The questions below offer a general framework on the certificate of inheritance, disclaimer of inheritance, simulation by the deceased, wills and inheritance contracts. In a specific case, time limits, documents and the regulations in force are assessed separately.
Showing 1–4 of 4 questions
Are the annulment of a will and an action for abatement the same thing?
No; annulment concerns the validity of the disposition, whereas abatement concerns the infringement of the reserved portion.
Lack of capacity, defects of intent, contravention of law or morality, and defects of form may be considered among the grounds for annulment. Abatement seeks the reduction of a valid disposition to the extent that it infringes the reserved portion; the time limits and the proof for the two requests must be examined separately.
Does an heir who does not attend the hearing on the opening of the will lose rights?
Non-attendance at the hearing does not, by itself, extinguish the right of inheritance; however, it may create a risk with regard to notification and filing deadlines.
The opening of a will and its notification to interested persons, on the one hand, and asserting the invalidity of a will, on the other, are different procedural acts. The notifications and the date of learning must be recorded.
Can an inheritance contract be withdrawn from unilaterally?
Apart from the exceptions provided by law, the unilateral revocation of an inheritance contract is more limited than in the case of a will.
The type of inheritance contract, the parties’ performances, the requirements of form, the grounds for withdrawal agreed in the contract and the relevant provisions of the Turkish Civil Code are examined separately. The regimes for revoking a contract and for revoking a will must not be confused.
Which date determines the claimant’s status as an heir in a case of simulation by the deceased?
As a rule, heir status matters at the moment the succession opens; whether or not the claimant was an heir on the date of the transfer does not, by itself, bar the action.
The true purpose of the transaction and its apparent nature are investigated. The certificate of inheritance, the land registry transaction record, the relationship between the sale price and the market value, and witness statements must be assessed together.