What Is a Will in Turkey? Types, Requirements, Execution and Annulment

A will left behind by someone who has passed away is often the starting point of a legal process more complex than it appears. In this article, we examine what a will (vasiyetname) is under the Turkish Civil Code, the conditions for making one, its types, the process of opening and executing it, and the lawsuit for its annulment.

If your will was made abroad (for example, in Germany) or your inheritance matter involves a foreign element, please see our separate article on the Validity of Wills Made Abroad in Turkey.

1. What Is a Will?

A will is a unilateral disposition made by a person (the testator) to take effect upon death, concerning their estate. Unlike an inheritance contract, it does not require acceptance by another party; it is made solely by the testator and can always be amended or revoked during their lifetime. Through a will, and within the limits set by law regarding reserved shares (forced heirship), the testator may provide for a distribution different from the statutory order of succession, leave a specific asset to a specific person (a specific bequest), or appoint an heir.

2. Requirements for Making a Will

Under Article 502 of the Turkish Civil Code (TMK), two conditions must be met to make a will:

• Age requirement: having completed the age of 15,
• Capacity of discernment: possessing the capacity of discernment (not full legal capacity) at the time the will is made.

Both conditions must be satisfied together. In practice, the most frequently disputed issue is whether the testator possessed the capacity of discernment, particularly in cases involving advanced age, dementia, Alzheimer’s disease, or serious health conditions; this is usually proven through reports issued by the Council of Forensic Medicine or a university hospital health board.

3. Types of Wills

Article 531 of the Turkish Civil Code provides that a will may only be made in one of three forms. A document drawn up outside these three forms has no effect as a will.

3.1 Official (Notarial) Will (TMK Art. 532 et seq.)

Made in the presence of two witnesses before a magistrate judge (sulh hâkimi), a notary, or an officer authorized by law. This is the most secure and most commonly used form in practice; it facilitates proof of the testator’s genuine intent and provides an evidentiary advantage against later claims of incapacity or defects of will. Turkish law also regulates who may act as a witness when an official will is made: persons lacking legal capacity, persons barred from public service by a criminal court decision, illiterate persons, and the testator’s spouse, ascendants, descendants, siblings, and their spouses may not participate as witnesses. Furthermore, no disposition may be made in favor of the witnesses to an official will, their ascendants or descendants, their siblings, or their spouses. Since the official will is kept with the officer or notary who drew it up, this form eliminates the risk of the document being lost.

3.2 Holographic (Handwritten) Will (TMK Art. 538)

The testator must write out the entire will by hand, indicating the year, month, and day it was drawn up, and sign it. The absence of a date alone renders it invalid. This will may be left with a notary, a magistrate judge, or an authorized officer for safekeeping, or it may be kept by the testator.

3.3 Oral Will (TMK Art. 539-541)

An exceptional method available to persons who are unable to make an official or holographic will due to extraordinary circumstances such as imminent danger of death, interruption of transport, serious illness, or war. The testator declares their last wishes to two witnesses and asks them to write down, or have written down, a will corresponding to that declaration. If a will is not made in one of the ordinary forms within one month after the extraordinary circumstance ends, the oral will automatically ceases to have effect.

4. Revocation of a Will

Since a will is a unilateral act, the testator may revoke it at any time during their lifetime, without giving any reason; even if the will contains a clause stating it is “irrevocable,” such a clause is invalid. Articles 542-544 of the Turkish Civil Code provide for three methods:

1. Revocation by a new will (Art. 542): Making a new will in any of the forms prescribed by law is sufficient; the form in which the earlier will was made is immaterial.
2. Destruction (Art. 543): Destroying a holographic or official will with the intent to revoke it. If the testator knowingly and intentionally tears up the will, defaces it beyond legibility, or destroys it by a similar act, the will is deemed revoked.
3. Conflicting subsequent disposition (Art. 544): Where a new will made without expressly revoking the earlier one is incompatible with it, the new will takes the place of the earlier one.

5. Opening of the Will

After the testator’s death, any will that comes to light — regardless of whether it is valid — must be delivered without delay to the magistrate court (sulh hukuk mahkemesi) of the testator’s last place of residence (TMK Art. 595). This obligation applies not only to the testator or the notary, but to anyone who is actually in possession of the document.

Under Article 596 of the Turkish Civil Code, the will must be opened and read by the magistrate judge within one month of its delivery; at this stage, the judge’s role is limited to bringing the document to light and placing it on record, without examining its validity. Pursuant to Article 597, a certified copy of the parts of the will concerning each person with an interest in the estate is served on that person. Turkish case law consistently emphasizes that the magistrate judge’s role at this stage is limited to opening, reading, and serving the will, and that the judge may not rule on substantive matters such as validity or execution.

6. Action for Execution of the Will

This is the type of lawsuit brought to ensure that the dispositions contained in a valid will are actually carried out and that the persons entitled under it obtain their rights. In this action, what is sought is not the validity of the will as such, but the practical implementation of what it provides.

For an action for execution of a will to be heard, the following are required:

• The will must have been duly opened;
• No action for annulment must have been brought, or, if one was brought, it must have been dismissed (otherwise, a pending annulment action is treated as a preliminary issue).

The competent court is the Civil Court of First Instance (Asliye Hukuk Mahkemesi), as in annulment actions. An action for execution of a will is subject to a ten-year limitation period, running from the date the legatee becomes aware of the disposition in their favor or, where the obligation becomes due at a later date, from the date it becomes due.

7. Action for Annulment of a Will

Article 557 of the Turkish Civil Code sets out four exhaustive grounds for the annulment of a testamentary disposition:

1. The disposition was made at a time when the testator lacked testamentary capacity (capacity of discernment);
2. The disposition was made as a result of mistake, fraud, duress, or undue influence;
3. The content of the disposition, or a condition or charge attached to it, is contrary to law or morality;
4. The disposition was made without complying with the formal requirements prescribed by law.

The action may be brought by any heir or legatee with an interest in the outcome (Art. 558). The defendant is the person or persons who benefit under the will; where there are several defendants, they form a case of mandatory joinder.

Time limits (TMK Art. 559): The right to bring an annulment action must be exercised within one year from the date the claimant learns of the disposition, the ground for annulment, and their own entitlement to bring the action. In any event, the right to sue is extinguished after ten years from the date the will is opened as against defendants in good faith, and after twenty years as against defendants not in good faith. These are peremptory periods and are taken into account by the court of its own motion.

The competent and exclusive court for an action for annulment of a will is the Civil Court of First Instance of the testator’s last place of residence.

Conclusion

Although making a will may appear straightforward, in practice it involves numerous technical details at the stages of formal validity, opening, execution, and annulment. Formal defects or lack of capacity can give rise to serious inheritance disputes years later. For this reason, anyone planning to make a will is strongly advised to seek support from an experienced lawyer.