What is a Certificate of Inheritance (Probate Certificate)?
A Certificate of Inheritance (Probate Certificate) is a document issued by the Civil Court of Peace or notaries to determine the individuals who are entitled to inherit following a person’s death. Anyone who believes they are an heir can apply to a notary or a Civil Court of Peace to obtain a certificate of inheritance. Upon application, notaries conduct the necessary examination through the system, identify the deceased and their heirs, and issue the certificate of inheritance accordingly.
How to Obtain a Certificate of Inheritance from a Notary?
You must go to a notary with an identity document that includes your Turkish ID Number (T.C. Kimlik Numarası). If you are applying on behalf of someone else, you will also need a Power of Attorney or a Court Decision. You will also need the Turkish ID Number of the deceased (if this information is unavailable, it will be determined by the notary office).
At the notary, you fill out and sign the application form provided. The Certificate of Inheritance is prepared by the system in approximately three minutes and then verified by the notary.
If any discrepancy is found in your or your relative’s population (civil registry) records, the notary will inform you and direct you to the Population Directorate. After correcting the civil registry records, you may reapply at the notary office.
Cases Where the Certificate of Inheritance Cannot Be Issued by a Notary:
- Situations where the certificate of inheritance cannot be issued by a notary:
- The kinship between the deceased and the person requesting the certificate of inheritance cannot be established,
- Although there is a kinship, the person is not a legal heir.
- Regarding the deceased person (the estate-leaver):
- Having a will,
- Having passed away before 04/04/1926,
- Having passed away before 23/11/1990 while their spouse is still alive.
- Regarding the deceased person or any of the heirs:
- Having passed away on the same day as any of the heirs,
- Being declared “missing” (gaip),
- Being an adopted child,
- Having been deprived of citizenship or holding multiple citizenships.
In accordance with the Notary Law, if an obstacle to issuing the certificate of inheritance is identified, the notary will provide you with a “Rejection Document” stating the reason and will refer you to the Civil Court of Peace.
Lawsuit for the Cancellation of the Certificate of Inheritance (Inheritance Deed)
The information in the certificate of inheritance may not always reflect the actual facts. In such cases, to prevent loss of rights, a lawsuit for the cancellation of the certificate of inheritance (inheritance deed) must be filed. As stated in Article 598 of the Turkish Civil Code No. 4721, “the invalidity of the certificate of inheritance can be claimed at any time.”
In Which Cases Can the Cancellation of the Certificate of Inheritance Be Discussed?
The cancellation of the certificate of inheritance (probate certificate) can be discussed in two cases:
- The certificate of inheritance containing a legal error
- The certificate of inheritance containing a factual error
For example, situations may arise where one of the heirs does not appear on the inheritance certificate, or a person who is not an heir appears as an heir, or the shares are incorrectly stated. In such cases, the cancellation of the inheritance certificate can be requested.
Who Can File a Lawsuit for the Cancellation of the Inheritance Certificate (Veraset İlamı)?
Heirs acquire the inheritance as a whole by law upon the death of the decedent. Therefore, anyone who is entitled to be an heir, whether their name appears on the inheritance certificate or not, can file this lawsuit.
Against whom is the lawsuit for the annulment of the Inheritance Certificate (Certificate of Inheritance) filed?
According to Article 382 of the Turkish Code of Civil Procedure No. 6100, obtaining an inheritance certificate is a matter of non-contentious jurisdiction. For this reason, the case is filed without an opposing party. However, the annulment of the inheritance certificate is a contentious matter. The defendant can be anyone who is shown as an heir in the inheritance certificate. Attention should be paid to this issue as it is often confused in practice.
Competent and Authorized Court
In the annulment case of the inheritance certificate, the authorized court is the Civil Court of First Instance, and the competent courts are the court of the deceased’s last residence and the courts of residence of each heir.
