A will records a person’s wishes to take effect after death, using a form recognised by law. Turkish law provides for official wills, handwritten wills and, in exceptional circumstances, oral wills. Calling a document “my will” is not enough: capacity, the requirements of the chosen form and reserved portions must be considered together. Turkish Civil Code (TCC), Articles 502, 505–506 and 531.

This guide offers a general starting point for situations governed by Turkish law. It distinguishes making a will, changing an earlier will and handling a document found after death. The form of a will made abroad and the choice of applicable national law require a separate assessment.

Sources checked: · Türkçe okuyun

Who can make a will, and what can a will provide?

A person making a will must have reached the age of 15 and have the capacity of discernment. Different capacity requirements apply to an inheritance contract; these are distinct legal arrangements. The person’s capacity when the disposition is made matters. TCC Articles 502–503 and 557.

The document should make clear who is to benefit and what is intended. Appointing an heir to the whole estate or a fraction of it differs from leaving a specific asset to someone without appointing that person as an heir. For example, an appointment to one quarter of the estate and a gift of a particular property have different legal effects. A legatee’s right to claim performance is separately regulated. TCC Articles 516–517 and 600.

The will must reflect the testator’s own intentions. Mistake, deception, threats or coercion, as well as capacity and form defects, are relevant to a claim for invalidation. Agreement within a family does not replace the legal requirements. TCC Articles 504 and 557.

How is an official will made?

An official will is drawn up by an authorised official with the participation of two witnesses. The official may be a notary, a civil peace judge or another official authorised by law. The procedure involves more than simply certifying a signature on a prepared document. Recording the testator’s wishes, reading, declarations and signatures must follow the statutory process. TCC Articles 532–534.

A separate procedure is available when the testator cannot personally read or sign the document. The official reads it to the testator in front of two witnesses; the testator declares that it contains their final wishes, and the witnesses sign the statements required by law. Being unable to read or sign does not, by itself, remove the possibility of making a will. TCC Article 535.

Not everyone can act as a witness. People lacking legal capacity, those barred from public service by a criminal court judgment, people unable to read and write, and specified relatives cannot participate as the official or as witnesses. The testator’s spouse, blood relatives in the ascending and descending lines, siblings and the spouses of those relatives are covered. Gifts to the participating official or witnesses and to the relatives specified in the law are also restricted. TCC Article 536.

Abdulkadir Akıllar’s explanation of official wills offers further reading on the authorised official and two-witness requirements together (in Turkish).

What are the requirements for a handwritten will?

A handwritten will must be written entirely in the testator’s own handwriting, show the year, month and day when it was made, and be signed. A computer-typed document that is printed and signed does not meet this handwriting requirement. TCC Article 538.

This form does not require a notary to draw up the will or two witnesses to sign it. However, the document may be lost, changes may be disputed or it may not be found after death. The law permits a handwritten will to be deposited for safekeeping, open or sealed, with a notary, a civil peace judge or another authorised official. Depositing it does not automatically cure a defect in the document. TCC Articles 538 and 557.

The Turkish-language inheritance overview by Saim İncekaş, an inheritance lawyer in Adana, also discusses handwriting, date and signature together in its section on wills. The distinction between signing a prepared text and writing the entire will by hand deserves attention at the preparation stage.

Is an oral will valid in every situation?

An oral will is an exceptional option. Extraordinary circumstances, such as an imminent danger of death, interrupted transport, illness or war, must prevent the person from making an official or handwritten will. The testator communicates their wishes to two witnesses and instructs them to put those wishes into writing or have them written down. The witness restrictions for official wills also apply, except for the literacy requirement. TCC Article 539.

Merely hearing the conversation is not enough. The law provides for immediate documentation followed by an application by both witnesses to the court without delay, or for the witnesses to go directly to the court and have a record drawn up. Officials who may act in place of a judge in certain special situations are separately identified in the law. Speaking to relatives, sending a message or leaving a recording does not by itself establish that this procedure was completed. TCC Article 540.

If the testator later becomes able to make a will in another recognised form, the oral will ceases to have effect one month after that possibility arises. This period does not run from the date of death. TCC Article 541.

Can the whole estate be left to anyone the testator chooses?

Where descendants, parents or a spouse inherit, the testator’s freedom of disposition is limited by their reserved portions. If none of those heirs exists, the law permits disposition of the whole estate. The size of a reserved portion depends on the family structure and the relevant statutory inheritance share; there is no single percentage for every family. TCC Articles 505–506.

An infringement of a reserved portion and invalidation of a will for lack of capacity or defective form raise different questions. An heir who does not receive the value of their reserved portion may seek reduction of dispositions exceeding the available portion. This does not mean that the entire will necessarily falls away. See the inheritance shares guide for the distinction between statutory shares and reserved portions. TCC Articles 557–560.

