Who are the legal heirs? – Lawyer in Izmir
An heir is a person who has a right to the deceased's assets. A person with the status of heir automatically acquires all the rights and obligations of the deceased at the time of death. Who can be an heir of the deceased is regulated in the Turkish Civil Code.
The heirs of the deceased can be listed as blood relatives, the surviving spouse, adopted children, and the state. Blood relatives of the deceased include descendants (parents, grandparents), and those born out of wedlock.
Turkish Civil Code’According to [the relevant authority], the legal heirs are as follows:
- First Degree Legal Heirs: According to Article 495 of the Turkish Civil Code, first-degree heirs are the descendants of the deceased. Descendants refer to children. Children are equal among themselves. If a descendant has died before the deceased, their descendant takes their place. That is, if a child has died before the deceased, the child's child, i.e., the grandchild, takes their place. The grandchild's share is the same as the child's. If there is more than one grandchild, the shares are divided.
- Second Degree Legal Heirs: Article 496 of the Turkish Civil Code stipulates that for second-degree heirs to inherit, there must be no first-degree heirs. Accordingly, parents can only inherit if the deceased has no children (and descendants). If the parents died before the deceased, their children become the successors and inherit the property.
- Third Degree Legal Heirs: If the deceased has no descendants and no parents (and no grandparents' descendants either), then the grandparents become the third-degree heirs. If the grandparents died before the deceased, their children will inherit according to the principle of succession. However, it is important to note that if there is a surviving spouse, only the children of the grandparents can benefit from the succession. The children of the grandchildren cannot benefit.
The primary heirs of the deceased are their descendants. In other words, the descendants of the deceased constitute their first-degree heirs. Children inherit equally. If a child died before the deceased, their place is taken by their own descendants through succession at each degree. If the deceased has no descendants, their heirs are their parents. If the deceased has no descendants, the inheritance passes to their parents. The deceased's parents have equal rights to the inheritance.
If the deceased's parents died before them, their descendants inherit their place through succession at every degree. If the deceased has no descendants and their parents died before them, then the heirs of the deceased are the descendants of their parents. If there are no heirs on either side, the entire inheritance passes to the heirs on the other side.
The Status of Children Born Out of Wedlock
Individuals born out of wedlock, whose lineage is established by recognition or a court ruling, have the right to inherit from their father's side in the same way as relatives born within marriage. Upon the death of the testator, the surviving spouse inherits from the testator in proportions according to the group with whom they are inheriting. If the surviving spouse inherits together with the testator's descendants, they receive one-quarter of the inheritance. If the surviving spouse inherits together with the testator's parents, they receive half of the inheritance. If the surviving spouse inherits together with the testator's grandparents and their children, they receive three-quarters of the inheritance. However, if the testator has no grandparents and their children, the entire inheritance goes to the spouse. Adopted children and their descendants inherit as if they were blood relatives of the adoptive parent. The adopted child's inheritance rights within their own family also continue. In other words, while the adopted child inherits from their adoptive parent, they also continue to inherit from their biological parents. However, the adoptive parent and their relatives do not have the right to inherit from the adopted child.
If a person dies without leaving any heirs, their inheritance passes to the state.
Acquisition of Heir Status
In Turkish law, inheritance opens at the moment of death. The opening of the inheritance means that the deceased's assets and liabilities pass to the heirs. Legally, all assets pass to the heirs at the moment of death, and the heirs acquire the status of heir from that date onwards. Whether legal or appointed heirs, all heirs acquire a kind of "joint ownership" right over the deceased's estate (i.e., all assets and rights) at the time of death. Since the heirs' inheritance shares have not yet been determined and they have not yet claimed their share, no one can act independently regarding the inherited assets.
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