In Which Cases Does the State Become an Heir? In this article to my valued readers

In Which Situations Does the State Become an Heir?

In this article, I will try to explain to you, my dear readers, in which situations the state becomes an heir.

If the testator has no heirs or if there is no person appointed as an heir, the state becomes the legal heir in this case.

Article 501 of the Turkish Civil Code states; “The estate of a person who dies without leaving any heirs passes to the state.” The decisions of the Court of Cassation have stated that the state’s heirship shall be in question in the event that the testator has no heirs in the three degrees of succession.

In the decision of the 1st Civil Chamber of the Court of Cassation dated 03.03.2014, it is stated; “The transfer of the estate to the state depends on the absence of first, second, and third-degree heirs of the decedent. For this to be stated, all means of investigation must be exhausted. In order to reach a sound conclusion in the case, the population registration and address of the defendant H. A. must be determined; for this, the contract table forming the basis of the title deed registration must be obtained, and population registration information and addresses regarding them and their relatives must be inquired from the title deed registry. In addition, the address and population information must be investigated through the police, an attempt must be made to reach the identity information and addresses of the heirs, if it is determined that the testator died without leaving any heirs, it should be considered that the final heir will be the Treasury, and an appropriate period and authority should be granted to the plaintiff's attorney to obtain a certificate of inheritance, and a verdict should be established according to the result.”

For the estate to pass to the state, it must be determined that there are no eligible heirs for the estate. In accordance with Article 594 of the Turkish Civil Code; “If it is not known whether the testator has any heirs or if all the heirs are not known, the magistrate shall make an announcement twice with an interval of one month using appropriate means and call upon the right holders to notify their capacity as heirs within one year at the latest, starting from the last announcement. If no one applies during the announcement period and the magistrate cannot identify any heirs, the estate passes to the state, provided that the right to file an inheritance claim lawsuit is reserved.”

When the estate passes to the state, the state is the legal heir and is in the position of a universal successor. However, the state is liable for the debts of the estate only to the extent of the assets of the estate. Conversely, legal heirs are liable for the aforementioned debts with their own personal assets.