Can a will be changed or revoked later?

The testator may revoke all or part of an earlier will at any time by making a new will in one of the legally recognised forms. The law also regulates revocation by destruction; accidental destruction or destruction caused by someone else’s fault is subject to separate rules. TCC Articles 542–543.

If a new will is made without setting aside the earlier will, the later will replaces the earlier one unless it clearly and unmistakably supplements it. A later disposition of a specifically bequeathed asset that conflicts with the gift may also affect the outcome. Documents bearing different dates therefore need to be considered together. TCC Article 544.

Murat Aydar’s explanation of revoking a will discusses complete or partial revocation through a new will (in Turkish). Clearly identifying the earlier provisions intended to remain helps explain the testator’s final intentions.

What should happen when a will is found after death?

  1. The document is delivered. A will found after death must be delivered immediately to a civil peace judge, regardless of whether it appears valid. The person who drew it up, kept it or found it must fulfil the statutory delivery obligation upon learning of the death. TCC Article 595.
  2. It is opened and read to interested persons. The civil peace judge at the deceased’s domicile must open the will within one month of its delivery. Known heirs and other interested persons are invited to attend if they wish. The statutory month runs from delivery, not death. TCC Article 596.
  3. The relevant parts are notified. Each person entitled in the inheritance receives a certified copy of the parts of the will concerning them; the statutory publication procedure applies when their whereabouts are unknown. TCC Article 597.
  4. Entitlement and implementation are assessed. Opening the will does not resolve every question about its validity. Article 598 addresses certificates for appointed heirs and legatees, while Article 600 addresses claims for delivery of an asset or transfer of a right. The certificate of inheritance guide explains the certification distinction.

It is not accurate to say that every will automatically requires the same separate “enforcement” lawsuit. Appointment of an heir, a gift of a specific asset, the nature of the right claimed and whether there is a dispute must be distinguished. Article 600 regulates a legatee’s claim for delivery or transfer against a person who does not perform the obligation. Opening and reading a will is a separate procedure. TCC Articles 516–517, 596, 598 and 600.

How do invalidation and reduction of a will differ?

A claim for invalidation may be based on lack of testamentary capacity; mistake, deception, threats or coercion; unlawful or immoral content; or failure to comply with the prescribed form. An heir or legatee with an interest in invalidation may bring the claim. It may concern all or part of the disposition. TCC Articles 557–558.

Reduction addresses dispositions that infringe a reserved portion and exceed the statutory limit. Formal compliance therefore does not rule out a reserved-portion claim. Emre Taş’s discussion of challenges to a will provides further explanation of the distinction between opening, invalidation and reduction (in Turkish). TCC Article 560.

  • Invalidation: The period is one year from learning of the disposition, the ground for invalidation and the claimant’s entitlement. For wills, the outer period runs from opening: ten years against a defendant acting in good faith and twenty years against one not acting in good faith. TCC Article 559.
  • Reduction: The period is one year from learning of the infringement of the reserved portion, with a ten-year outer period from the opening of the will. For other dispositions, the outer period begins when the inheritance opens. Where invalidation of one disposition brings an earlier disposition into effect, the periods begin when the invalidation judgment becomes final. TCC Article 571.
  • Objection concerning certification: The one-month objection period under Article 598 following notification of an appointment or testamentary gift is separate from those periods for invalidation and reduction claims. TCC Article 598.

The stated periods for bringing invalidation and reduction claims extinguish the right to bring those actions when they expire. The law separately allows invalidity or reduction to be raised by way of defence at any time. Opening, notification and discovery can occur on different dates; an individual deadline should not be calculated from this summary alone. TCC Articles 559 and 571.

What should be clarified before making a will?

  • The intended beneficiary and whether the aim is to appoint an heir or leave a specific asset.
  • A clear description of the asset or share, ownership, debts and the existence of heirs with reserved portions.
  • The formal requirements of the chosen type of will and, where needed, the suitability of witnesses.
  • Earlier wills, intended changes and the relationship between the new document and earlier provisions.
  • Safe storage and the ability to fulfil the statutory delivery obligation after death.

A fill-in-the-blanks template does not settle these questions by itself, so this guide does not provide a personal will template. Estate debts require separate consideration; where relevant, see the renunciation of inheritance guide.

This article provides general information. It does not determine the validity of an individual will, a family’s specific shares or the outcome of a claim. The linked professional publications provide further reading on the particular points discussed.

Official sources and review date

Explore the distinction between statutory and reserved shares, worked examples and claim deadlines in our guide to reserved shares and reduction claims.

The statutory text and the provisions used in this guide were checked on 3 October 2026. That date does not indicate review of an individual case. Read about the guide or return to the Turkish Inheritance Law Guide homepage.