What is inheritance law?
What is inheritance law?
Inheritance law is the entirety of rules that regulate the fate of rights, debts, and other legal relationships of a person, referred to as the decedent, which do not terminate upon their death and are transferable. To summarize briefly, inheritance law regulates who will substitute the deceased and who will succeed them as a result of their death.
Inheritance law is a branch of private law that examines the dispositions mortis causa that people wish to make regarding their assets after their death, how their inheritable assets will be distributed among legal heirs and other heirs in the event of their death, and how and in what order their debts will be paid.
In which areas regarding inheritance and guardianship law do you provide support?
Drafting of wills,
Lawsuits for the annulment of a will,
Obtaining a certificate of inheritance,
Annulment of a certificate of inheritance,
Renunciation of inheritance,
Lawsuits for the annulment of a decision on renunciation of inheritance,
Lawsuits regarding the actual renunciation of inheritance by heirs,
Lawsuits for the dissolution of partnership through the distribution of inheritance,
Land registry cancellation and registration lawsuits regarding collusion of the decedent,
Reduction lawsuits regarding the reduction claims of reserved share heirs.
How many types of heirs are there, and how can heirs benefit from these inheritances?
There are 2 types of heirs. The first is the legal heir, and the second is the appointed heir.
A legal heir is a person who is an heir by law and is indicated as such in the legislation.
An appointed heir is an heir designated by the decedent through a disposition mortis causa, meaning a will or an inheritance contract. Here, the will and the declaration of intent of the deceased are effective. While legal heirship is based on and arises from the law, appointed heirship arises from the intent of the decedent.
Who are the heirs considered as 1st, 2nd, and 3rd degree?
1st-degree heirs are the closest relatives of the decedent, their direct descendants. That is, their children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and so on.
2nd-degree heirs consist of the decedent's mother and father, and their descendants, i.e., the siblings, nieces/nephews, and their children and grandchildren of the deceased.
3rd-degree heirs consist of the decedent's grandparents and their descendants, i.e., the aunts, uncles, and great-aunts/uncles of the deceased and their descendants.
So, who are the reserved share heirs?
As a rule, the decedent has the authority to dispose of their assets as they wish; however, the law protects a portion of the inheritance share of descendants, parents, and the spouse. A reserved share is a portion of the inheritance share granted to a legal heir over which the decedent cannot dispose. The decedent can only dispose of the portion remaining outside of the reserved shares.
Heirs whose reserved shares have been violated have the right to receive their reserved shares by filing a reduction lawsuit. With the legislative amendment made in 2007, the reserved share for siblings was abolished.
Reserved share ratios are regulated in the law as follows:
-For descendants, half of the legal inheritance share,
-For each of the parents, ¼ of the legal inheritance share,
-For the surviving spouse, the entire legal inheritance share if they are an heir together with the descendants or the parents' degree, and in other cases, ¾ of the legal inheritance share.
How does divorce affect inheritance?
Divorced spouses cannot be each other's legal heirs.
Dispositions mortis causa made by the decedent in favor of their spouse via a will also become void if a divorce occurs subsequently. However, the decedent may order otherwise in their disposition mortis causa. That is, they can state the validity of the will even in the event of a divorce. In contrast, if the court has ruled for legal separation rather than divorce, the surviving spouse retains their legal inheritance right. This is because the marital relationship has not ceased here.
An important problem regarding this subject occurs in cases where a divorce lawsuit has been filed, but one of the spouses dies before it concludes. Here, the spouse is a legal heir. Because the marital relationship and, therefore, the legal heirship of the spouse continue until the divorce decision becomes final. In the event that one of the spouses dies during this time, the surviving spouse remains an heir. Here, the marriage ends not by divorce, but by death.
When and in what situations is the State considered an heir?
According to Turkish law, if there are no heirs in the first 3 degrees and the decedent has not appointed an heir through a disposition mortis causa, the State acquires the inheritance in the capacity of a legal heir.