Statute of Limitations and Preclusive Period in the Annulment Case of the Inheritance Certificate
As mentioned above, according to Article 598 of the Turkish Civil Code No. 4721, “the invalidity of the inheritance certificate can be claimed at any time.” Therefore, there is no statute of limitations or preclusive period.
Supreme Court Decisions Regarding the Annulment of the Inheritance Certificate
Upon the petition filed by the plaintiffs against the defendants on 02/12/2008 requesting the annulment of the inheritance certificate, and following the hearing held; after the judgment dated 19/03/2013, which accepted the case, was requested to be reviewed by the Supreme Court by the defendant …’s attorney, and the appeal petition, which was understood to be filed within the deadline, was accepted, the file and all the documents contained therein were examined and the necessary was deliberated:
JUDGMENT
The case concerns the determination of the correct certificate of inheritance and the annulment of the incorrect certificate of inheritance.
The plaintiff stated that the certificate of inheritance numbered 2006/318 Main, 2006/632 Decision, dated 04.07.2006 issued by the … Magistrate’s Court, and the certificate of inheritance numbered 1982/538 Main, 1986/294 Decision, dated 13.05.1986 issued by the … Magistrate’s Court are contradictory. The plaintiff requested the determination of the correct certificate of inheritance and the annulment of the incorrect certificate of inheritance, and in the event that both certificates are incorrect, the issuance of a new certificate of inheritance.
Some of the defendants argued for the determination of the true heirs.
The court ruled in favor of the case, annulled the certificate of inheritance numbered 2006/318 Main, 2006/632 Decision, dated 04.07.2006 issued by the … Magistrate’s Court, and determined that the certificate of inheritance numbered 1982/538 Main, 1986/294 Decision, dated 13.05.1986 issued by the … Magistrate’s Court is correct.
The judgment was appealed by the defendant …’s attorney on the grounds that the certificate of inheritance numbered 2006/318 Main, 2006/632 Decision, dated 04.07.2006 is correct.
After the files numbered 2006/318 Main, 2006/632 Decision of the … Magistrate’s Court and 1982/538 Main, 1986/294 Decision of the Muğla Magistrate’s Court were placed into the file, it was unanimously decided on 03.07.2017 to RETURN THE FILE TO THE LOCAL COURT for further examination of the appeal.
Following the petition submitted by the plaintiffs’ attorney against the defendants on 12.06.2013 requesting the annulment of the certificate of inheritance and issuance of a new certificate, and the hearing held thereafter; upon acceptance of the case and annulment of the certificate of inheritance, the Supreme Court’s review of the judgment dated 04.03.2014 was requested by some of the defendants’ attorneys. After deciding to accept the timely appeal petition, the file and all documents contained therein were examined and the necessary was considered:
JUDGMENT
The plaintiffs’ attorney stated that the deceased, … , passed away on 10.07.1970, and although the plaintiffs are heirs, they were not listed as such. They requested the annulment of the inheritance certificate numbered …. and the issuance of a new inheritance certificate that determines the heirs of the deceased … and their respective shares.
The defendants, … and …, declared that they accept the case.
The court ruled in favor of the plaintiffs and decided to annul the inheritance certificate numbered …..
A portion of the defendants’ attorneys have appealed the ruling.
According to Article 297/2 of the Code of Civil Procedure (HMK), in the operative part of the judgment, without repeating any reasoning, the decisions regarding each claim, as well as the obligations imposed on the parties and the rights granted to them, must be clearly and unequivocally stated under numbered items, so as to leave no room for doubt or uncertainty.
Regarding the specific case, the lawsuit requested the annulment of the inheritance certificate and the issuance of a new inheritance certificate. The court ruled in favor of the annulment of the inheritance certificate but did not issue any decision regarding the request for a new inheritance certificate. In this situation, the court’s failure to give a positive or negative ruling on the plaintiffs’ attorney’s request for a new inheritance certificate constitutes a violation of Article 297/2 of the HMK. Therefore, the judgment was deemed incorrect and had to be reversed for this reason.
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