How to Make a Will in Turkey: Validity Requirements and Grounds for Annulment

1. What is a will and what can it do?

A will (vasiyetname) is a disposition upon death: a legal act by which a person decides alone who will receive their assets after they die, and how. It takes effect only on death. The law calls the person making it the "testator" (mirasbırakan).

A will can, for example:

• Appoint heirs: name one or more people as heirs to all or a fraction (for example one third) of the estate (Civil Code art. 516 [1]).
• Leave a specific asset (legacy): give a particular asset, such as a flat or a car, to someone without making them an heir (Civil Code art. 517 [1]).
• Attach conditions or burdens: make a gift conditional or impose an obligation on the beneficiary. Unlawful or immoral conditions and burdens invalidate the disposition they are attached to (Civil Code art. 515 [1]).
• Disinherit: exclude an heir with a reserved share, if one of the legal grounds exists (Civil Code art. 510 [1]).
• Appoint an executor: name a person to carry out the will (Civil Code art. 550 [1]).

Anything the will does not cover passes to the statutory heirs (Civil Code art. 514 [1]).

2. Who can make a will?

There are two requirements (Civil Code art. 502 [1]):

1. Being at least fifteen years old.
2. Having the capacity of discernment (ayırt etme gücü). Under the Civil Code, everyone has this capacity unless they lack the ability to act rationally because of young age, mental illness, mental disability, intoxication or a similar reason (Civil Code art. 13 [1]).

The law does not require the testator to be an adult (18) or free from guardianship for a will; those conditions apply only to inheritance contracts (Civil Code art. 503 [1]). What matters is capacity at the time the will is made. An illness that arises later does not, on its own, affect a will that was validly made earlier.

In practice, notaries may ask for a medical report if they have doubts about a person's capacity. The law does not require one for every will, but such a report can be important evidence of the testator's health on the date of the will if the will is later challenged.

3. Forms of will and formal requirements

Official will

An official will is drawn up by a notary, a civil judge of peace or another official authorised by law, in the presence of two witnesses (Civil Code art. 532 [1]). The statutory procedure is as follows (Civil Code arts. 533 and 534 [1]):

1. The testator tells the official (for example the notary) their wishes.
2. The official writes up the will, or has it written, and gives it to the testator to read.
3. The testator reads and signs it. The official dates and signs it.
4. Immediately afterwards, in the official's presence, the testator declares to two witnesses that they have read the will and that it contains their last wishes. The witnesses write (or have written) on the will that the declaration was made before them and that they considered the testator capable, and then sign.

The witnesses do not need to know the content of the will (art. 534). If the testator cannot read or sign, the official reads the will to them in front of the two witnesses, and the witnesses record this as well (Civil Code art. 535 [1]).

Who cannot be a witness? The following cannot act as official or witness for an official will: persons without legal capacity, persons banned from public service by a criminal court, and persons who cannot read and write. The testator's spouse, ascendants and descendants (parents, grandparents, children, grandchildren, etc.), siblings, and the spouses of all these persons are also excluded. Nothing may be left under that will to the official, the witnesses or their close relatives (Civil Code art. 536 [1]). If the defect arises from the participation of a person who (or whose spouse or relative) benefits under the will, only those gifts are annulled, not the whole will (Civil Code art. 558 [1]).

The official who drew up the will keeps the original (Civil Code art. 537 [1]). Notaries notify the civil registry of the wills they hold; on death, a certified copy is sent to the public prosecutor for delivery to the civil judge of peace (Notaries Law art. 69 [2]).

Notary fee: Under the 2026 tariff, the notary's fee for drawing up a will is TRY 2,661.62; withdrawal, cancellation or amendment is charged at one third of that fee. If the ordinary notary fee calculated from the official duties (harç) is higher, the higher amount is charged (2026 Notarial Fee Tariff art. 2 [3]). Other items, such as per-page writing fees, are added, so ask the notary for the total. The tariff is renewed every year.

Handwritten will

A handwritten will must meet three requirements (Civil Code art. 538 [1]):

• The text must be written from beginning to end in the testator's own hand.
• It must state the year, month and day on which it was made.
• It must be signed by the testator.

No witnesses or notarisation are needed, and the law does not require the place to be stated. A text typed on a computer or typewriter and only signed, or written by someone else, is not a handwritten will, because the law expressly requires the entire text to be in the testator's handwriting.

A handwritten will may be deposited, open or sealed, with a notary, a civil judge of peace or an authorised official for safekeeping (art. 538). This is optional, but it reduces the risk of the will being lost or not found after death.

Oral will

An oral will is an exception. A person who cannot make an official or handwritten will because of extraordinary circumstances, such as imminent danger of death, interrupted communications, illness or war, may state their last wishes to two witnesses (Civil Code art. 539 [1]). One witness writes the wishes down at once, stating the place and date; both sign and hand the document to a civil court of peace or court of first instance without delay (Civil Code art. 540 [1]). Apart from the literacy requirement, the witness restrictions for official wills also apply (art. 539). If the testator later becomes able to make a will in another form, the oral will lapses one month after that date (Civil Code art. 541 [1]).

