wills simplified!

[chrissy452]

I have just spent a considerable amount of time reading through info on making a Turkish will and am still quite confused! I have been reliably informed that a Turkish will isnt worth the paper its written on, and any Turkish assets go to whoever is deemed worthy under Turkish inheritance law.
My partner and I have had a property in Calis for 2 years now, tapu in joint names. Would anyone be able to let me know what would happen if a) I died
   b) he died
   c) we both died
I have 2 sons, and my partner has one son. Is it worth putting the children on the tapu?
Sorry if this has been covered, but I cant decipher the facts.
Chrissy x

[kevin b]

From my research under Turkish law if the person on the tapu dies & they have children there is a reserved portion for the children.If you are married & both on tapu a portion goes to spouse & a portion to children of the deceased.You can't dissinherit children.If you put your children on the tapu the house will have to have all military checks again & it will be as if you had bought house again thus paying taxes on new sale.If you are not married I do not think the remaining owner has a claim on your share.This is how I understand it but I may not be correct as you get conflicting advise from various solicitors in Turkey.

[bewva]

Chrissy, As you say this is a very confusing subject much covered on the forum.
I am married with 2 children and have chose to not do a will at present.
Our tapu is in joint names. As I understand it if either my wife or I die the property will under Turkish law be shared between the surviving partner & the children. If both me & the wife die then the kids will get the property. Both above scenarios are fine by us. (other than the fact we would be dead ).
I am unsure how you stand though with un married partnerships and children from previous relationships.I'm sure people on here will be able to advise but beware as there is a lot of conflicting advice even from the lawyers.
Paul

[Jacqui Harvey]

It's better to have a Will in Turkey with your express wishes, than have none at all and leave whoever is left behind to argue about it. Talk it over with a Turkish lawyer and see what he/she says. We  have made a Turkish Will and found the information given very good. Although we did read all the reports on CBF about Wills, some of it not good, but what is the
alternative? When we talked with our Solicitor in the U.K. he advised us that
any property in Turkey could not be covered by our British Will.

[stoop]

From the Turkish Consulate site:

http://www.turkishconsulate.org.uk/en/questio.htm#legacy


THE ACQUISITION OF LEGACY IN TURKEY:

-The acquisition of any legacy in Turkey after the death of its owner, could be made through the courts by probate action upon the application of his relatives /heirs.

-The heritage /estate/ property could only be passed to the heirs after a probate issued by the court of the province where the property is located.

-Any legal action taken at the Courts of the UK (or any other country), could be applicable in Turkey only after the decision of a Turkish Court which recognizes and enforces the decision of the UK courts. Hence, a will could gain validity in Turkey after a decision issued by a court in Turkey. .

A will is going to be valid in Turkey after some legal steps.

If one notifies his legal heirs (according to the will) about the existence of such a will, then they could follow up the matter after the death.
The probate letter /decision required to enforce a will in the UK, should be certified by the Legalization Department of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (apostille) and then in the Turkish Consulate before being presented to the relevant authorities in Turkey.
After its certification process, the probate should be presented to the Court in Turkey in order to enforce it. Once the decision from the Turkish Court is taken, the will also be valid in Turkey and could become applicable.
Please click HERE for working hours & address of Turkish Consulate General in London
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[chrissy452]

re Kevin's comment- does each partner have the same rights if they are both on the tapu, even if they're not married? If I dont have automatic rights to inherit (being the female partner) this is worrying!
If we didnt write a will at all, would the assets automatically go to the children? What I would want to happen is that an equal share would go to my children and my partner's children. Would any other members of the family have a claim, eg siblings?
Also thankyou Stoop for information. Im still trying to decipher it!!

[kevin b]

Chrissy you have pm.

[susuz.1]

These are the problems as I see it - I only know of English law, but the differences of legislation and procedure presents us with difficulties. I'll list them below:-

1.  I understand that your Turkish property cannot be referred to in your English Will. If you make a separate Turkish Will, however, your English Will cannot begin with "This is the Last Will and Testament". This could mean if Turkish Court had to view English Will, they could say  your Turkish Will has been cancelled. This can be overcome by your English Will being worded slightly differently so it doesn't cancel your Turkish Will.

2.  English Grant of Probate does not say who is to inherit -It just shows who is the Executor and the value of the estate and the Will is annexed to the Grant.

The Executor then distrubutes the estate in accordance with the Will. Usually a solicitor acting as executor publishes a notice in a local paper and London Gazette naming the deceased and last known address and asking anyone if they think they have a claim to get in contact with them.    

The solicitor will wait six months from the date of the Grant  before distribution of the estate. No claim can be made to the Executor after this time period, although they could challenge beneficiaries in court if they thought they had a claim.

3.  Turkish law seems to require the apostille document to grant Turkish probate, but an apostille of our Grant of Probate, I believe, won't be adequate as it only confirms the Will and executor, not the beneficiaries, this is left for the executor to sort out as set out above. It would have the English Will annexed but this is no guarantee that, say, an ex-wife, other children etc. could come forward and make a claim to the estate. There seems to be no equivalent document in English law that legally confirms who the beneficiaries are.

I've probably created more confusion than help but thought I would try to explain the difficulties so that someone may be able to offer a solution or answer!

Susuz

[kevin3]

It's a minefield.I believe all sorts of relatives are entitled
to a portion,even if you have made a Turkish will.The Turkish
Inheritance Law applies.Everyone seems to have a different understanding.Worrying.!

[Maisie58]

Also take  a look at what it says about the execution of a foreign will in Turkey and how to have the documents ratified:
http://www.turkisheconomy.org.uk/buyingproperty/property_taxes.htm

'Wills prepared by foreign nationals in their own countries can be executed in Turkey so as to transfer the ownership of a property to the individuals(s) stated within the will'........ Section 7:4

There is an index at the beginning of this very long but helpful document - not hyperliked.