— Succession Law
A deceased person cannot dispose of their estate entirely as they wish; the law sets aside a portion for certain heirs that cannot be touched. That portion is the reserved share, and the claim that reduces dispositions exceeding it is the abatement claim. This article sets out the reserved share rates, which dispositions are subject to abatement, and the time limits.
In succession law the freedom of the deceased to dispose is not unlimited. The Turkish Civil Code sets aside a proportion of the estate that cannot be touched, for certain heirs.
In practice the rule arises in two situations above all: where the deceased leaves the greater part of the estate to particular persons by will or succession contract, and where transfers made during their lifetime empty the estate. The office's work in this field is set out on our Antalya inheritance lawyer page.
What follows deals first with the concept and the rates, then with the conditions, scope and time limits of the abatement claim. The rates and periods here follow the text of the Turkish Civil Code in force.
The law in force can be consulted in the current consolidated text on mevzuat.gov.tr.
The reserved share is the minimum portion the law sets aside for certain heirs, which the deceased cannot remove either by dispositions on death or by transfers during their lifetime.
The part of the estate outside the reserved shares is the disposable portion. The deceased may dispose of it freely; dispositions exceeding the reserved shares are subject to abatement.
The reserved share is not the statutory share itself but a proportion of it fixed by the Code. The calculation therefore has two stages: first the heir's statutory share, then the reserved-share proportion of it.
Article 506 of the Turkish Civil Code lists those entitled to a reserved share and the rates.
For descendants the reserved share is one half of the statutory share. Descendants means children, and where they are not living, grandchildren, and so on.
For each of the mother and father the reserved share is one quarter of the statutory share.
For the surviving spouse the rate is split: where the spouse inherits together with descendants or with the parental line, the whole of the statutory share; in other cases three quarters of it.
The reserved share of siblings was abolished by an amendment in 2007. Siblings are therefore not entitled to a reserved share even where they are statutory heirs, and cannot bring an abatement claim.
Under article 560, heirs who have not received the value of their reserved shares may claim the abatement of dispositions exceeding the portion the deceased was free to dispose of.
The purpose is not to invalidate the disposition entirely but to reduce it to the disposable portion. In that sense the abatement claim is not an action for annulment.
The same article contains an important rule of construction: rules in a disposition concerning the shares of statutory heirs count only as rules of division, unless a different intention appears from the disposition.
The claimant is the heir whose reserved share is impaired. The defendant is the person who benefited from the disposition, who may be an heir or a third party.
Yes. Abatement covers not only dispositions on death, such as a will, but also certain gratuitous transfers made by the deceased during their lifetime. These are listed in four subparagraphs in article 565.
The first covers lifetime transfers made to a statutory heir who has lost that status, on account of their share; transfers of assets to descendants, or release from debt, made without a duty to return; and dowry or start-up capital given beyond what is customary.
The second covers transfers made in order to settle succession rights before death.
The third covers gifts made with a reserved right of free revocation, and gifts made within the year before death other than customary presents. The one-year test before death is frequently relied on in practice.
The fourth is the widest: transfers manifestly made with the aim of defeating the rules on reserved shares. Transfers presented as sales but said to be simulated are usually argued under it.
Under article 507 the disposable portion is calculated on the state of the estate at the date of death. In making the calculation, the debts of the deceased, funeral expenses, the costs of sealing and taking an inventory of the estate, and three months' maintenance for those living with the deceased are deducted.
Abatement is applied proportionately across the whole of what was acquired under dispositions on death, unless a different intention appears from the disposition.
A separate rule applies to indivisible property. Where a legacy of a specified item that cannot be divided without loss of value is subject to abatement, the legatee may either pay the value of the part to be abated and take the item, or take the money representing the disposable portion. The same rules apply to the abatement of lifetime transfers.
For that reason expert examination and valuation are decisive in abatement files concerning immovable property.
Article 571 governs the time limits, which are periods of forfeiture.
The right to bring an abatement claim lapses one year from the date on which the heirs learn that their reserved shares have been impaired.
In any event the right lapses ten years after the opening of a will, or, for other dispositions, ten years after the succession opens.
Where the annulment of one disposition brings an earlier one into effect, time runs from the date the annulment decision becomes final.
The closing sentence carries great practical weight: an abatement claim may be raised as a defence at any time. Even where the period for bringing a claim has passed, an heir whose reserved share is impaired may raise abatement by way of defence in proceedings brought against them.
These are the two routes most often confused. A simulated transfer arises where the deceased, intending to keep assets from the heirs, presents as a sale what is in truth a gift; the route is a claim for cancellation of the land registry record and registration.
In an abatement claim the apparent nature of the transfer is not in issue; it is said that the transfer impairs the reserved share and should be reduced to the disposable portion.
The outcomes differ. If simulation is established the transfer is void from the outset and the property returns to the estate; in abatement the transfer stands and only the part exceeding the reserved share is reduced.
They differ as to time as well: the abatement claim is subject to the one-year and ten-year periods of forfeiture, whereas those periods do not apply to an allegation of simulation.
Which route to take depends on the form of the transfer and the evidence available; both may also be advanced together.
Abatement claims are heard by the civil court of first instance.
As to venue, the rule is the court of the last domicile of the deceased. In succession matters that venue is exclusive and cannot be altered by agreement between the parties.
Where the last domicile of the deceased was Antalya, the claim is heard by the civil courts of first instance at the Antalya Courthouse; the districts of Konyaaltı, Muratpaşa and Kepez have no separate courthouse.
Before proceedings are issued, establishing the estate, extracting the land registry records and dates of transfer, and obtaining the certificate of inheritance are the first steps, both for calculating time and for the value of the claim.
The questions below concern this provision; more general questions are answered on the frequently asked questions page.
One half of the statutory share for descendants; one quarter for each of the mother and father; for the surviving spouse, the whole of the statutory share where inheriting together with descendants or the parental line, and three quarters in other cases.
No. The reserved share of siblings was abolished by an amendment in 2007. Siblings are not entitled to a reserved share even where they are statutory heirs, and so cannot bring an abatement claim.
The gratuitous transfers listed in article 565 are subject to abatement in the same way as dispositions on death. They include gifts made with a reserved right of free revocation, gifts made within the year before death other than customary presents, and transfers manifestly made to defeat the rules on reserved shares.
Within one year of learning that the reserved share has been impaired, and in any event within ten years of the opening of a will or, for other dispositions, of the opening of the succession. These are periods of forfeiture.
An abatement claim may be raised as a defence at any time. Even where the period for bringing a claim has passed, an heir whose reserved share is impaired may raise abatement by way of defence in proceedings brought against them.
No. In a simulated transfer claim it is alleged that a transfer presented as a sale was in truth a gift, and cancellation of the land registry record with registration is sought. In abatement the transfer stands and only the part exceeding the reserved share is reduced to the disposable portion.
Before the civil court of first instance. Venue lies with the court of the last domicile of the deceased, and that venue is exclusive.
Three things determine the outcome in abatement files: correctly identifying those entitled to a reserved share and their rates, establishing in full the transfers subject to abatement, and not missing the time limits. Examining lifetime transfers as to date and form frequently changes the course of the case.
The office's fields of work appear on our practice areas page. For an assessment of a particular file, the office can be reached through the contact page.