What is an Inheritance Partition Case, and do heirs who cannot reach an agreement on the inheritance have the right to request the court to divide the inheritance?
What Is an Inheritance Partition Case, and Do Heirs Who Cannot Reach an Agreement on the Inheritance Have the Right to Request a Court-Ordered Partition?
In this article, I will explain the legal procedures for inheritance partition cases and the rights of heirs who cannot reach an agreement on the division of an estate to petition the court for a distribution.
The legislature has provided several avenues and legal actions to facilitate the partition of an estate. Legal heirs who cannot reach an agreement on the division of inheritance shares—one of the most significant issues in inheritance law—have the right to file an inheritance partition lawsuit by applying to the court. The partition of an inheritance, also known as the distribution, is regulated under Article 642 of the Turkish Civil Code.
According to Article 642 of the Turkish Civil Code, each heir may request the partition of the inheritance at any time, unless they are obligated to maintain the joint ownership by contract or law.
Every heir may request the Magistrate Court to decide on the partition of specific assets in the estate, either in kind or, if that is not possible, through sale. Upon the request of one of the heirs, the judge shall carry out the partition by taking into account the entire estate and each individual asset, assigning the entirety of each immovable property to one heir if possible.
Differences in the value of the immovable properties assigned to the heirs are settled through cash payments to ensure an equal distribution of inheritance shares. If an immediate partition would significantly reduce the value of the asset or the estate in question, the magistrate judge may, upon the request of one of the heirs, decide to postpone the partition of said asset or estate.
In my previous article, I discussed in detail inheritance partition agreements, which are contracts that allow legal heirs to distribute the estate of the deceased in the fastest and most effortless manner. However, if every legal heir does not consent, an inheritance partition agreement cannot be concluded. In such cases, legal heirs have the right to file an inheritance partition lawsuit granted to them by inheritance law.
The purpose of an inheritance partition lawsuit is to have the deceased's estate distributed by court order rather than by the heirs themselves. An inheritance partition lawsuit is filed in the Civil Court of Peace located at the deceased's last place of residence. If all heirs agree to file the lawsuit in a different Civil Court of Peace, it will be referred to the competent court due to being filed in an unauthorized jurisdiction, as the law mandates a principle of exclusive jurisdiction here. In an inheritance partition lawsuit, the heir filing the case is referred to as the plaintiff, while all other heirs must be named as defendants in the petition.
The most significant legal factor in filing an inheritance partition lawsuit is not merely for the heir to receive their own share, but to ensure the partition of the entire estate is completed. Therefore, considering that the inheritance partition lawsuit affects all heirs, they must be parties to the case. In an inheritance partition lawsuit, the judge of the Civil Court of Peace groups the assets over which all heirs have rights and shares according to their inheritance portions, allocating them in a way that creates individual ownership. However, if it is not possible to distribute the inheritance among the heirs in equal proportions, the judge decides for the assets to be distributed through sale and the proceeds to be divided among the heirs. If the plaintiff heir in an inheritance partition lawsuit waives their claim, the case continues to be heard by the Civil Court of Peace even if any of the defendants choose to proceed with the action. The purpose here is that the defendants are also heirs, and every heir has the legal right to request the partition of the inheritance.
The law does not impose a time limit for filing an inheritance partition lawsuit, and heirs may file this action until the inheritance is partitioned through other means.