Inheritance in Türkiye: Foreign Documents

When an estate in Türkiye has a connection abroad, for example a death certificate from another country or heirs who are foreign nationals, the first step is the certificate of inheritance. Under the Turkish Civil Code, the certificate showing who the legal heirs are is issued by the civil court of peace or by a notary.

Court or notary

The notary route has limits. Under the Notaries Law, a notary cannot issue the certificate of inheritance if the matter requires court proceedings, if the civil registry records are not sufficient, or if the certificate is requested by foreign nationals. In those cases the application goes to the civil court of peace. Where a notary can act, it draws up a record on the written or oral application of the person concerned.

How foreign records are treated

The Code of Civil Procedure sets the condition for foreign public documents. A document prepared by the authorities of a foreign state has the standing of an official document in Türkiye only if it is certified by the competent authority of the issuing state or by the relevant Turkish consulate; provisions on certification in conventions to which Türkiye is a party are reserved. A party relying on a document in a foreign language also submits its translation.

A foreign court judgment, such as a foreign probate decision, counts as conclusive evidence or as a final judgment only once a Turkish court has established that it meets the conditions for enforcement.

We translate the death certificate and other records into Turkish in Ankara through sworn translators, with notarisation where required. The court or notary decides what it accepts.