Inheritance Law

Kubat Law & Consultancy: Inheritance Law and Estate Administration

Kubat Law provides professional consultancy in the processes of dividing the remaining assets (the estate) fairly and lawfully among the legal and appointed heirs in the event of the death, absence or presumption of death of the deceased. Within inheritance law, we meticulously follow all proceedings carried out to identify the movable and immovable assets in the estate, manage the debts and protect the rightholders.

Drafting Wills and Dispositions upon Death

It is of great importance that the deceased, while still alive, secures their last wishes legally without infringing the reserved (statutory) shares. Within the framework of the Turkish Civil Code, we provide guidance on three different types of will:

Official Will: The most secure method, drawn up before a notary or authorised officer in the presence of witnesses.

Holographic Will: We review the legal validity of documents written entirely in the testator's own handwriting and containing a date and signature.

Oral Will: We follow the legal validity periods and procedures of this method, resorted to in extraordinary situations (danger of death, etc.).

Principal Cases Arising from Inheritance Law

In disputes that arise during the division of the inheritance, we act as expert counsel in the following types of case to protect our clients' rights:

Renunciation of Inheritance and Certificate of Inheritance (Probate): Identification of the heirs and management of renunciation processes where the estate is over-indebted.

Action for Annulment of a Will: We conduct annulment proceedings on grounds such as lack of capacity, formal defects, mistake or unlawfulness.

Collusive Transfer by the Deceased and Title-Deed Annulment: We wage a legal struggle against collusive (simulated) sales and transfers made by the deceased to conceal assets from the other heirs.

Action for Abatement (Reduction): We pursue cases brought by heirs whose reserved share has been infringed, in order to bring the deceased's dispositions back within the legal limits.

Action for Equalisation (Hotchpot): We manage the processes of returning to the estate the gratuitous benefits granted by the deceased to certain heirs during their lifetime, so as to ensure equality among the heirs.

Special Inheritance Contracts

We provide consultancy on contracts that the deceased may conclude during their lifetime, imposing mutual obligations or conferring rights on the parties:

Contract of Care Until Death: Drafting contracts that provide for the transfer of assets in return for the care debtor's obligation to care for the care creditor for life.

Contract of Renunciation of Inheritance: Drawing up official contracts whereby an heir renounces their inheritance right, with or without consideration.

Why Should You Seek Professional Support?

Inheritance law is a field where one-year and ten-year preclusive periods are intertwined with the rules of prescription. In particular, correctly distinguishing between a collusive transfer by the deceased and an action for abatement is critical to the success of the case.

From its Istanbul office, Kubat Law serves under the guidance of current Court of Cassation case law in order to defend its clients' inheritance rights with the most accurate strategy and to prevent losses of rights over the estate.