If it is unknown whether the decedent has any heirs or if not all of their heirs are known, the Magistrate Judge makes an announcement twice with a 1-month interval and calls upon the right holders to report their heirship status within 1 year starting from the last announcement. If no one applies within this period and the Magistrate Judge cannot identify any heirs, the inheritance passes to the State. In this case, the right of an heir who may appear later to file an inheritance claim lawsuit is reserved.
In the meantime, let us point out this point: if the inheritance is renounced by all of the closest heirs, the inheritance does not pass to the Treasury. In such a case, an official liquidation of the inheritance is performed. After the debts of the estate are paid, the remaining balance is given to these heirs as if they had not renounced it.
It is also possible for the State to be an appointed heir through a disposition mortis causa by the decedent. The State's appointed heirship is not dependent on the condition that there are no other heirs.
What is unworthiness to inherit and what are the grounds for it?
Unworthiness to inherit is the state of not having one of the reasons written in the law for the acquisition of the capacity to inherit.
The grounds for unworthiness to inherit are listed in the law in 4 clauses:
1- Those who intentionally and unlawfully kill or attempt to kill the decedent (For example, intentionally killing or attempting to kill the decedent by running them over with a car)
2- Those who intentionally and unlawfully render the decedent unable to make a disposition mortis causa (For example, imprisoning the decedent, cutting their hands or tongue, hypnotizing, or torturing them)
3- Those who, through fraud, threat, or duress, cause the decedent to make or revoke a disposition mortis causa or prevent them from doing so (This situation is also a matter for filing a lawsuit for the annulment of the disposition)
4- Those who intentionally and unlawfully destroy or spoil a disposition mortis causa in a situation and at a time when the decedent can no longer make it again
What is disinheritance, and what are its conditions?
Disinheritance (disinheriting from the reserved share) is a disposition mortis causa. With this disposition, the testator excludes a reserved share heir from their right of inheritance and reserved share.
Disinheritance carries a quality that strengthens family ties and serves their protection.
Disinheritance must be distinguished from unworthiness to inherit. In both cases, the heir loses their reserved share and is deprived of it. However, there are differences. The main difference is that unworthiness takes effect automatically, whereas for disinheritance to exist, it is a condition that there is a disposition mortis causa by the testator regarding it. Also, there are differences between the causes that give rise to unworthiness to inherit and the grounds for disinheritance.
The conditions for disinheritance are listed in 4 clauses:
1- For the decedent to be able to disinherit a reserved share heir, it is a condition that the heir has committed a culpable act. If the heir lacks the capacity to discern, then no grounds for disinheritance can occur as their fault is not in question. In contrast, individuals with the capacity to discern who are under guardianship can be at fault and can be disinherited.
2- The act of the disinherited heir that necessitates disinheritance must be unlawful. In the presence of lawful acts and behaviors, the grounds for disinheritance do not occur.
3- The act that constitutes the grounds for disinheritance must be a serious crime. Here, gravity is not determined according to objective criteria or provisions in the penal code. However, the impact of the committed act on the testator is taken into account by keeping the family relationship in mind.
4- It is a condition that the disinheritance has been made in the form of a disposition mortis causa.
Is it also possible to renounce the inheritance?
Renunciation of inheritance is the declaration of intent of a legal or appointed heir regarding their refusal to accept the inheritance that has passed to them.
Renunciation of inheritance can only be in question after the right of inheritance has passed to the heir. While the decedent is still alive, renunciation of inheritance is not possible. However, in such cases, an inheritance waiver contract can be made.
Renunciation of inheritance is regulated in the law in 2 ways. The first is renouncing the inheritance with an explicit declaration of intent. The second is when the decedent's insolvency is clearly evident or officially determined.
Could you provide information about wills and inheritance contracts?
A will is a unilateral legal transaction of the decedent mortis causa. Here, only the testator's declaration of intent is of importance, and its validity is not dependent on the acceptance of the other party.
An inheritance contract, unlike a will, is a bilateral legal transaction mortis causa. The legal result arising from this is that the contract cannot be revoked unilaterally.
In a will, the testator can freely revoke their will whenever they want. In an inheritance contract, however, the freedom of disposition of the testator who is bound by it is limited.