4. The limit on a will: reserved shares

Freedom of testation is not unlimited. A person whose heirs include descendants (children, grandchildren), parents or a spouse may dispose by will only of the part of the estate outside the reserved shares (Civil Code art. 505 [1]). A reserved share (saklı pay) is a portion that the law sets aside for certain close heirs and that a will cannot take away.

*Source: Civil Code art. 506 [1]*

Siblings lost their reserved share in 2007 (Law No. 5650; Civil Code art. 506(3) repealed). If there are no descendants, parents or spouse, the testator may dispose of the entire estate (art. 505).

A will that infringes reserved shares is not automatically void. An heir who does not receive their reserved share may bring a reduction action (tenkis davası) to have the excess reduced (Civil Code art. 560 [1]). The action must be brought within one year of learning that the reserved share was infringed and in any event within ten years of the opening of the will. Reduction can always be raised as a defence (Civil Code art. 571 [1]).

The calculation is based on the estate as it stands on the day of death, after deducting debts and adding certain lifetime gifts that are subject to reduction (Civil Code arts. 507 and 508 [1]).

Disinheritance

An heir with a reserved share can be disinherited by will only in two cases: if they committed a serious crime against the testator or a person close to the testator, or if they seriously failed in their family-law duties towards the testator or the testator's family (Civil Code art. 510 [1]). The ground must be stated in the will. If the disinherited person objects, the person who benefits from the disinheritance must prove the ground. If the ground is not stated or not proven, the will is carried out only outside the heir's reserved share (Civil Code art. 512 [1]).

5. How can a will be changed or revoked?

The testator can revoke a will at any time while alive:

• By a new will: a new will in any of the legal forms can revoke all or part of an earlier one (Civil Code art. 542 [1]). The new will need not be in the same form; for example, a notarised will can be revoked by a handwritten one.
• By destroying it: the testator can also revoke a will by destroying it (Civil Code art. 543 [1]).
• By later dispositions: if a new will is made without revoking the earlier one, the new will replaces it, unless it clearly only supplements it. If, after leaving a specific asset by will, the testator deals with that asset in a way that is inconsistent with the legacy (for example sells the flat), the legacy lapses unless the will says otherwise (Civil Code art. 544 [1]).

A will destroyed by accident or through a third party's fault, whose content cannot be established exactly and completely, has no effect; claims for compensation remain open (art. 543).

Divorce also affects a will. Divorced spouses lose the rights given to each other in wills made before the divorce, unless the will indicates otherwise (Civil Code art. 181 [1]).

6. What happens after the testator dies?

1. Delivery: Any will found after death must be delivered immediately to the civil judge of peace, whether or not it appears valid. A person who holds or finds it and fails to do so as soon as they learn of the death is liable for resulting loss (Civil Code art. 595 [1]).
2. Opening and notification: Within one month of delivery, the civil judge of peace of the testator's place of residence opens the will and reads it to those concerned. Each beneficiary is served with a certified copy of the parts that concern them (Civil Code arts. 596 and 597 [1]).
3. Certificate: If no objection is raised within one month of notification, the civil court of peace issues the beneficiary a certificate showing that they are an appointed heir or legatee. This does not take away the right to bring an action to annul the will (Civil Code art. 598 [1]).

A person left a specific asset (a legatee) does not become its owner automatically. They acquire a personal claim against the executor if there is one, and otherwise against the heirs, for delivery of the asset or transfer of the right (Civil Code art. 600 [1]). As a rule, this claim becomes time-barred ten years after the legatee learns of the gift (Civil Code art. 602 [1]).

7. Grounds for annulling a will

A will can be annulled on one of four statutory grounds (Civil Code art. 557 [1]):

1. Lack of capacity: the testator was under fifteen or lacked the capacity of discernment when making the will.
2. Defective consent: the will was made as a result of mistake, fraud, threat or duress. However, if the testator does not revoke the will within one year of discovering the mistake or fraud, or of being freed from the threat or duress, the will is treated as valid. If there is an obvious mistake in describing a person or an asset and the testator's true intention can be established with certainty, the will is corrected accordingly (Civil Code art. 504 [1]).
3. Unlawful or immoral content: the content of the will, or its conditions or burdens, are unlawful or immoral.
4. Defect of form: the formal requirements were not met. Examples are part of a handwritten will being typed, a missing date or signature, or an excluded person acting as witness to an official will.

Who can sue, when and where?

