritance on this point.
The adopted child and their descendants may inherit from the adoptive parent. However, the adoptive parent and the adoptive parent’s relatives cannot inherit from the adopted child.
This provision shows that, for the purposes of inheritance law, the adoption relationship is not equal in all its effects to biological kinship.
Can a person who later learns that they were adopted claim an inheritance from their birth family years later?
Yes, but the circumstances of the specific case matter.
First, it must be examined whether a descent relationship with the biological mother and father legally exists, the date of death of the deceased, the content of the certificate of inheritance and the status of the division of the estate.
If the person is not listed in the certificate of inheritance, they may, subject to the conditions, request the annulment of the certificate of inheritance and the issuance of a new one. In addition, where their share of the estate has been infringed, they may seek their rights through the appropriate legal remedies.
Here, limitation periods and time limits for bringing claims must be assessed separately according to the type of action.
What can be done if the estate left by the adopted person’s birth family has been divided among the other siblings?
First, it must be examined on what date and through which legal transactions the estate was divided.
If the adopted person was not included in the certificate of inheritance even though they are a statutory heir of their biological family, the correction or annulment of the certificate of inheritance may come into question.
If immovable property of the estate has been transferred or divided by the other heirs, then depending on the circumstances, an action for annulment of title and registration, a monetary claim relating to the share of the estate or other legal claims should be considered.
What matters is correctly determining whether the person’s right of inheritance has been infringed and which legal remedy applies.
If the adopted person’s right of inheritance does not appear in the civil registry records, how can they prove their right?
The civil registry records, the final adoption decision, documents showing biological descent and, where necessary, court decisions must be assessed together.
Especially in older adoptions, establishing a link between civil registry records and examining the family records is important.
The fact that a person turns out to be adopted does not by itself remove their right of inheritance in their biological family. The legal tie must be properly established.