That a bank account was opened in the name of only one spouse does not mean that all the money in the account is personal property. On the other hand, not every amount that appears in the account during the marriage is earnings to be divided either. The owner of the account, the source of the money, the time of acquisition and the situation on the date the matrimonial property regime ended must be examined together. The same method is applied to shares, investment funds, time deposits and foreign currency accounts.
How is the legal nature of the money in an account determined?
Articles 219, 220 and 222 of the Turkish Civil Code (TMK) form the basis of the distinction between acquired property and personal property. An amount saved from work income during the regime and savings coming from before the marriage do not rest on the same legal basis. Money acquired by inheritance or gift, the investment instrument bought in its place and the income from that asset are also assessed separately. When money is moved to another account, only the account number changes; the investigation of the source continues in order to determine its legal nature. [1]
| Source of the money or investment | Initial assessment | Document to examine |
|---|---|---|
| Wages earned during the regime | Acquired property review for the accumulated and existing part | Payroll and account movements for the period |
| Savings from before the marriage | Investigation of personal property and the value that takes its place | Pre-marriage balance and uninterrupted transfer records |
| Inheritance or gift | Distinction between gratuitous acquisition and income arising later | Inheritance, gift and payment documents |
| Money belonging to another person | The account holder’s actual entitlement is investigated separately | Purpose of the transaction, contract and refund records |
| Investment bought using a loan | The investment value and the related real debt are examined together | Loan contract, disbursement and repayment records |
Are the interest or dividend on personal money also personal property?
Personal property itself and its income should not be regarded as the same. Under the statutory regime, the income from personal property is, as a rule, acquired property; a different arrangement may have been made by a contract in accordance with Article 221 of the Turkish Civil Code. The principal of a pre-marriage deposit, the interest arising during the marriage and the assets bought again with the interest should therefore be shown on separate lines. [1]
Is a rise in the price of a share or fund the same as distributed income?
No. A change in the market price of a share bought before the marriage, receipt of a distributed dividend, purchase of a new share and participation in a capital increase are different transactions. Both counting every price rise as income and tying all returns to the nature of the principal may be wrong. The type of fund, the distribution structure, the buying and selling movements and the change in the number of units should be explained by the expert. The distinction here is not a formula that yields an automatic result for every investment product, but the application of the groups of property in the law to the specific investment.
Which date’s balance and which value is used as the basis?
In an action that results in divorce, the moment the regime ended and the moment the value of the asset is determined are distinguished. Articles 225 and 228 of the Turkish Civil Code are considered together with respect to the end of the regime and the separation of the groups of property, and Articles 232 and 235 with respect to valuation. Asking only for today’s account balance may leave the asset on the date the action was filed and the transactions made afterwards invisible. [1]
The record period to be requested from the court should be determined in connection with the asset examined and the claim. The number of units and the balance on the date the regime ended, the source of acquisition before it, and the sales or transfers after it are shown separately. For a time deposit, the maturity, interest accrual and withholding (stopaj); for an investment, the number of units, the price and the transaction cost; for foreign currency, the currency and the reason for conversion must be written clearly. Applying today’s exchange rate to all products does not by itself make an auditable calculation.
Does a joint account establish that the spouses are entitled to half each?
The authority to withdraw money against the bank and the real entitlement between the spouses are not the same issue. The contract of the joint account, who deposited money into the account and for what purpose, and the source of the money are examined. That one spouse can withdraw money from the account does not remove all of the other spouse’s claims; nor does opening a joint account by itself show that half of every transfer was donated.
For accounts opened in a child’s name, it must also be assessed whether the child is the rightful owner, whether a genuine gift was made and what the limits of the authority of management are. Assets belonging to a child cannot be taken into the spouses’ liquidation account merely because they are managed by the mother or father. The allegation that a transaction was made in the child’s name only in appearance must, however, be proven separately.
How are bank and investment records obtained?
A person can request his or her own account statements from the bank and from the investment institution. The e-Investor service (e-Yatırımcı) of the Central Securities Depository (Merkezi Kayıt Kuruluşu) enables a person to follow the investment accounts and transactions registered in his or her own name in the system. This service does not give authority to access the spouse’s account without permission; nor does it show that all foreign investments will be found in a single place. [4]
For records belonging to the other spouse and to third parties, requests connected with the dispute and specified in terms of institution and period should be submitted to the court. The provisions of the Code of Civil Procedure (HMK) on document production are taken into account. If there is no known account or institution information, the specific indications of acquisition and transfer determine the direction of the investigation. Records obtained through unlawful access may raise a separate problem of proof and liability. [3]
Should the requested record be limited to the account summary?