• Who? An heir or legatee with an interest in the annulment. The action may seek annulment of all or part of the will (Civil Code art. 558 [1]).
• Deadline: The claimant must sue within one year of learning of the will, the ground for annulment and their own entitlement. In any event, the right lapses ten years after the will is opened against defendants acting in good faith, and twenty years against defendants not acting in good faith (Civil Code art. 559 [1]). The law calls these preclusive periods (hak düşürücü süre): once they pass, the right to sue is lost.
• As a defence: The invalidity of the will can always be raised as a defence, for example against a person claiming an asset under the will (art. 559).
• Court: The case is heard by the civil court of first instance (Code of Civil Procedure art. 2 [4]). For actions to annul dispositions upon death, the court of the deceased's last place of residence has exclusive jurisdiction; the case cannot be brought elsewhere (Code of Civil Procedure art. 11 [4]).
• Mediation: As of the research date, an action to annul a will is not among the disputes that require mediation before going to court (Mediation Law No. 6325 art. 18/B [5]).
• Proof: As a rule, the party relying on a ground for annulment must prove it (Civil Code art. 6 [1]). Where lack of capacity is alleged, medical records from around the date of the will and any expert examination ordered by the court are important.

Annulment action vs reduction action

Both claims can be made in the same statement of claim, one as the main claim and the other as an alternative. For example, the claimant can ask for annulment and, if that fails, for reduction (Code of Civil Procedure art. 111 [4]).

8. Common mistakes

• Typing the text and only signing it, or leaving the date incomplete. A handwritten will must be entirely handwritten and show the year, month and day.
• Using close relatives as witnesses. For official and oral wills, the spouse, children, grandchildren, parents, siblings and their spouses cannot be witnesses.
• Describing assets vaguely. Instead of "I leave my house to my son", identify the property (province, district, block and parcel numbers, etc.). If several people receive shares, state the fractions clearly.
• Keeping the will where no one will find it. A will that is not found cannot be carried out. Depositing a handwritten will with a notary or civil judge of peace reduces this risk.
• Leaving the status of an earlier will unclear. State expressly whether a new will revokes the earlier one entirely or changes only part of it (art. 544).

9. Hypothetical example

This example is entirely hypothetical. It assumes there are no debts and no lifetime gifts. A dies leaving a spouse, B, and two children, C and D. During their lifetime, A wrote, dated and signed by hand a will leaving the whole estate to A's sibling, E. The civil judge of peace opens the will and notifies the heirs.

• If there is no defect of form, the will is valid, but it infringes the reserved shares.
• Statutory shares: B one quarter; C and D three eighths each (Civil Code arts. 495 and 499).
• Reserved shares: for B, the whole statutory share, i.e. one quarter; for C and D, half their statutory share, i.e. three sixteenths each. Together the reserved shares make five eighths, so A could freely dispose of three eighths.
• Within one year of learning that their reserved shares were infringed, B, C and D can bring a reduction action to reduce E's gift to three eighths. E, as a sibling, has no reserved share.

If the will had been typed on a computer and only signed, the heirs could also have sought its annulment for defect of form.

10. Frequently asked questions

Can my spouse and I make a single joint will?

The law does not provide a form for two people to make a will together in one document. A will is a unilateral act of one person, who can revoke it at any time (Civil Code art. 542). If spouses want a binding arrangement between them, the route provided by law is an inheritance contract made in official form (Civil Code art. 545). Each spouse can also make a separate will.

What if I write "my house goes to my son and my land to my daughter"?

Unless the will shows a different intention, such provisions about statutory heirs' shares are treated only as rules on how the estate is divided (Civil Code art. 560). Division rules bind the heirs, but if they create an inequality the testator did not intend, the shares can be equalised (Civil Code art. 647). If you want one heir to receive more than the others, that intention must be apparent from the will; stating it expressly reduces the risk of later disputes over interpretation.

Can my heirs see my will while I am alive?

Unless the will has been opened, a notary will as a rule give a copy of a will it drew up or holds only to the testator or to an attorney with a specific, notarised power of attorney for that purpose (Notaries Law art. 94 [2]). Even the witnesses to an official will do not need to know its content (Civil Code art. 534).

Is a will I made years ago still valid?

The law sets no expiry date for official or handwritten wills; they remain valid unless revoked. But if you have since divorced or sold an asset you left by will, the relevant provisions may have lapsed (Civil Code arts. 181 and 544). If reserved shares have changed, for example because a new child was born, the will does not become void but may be subject to reduction (Civil Code art. 549).

I live abroad or am a foreign national. Can I make a will for my assets in Turkey?

Yes. As a rule, succession is governed by the law of the deceased's nationality, but Turkish law applies to immovable property in Turkey. A will is valid as to form if it complies with the law of the country where it was made, the law governing the will, or the law of the testator's nationality (Private International Law Act No. 5718 arts. 7 and 20 [6]). Capacity to make a will, however, is governed by the testator's national law at the time the will is made (art. 20(5)). Abroad, notarial services are provided by Turkish consulates (Notaries Law art. 191 [2]).