Disclaiming an Inheritance in Turkey: The Three-Month Deadline, Deemed Disclaimer and Insolvent Estates

An inheritance does not only pass assets; it passes debts. Credit card and bank debts, tax and social security claims, or the liabilities of a company in which the deceased was a partner pass to the heir automatically. The Turkish Civil Code gives the heir a right of disclaimer to avoid that result, but the right is tied to a short period and can be lost through the wrong conduct. An heir who lets the three months pass is deemed to have accepted and may be liable for the deceased's debts with all of their own assets.

This guide explains the conditions, period and procedure for disclaiming, the deemed disclaimer that operates where the estate is insolvent, the conduct that counts as acceptance, and the knock-on effects of a disclaimer, especially for children.

1. Who Can Disclaim?

Both statutory heirs (descendants, parents and their descendants, grandparents and their descendants, and the surviving spouse) and appointed heirs (named in a will or an inheritance contract) may disclaim (Civil Code Art. 605). A disclaimer covers the inheritance as a whole: an heir cannot disclaim the debts while keeping the assets, and a disclaimer cannot be made conditional.

An heir who disclaims is treated as if they had not survived the deceased: they take no share of the estate but are not liable for its debts either.

2. The Disclaimer Period: Three Months

The period is three months and is a forfeiture period (Art. 606). The starting point depends on the type of heir:

• Statutory heirs: the date they learn of the death and that they are heirs.
• Appointed heirs: the date the will is served on them or they learn they are heirs.
• Subsequent heirs, where an earlier heir disclaims: the date they learn of the earlier disclaimer. A disclaimer by one heir therefore starts a separate three-month period for the next in line.

If no declaration is made in time, the heir is deemed to have accepted. Where there are justified reasons, an extension or a fresh period may be requested from the court, but this is exceptional and has to be proved in each case.

3. How the Declaration Is Made

The declaration is made, orally or in writing, to the civil court of peace (sulh hukuk mahkemesi) at the deceased's last place of residence (Art. 609). A notice to a notary or an enforcement office does not replace it.

• The court records the declaration; no lawsuit is needed, since this is a non-contentious procedure.
• The declaration must be unconditional; statements such as "I accept whatever remains after the debts are paid" are invalid.
• Where the declaration is sent by post, the risk of delay lies with the heir; what counts is the date it reaches the court.

4. Deemed Disclaimer: An Insolvent Estate Is Treated as Disclaimed Without Waiting

If it is officially clear that the deceased was insolvent at the time of death (for example, a final certificate of insolvency or a bankruptcy), the heirs are deemed to have disclaimed (Art. 605/2). In practice the heir sues for a declaration that the estate is insolvent and that the inheritance is deemed disclaimed.

Key points in a deemed-disclaimer case:

• The claimant must prove that, at the date of death, debts exceeded assets and that the deceased's inability to pay was evident. Land registry, vehicle, bank and company records, enforcement files and tax debt statements are collected for this.
• The heir must not have done anything that amounts to acceptance (see section 6).
• The presumption may be rebutted by estate creditors proving the contrary, i.e. that the estate holds assets sufficient to cover the debts.

For an heir who has missed the three-month period, a deemed-disclaimer action is often the last, and sometimes the only, way out of an insolvent estate.

5. Consequences: Who Takes the Share?

A disclaiming heir's share passes as if that heir had died (Art. 611), first to their own descendants and, if there are none, to the deceased's other heirs. For children this has a critical consequence:

• When a parent disclaims, the insolvent estate passes to the minor children. The children must also disclaim in their own names through their legal representatives; the approval of the civil court of peace may be required for declarations on behalf of minors.
• In a chain of disclaimers, a separate three-month period runs for each group of heirs.
• If all heirs disclaim, the estate is liquidated under the bankruptcy rules (Art. 612). Liquidation costs and debts are limited to the value of the estate; the heirs' personal assets are unaffected.

6. Acts That Count as Acceptance: How the Right Is Lost

Under Article 610, an heir who behaves as the owner of estate assets before the period expires is deemed to have accepted the inheritance and can no longer disclaim. In practice the following are treated as acceptance:

• Selling, transferring or using the deceased's movable or immovable property.
• Withdrawing money from the deceased's bank account or collecting the deceased's receivables.
• Concealing estate assets or dividing them among heirs.

By contrast, paying funeral expenses, necessary acts to preserve the estate and ordinary upkeep do not amount to acceptance. The line depends on the facts; if the estate may be insolvent, take legal advice before doing anything with estate assets.

7. An Alternative: An Official Inventory of the Estate

If it is unclear whether the estate is insolvent, instead of letting the disclaimer period run blindly, an heir may ask for an official inventory of the estate to be drawn up (Art. 619 ff.). The court has the estate's assets and debts identified so that the heir can decide to accept or disclaim on an informed basis. The route is meaningful only if it is used before the disclaimer period runs out, so its interaction with the deadline must be monitored closely.

8. Common Mistakes

• Miscounting the three months: the period starts at different moments for different heirs and must be calculated separately for each.
• Not acting for the children after a parent disclaims: the debt passes to them and a separate period begins.
• Withdrawing money from the deceased's account: even "temporary" dealings can amount to acceptance.
• Waiting for enforcement: a final enforcement proceeding does not itself mean the right to disclaim is lost; but if the period has passed, the deemed-disclaimer route should be tried.
• Disclaiming but carrying on dividing assets: conduct inconsistent with the declaration puts its validity in doubt.

Frequently Asked Questions

For legal advice on inheritance, disclaimers, forced-heirship claims and wills, see our Family & Inheritance Law page, or request an appointment through our Contact page.