How to Write a Last Will in Turkish Law

HOW TO WRITE A LAST WILL AND TESTAMENT IN TURKEY FOR FOREIGNERS

Disclaimer: Do not Write a Will Without Legal Support 

This article is merely a review of a small portion of Turkish inheritance laws and cannot be construed as a legal advice for anyone’s last will and testament. The below-sample of last will and testament in English below might not be legally valid, depending on the value of your assets and your living heirs. For an accurate legal advice that is suited to your specific case, please consult a Turkish inheritance lawyer.

How to Write Will in Turkish Law

Things to be aware of before writing a last will and testament in Turkish Law:

1) Handwritten, Signed And Dated In Your Language

When writing a last will and testament in Turkey, if it concerns assets in Turkey, the entire will and testament must be written in handwriting, dated and signed. It can be written in your mother language.

2) Which Law is Applicable?

You can distribute the movable assets in your estate (cars, money, boat, gold and other valuables) as per your own national inheritance laws. However, for the immovable assets (all kinds of real estate such as apartments, lands etc.) you need to abide by the Turkish inheritance laws.

3) Children 3/4th , Spouse 1/4th

Under Turkish inheritance law, unless determined otherwise via a last will and testament, by default the spouse gets 1/4th of the estate while the children share 3/4th of the estate equally among each other. In the absence of a living spouse, the children are entitled to the whole estate, and vice versa.

4) Altering the Legal Shares of the Heirs

In your last will and testament, you can alter the legal shares of the children only by half, meaning 50% of a child’s legal share cannot be touched without a valid reason. For spouse, this percentage varies between 75%-100%, meaning a living spouse’s legal share of inheritance mostly cannot be altered by the will and testament of the deceased spouse.

Sample last will and testament in English language, under Turkish law:

01 January 2024

LAST WILL AND TESTAMENT

I, John Doe, hereby announce my last will and testament.

Upon my death,

• I leave my Konyaalti Apartment (Antalya Konyaalti Hurma Mah. 1 Ada 1 Parsel A Blok 1. Bb) to my 3 children in equal shares.
• I leave my Volkswagen vehicle (plate number 07 AT 007) to my eldest child Joe.
• I leave all the Money in my Vakifbank bank account to my youngest child Sarah.
• Finally, I leave my personal items and all other valuables to my middle child Mike.
  As a final message to my children, I love you all.

Sincerely yours
John Doe

Turkish Inheritance Lawyer Baris Erkan Celebi and his Turkish Inheritance Law Firm offer legal support on the last will and testament for all foreign nationals in Turkey. Turkish Inheritance Attorney’s services include but are not limited to assisting with the drafting and the signing of a valid last will and testament, putting the last will into effect after the passing of the testator, establishing the estate, passing the estate to the heirs and distributing the estate among the heirs.