Inheritance Shares Stated in the Certificate of Inheritance To my esteemed readers, in this article
Inheritance Shares Regulated in the Certificate of Inheritance
In this article, my dear readers, I will attempt to explain the questions I receive most frequently regarding how inheritance shares are determined by providing examples.
A certificate of inheritance, also known as a certificate of succession, is a document obtained by the heirs of a deceased person by filing a lawsuit in the Civil Court of Peace to determine their inheritance shares and their status as heirs. Recently, Notaries have also been granted the authority to issue certificates of inheritance.
Inheritance shares in the certificate of inheritance vary depending on the status of the heirs.
1. Legal Inheritance Shares Where the Spouse and Descendants are Heirs
To give an example; when the testator Murat died, he was survived by his wife Elif, his son Ahmet, and his daughter Beril as his heirs. In the certificate of inheritance, the shares are arranged as follows: Assuming the entire estate is divided into 8 shares, in accordance with Articles 495 and 499 of the Turkish Civil Code, the spouse Elif is entitled to 2 shares. The son Ahmet and daughter Beril are entitled to 3 shares each.
When the surviving spouse is an heir along with the descendants of the deceased, they are entitled to one-fourth of the estate as their inheritance share. As in our example, the surviving spouse Elif is entitled to one-fourth of the estate as her inheritance share.
2. Legal Inheritance Shares in the Case of the Spouse and Parents Being Heirs
To give an example; when the testator Murat died, he was survived by his wife Elif, his mother Ayşe, and his father Burak as his heirs. In this case, the inheritance shares regulated in the certificate of inheritance are as follows: assuming the entire estate is divided into 8 shares, in accordance with Articles 496 and 499 of the Turkish Civil Code, 4 shares belong to his wife Elif. The mother and father's legal inheritance shares are 2 shares each.
When the surviving spouse of the deceased is an heir along with the parents' branch, their legal inheritance share is half of the entire estate. As I explained in the example, the surviving spouse Elif attains the status of heir by receiving half of the total inheritance share.
3. Legal Inheritance Shares in the Case of the Spouse and Grandparents Being Heirs
To give an example; when the testator Murat died, he was survived by his wife Elif, his grandmother Atiye, and his grandfather Burhan as his heirs. In this case, the inheritance shares are as follows: assuming the entire estate is divided into 8 shares, in accordance with Articles 497 and 499 of the Turkish Civil Code, 6 shares belong to his wife Elif. The grandmother and grandfather's legal inheritance shares are one share each.
When the surviving spouse of the deceased is an heir along with the grandparents' branch, their legal inheritance share is three-fourths of the entire estate. If the testator's parents and grandparents, as well as their descendants, are not alive, the entire estate remains with the spouse.
4. Legal Inheritance Shares in the Case of the Spouse, Son, and Grandchildren Being Heirs
To give an example; when the testator Murat died, he was survived by his wife Elif, his son Ahmet, and his grandchildren Ceyhun and Berna, who were born to his daughter Beril, who had passed away before him. In this case, the inheritance shares are as follows: assuming the entire estate is divided into 16 shares, in accordance with Articles 494 and 499 of the Turkish Civil Code, 4 shares belong to his wife Elif. With 6 shares being the inheritance share of his son Ahmet, the inheritance shares of the grandchildren Ceyhun and Berna are 3 shares each.
Children who died before the testator are replaced by their own descendants through succession at every degree. As I have tried to explain in our example, the children of the daughter who died before the testator attain the status of heirs equally in this situation.
Reserved portion rates regulated in Article 506 of the Turkish Civil Code are not shown in the certificate of inheritance. The most important purpose of issuing a certificate of inheritance is the determination of the bloodline between the testator and their heirs and their inheritance shares. Reserved portion rates are only significant in reduction lawsuits. A certificate of inheritance can be requested from the Civil Court of Peace or a Notary at any time after the death of the deceased person.
Attorney Gizem GONCE