The transaction date, sender and recipient, description, investment order, number of funds or shares, settlement record, loan relationship and closed-account information are requested together when necessary. A screenshot can provide initial information; establishing the link between the transaction and the original record from the institution gives a stronger review. Unnecessary personal data should not be piled into the file; the request should be limited to the subject and period of the dispute.
Is money withdrawn from the account added back to the account in every case?
No. Family expenses, debt payments, the purchase of another investment, a genuine sale price and a gratuitous transfer are different causes. If the conditions in Article 229 of the Turkish Civil Code are met, a review of the value to be added is carried out. A transfer made with the purpose of reducing the claim cannot be subjected to the same assessment as an ordinary expenditure. If the money withdrawn was used to buy another asset, that asset is also investigated. [1]
The same money must not be counted twice
As an example, let us consider that a fund was bought with the whole of 800,000 Turkish lira (TL) saved from income during the regime. The cash remaining in the account, the number of units in the fund and the sales that took place later should be tracked separately. Treating the 800,000 TL that has left the account as still existing in the bank and also adding the value of the fund separately creates a duplicate calculation. This example does not determine a liquidation amount; it shows the importance of reconciling the records with one another.
The same check is made for the price of an immovable property that was sold, a payment from a company and the closing of a loan. The expert report should show from which source each amount came, where it went and on which line it was taken into account.
Which documents should be organized when preparing for the action?
- A list of accounts and investment institutions; the opening and closing information of the accounts.
- The pre-marriage balance and the inflows and outflows of the regime period.
- Supporting documents concerning inheritance, gifts, sales, wages and loans.
- Fund and share buy-sell orders, changes in units and distributed income.
- A table of dates, amounts, recipients and descriptions for the transfers that are the subject of the dispute.
- A list of from which institution and for which period missing records will be requested.
A sound property division calculation comes not from a single balance image but from the joint examination of the source, date, asset and debt information.
Related articles: How Is Property Divided in a Divorce? A Guide to Matrimonial Property Regime Actions; Which Assets Are Divided in a Divorce? Acquired Property and Personal Property; How Is the Participation Claim Calculated? Debts, Equalization and Residual Value; How Are Assets Investigated in a Property Division Action? Bank, Title Deed and Other Evidence; How Are Crypto Assets Identified and Divided in a Divorce?.
Frequently asked questions
Can I claim a right to the money in a bank account in my spouse’s name?
That the account is solely in the spouse’s name does not by itself prevent the claim. The date and source of acquisition of the money, whether it still exists and the applicable matrimonial property regime are examined. Personal money, acquired savings and amounts belonging to third persons must be separated.
Is all the money in an investment fund divided in half in a divorce?
First, the source from which and the time at which the fund was bought, the related debts, the groups of property and the valuation method are determined. The participation claim is not the automatic half of the gross value of each account; it is calculated within the integrity of the liquidation.
Is the interest income on my pre-marriage savings divided?
Under the statutory regime, the income from personal property is, as a rule, acquired property. The valid contract, the period in which the income arose, and the existing assets and expenditures are investigated. The principal and the income should not be assessed under the same item.
Does withdrawing money from a joint account count as diverting assets?
Withdrawing money alone is not sufficient. The purpose of use, the later transfer, the counter-value and the evidence of the allegation of reducing the claim are examined. If the conditions exist, an assessment of the value to be added or of a different claim is made.
Can I see all of my spouse’s investments through the Central Securities Depository?
The service of access to one’s own account does not give authority to examine the other spouse’s records. Records belonging to another person are requested from the court by the appropriate procedure. For assets held abroad or in different custody structures, a separate investigation is needed.
Documents for preparing for a consultation
To record your assets and debts separately, to organize the dates of events and to identify missing documents, an asset and debt inventory, a chronology of events and payment dates, and a preparation form for the first attorney consultation can be used. These working documents do not by themselves constitute an action or a calculation of legal time limits.
This article is for general legal information. In a specific dispute, the dates of events, the documents, the type of claim and the time limits are assessed together.