Finding inherited assets in Türkiye cannot be done with a single document or query. The certificate of inheritance (veraset ilamı) shows who the heirs are; it does not list all of the decedent’s assets and debts. Sound research records separately the assets and debts as of the date of death and the income and expenses that arise afterwards. This distinction matters both in the decision to accept or disclaim the inheritance and in the division. [1]
Where Does the Research Begin?
The decedent’s identity and tax numbers, former names, addresses, the banks used, land registry details, vehicle plates and company connections are compiled. Contracts, account statements and notifications at hand are reviewed. These are research leads; an old account seen on a photocopy is not proof of a current balance.
Applications are made to institutions with the certificate of inheritance. Suitable electronic services are used through the heir’s own identity. Knowing the decedent’s password does not confer authority to carry out transactions on their account. If a foreign heir cannot access an electronic service, a route of representation and written application is planned.
Vehicles, BES, Insurance and Digital Assets
In vehicle records, the plate, chassis number, and pledge and attachment status are researched. An Individual Pension System (BES) contract and a life insurance policy are not the same product; both must also be queried separately. The presence of a beneficiary may require the payment to be made to a person other than the one estate division would provide for. [6] [7] [5]
A crypto exchange account, a personal wallet, an electronic money balance, a domain name and content revenues are separate inventory items. A wallet address is a lead; on its own it may not prove who the owner is. A contract, e-mail notification and transaction record obtained lawfully may help. Private keys should not be written openly in a general inventory file.
How Should the Inventory Be Kept?
| Record field | Example content | Why is it needed? |
|---|---|---|
| Identity of the asset | Block and parcel, account or share number | Prevents the same asset from being listed twice |
| Status at the date of death | Amount, share and debt | Establishes the starting point of the estate calculation |
| Later movement | Rent, dividend, withdrawal, payment | For accountability and division |
| Claim to the asset | Spouse, joint holder, beneficiary or third party | Separates ownership attribution |
| Document and date | Institution reply and reference number | Provides proof |
| Final transaction | Registration, collection, liquidation or dispute | Tracks the closing of the file |
The valuation date may vary depending on the purpose. The value used for a tax return may not be the same as the market value on the date of division. The exchange rate, appreciation in value and transaction costs should not be mixed into the same table without explanation. [8]
Authority to Research, Ability to Access and Ownership Are Not the Same
Although a certificate of inheritance is the basic foundation for research, it does not give unlimited access to all data at every institution. The institution examines the applicant’s status as an heir and authority of representation, and assesses the scope of the request within its own record-keeping and confidentiality rules. Instead of using the deceased person’s e-Devlet password, telephone or internet banking, the channels reserved for heirs and written applications should be preferred. Technical access does not mean that one has authority to act on behalf of that person. [1]
What a record found in the research proves is also written down separately. Appearing as owner in the land registry does not show that the property is free of debt. The existence of a banking relationship does not show a positive balance on the date of death. A record of shareholding in a company does not mean that all of the company’s assets belong directly to the shareholder. The inventory should distinguish between the stage of “a record was found” and the stage of “the net value included in the estate was determined.”
How Are Official Query Results Completed?
Encumbrances and Past Transactions in Land Registry Research
The land registry query service offered on behalf of the person of whom one is an heir provides a starting point; however, the research is completed through identity matching in the land registry, the share, the nature of the immovable and the encumbrances on it. Former identity details, a change of name, or situations arising in the transfer of past records to the electronic system may affect the research. If a known immovable does not appear in the query, an official review should be carried out using the address, block and parcel, an old title deed or a tax record. [2]
The legal effects of a mortgage, attachment, usufruct, family residence or other records differ from one another. A property transferred before death may no longer be an existing asset of the estate directly; however, a receivable or the possibility of a lawsuit connected with the transfer may be researched. A review of simulation by the deceased (muris muvazaası), abatement (tenkis) or equalization (denkleştirme) is not the automatic result of an asset query. The date, parties, price and legal cause of the transaction are assessed separately.
Bank and Investment Research Requires a Reply from the Institution
The service offered through the Banking Regulation and Supervision Agency (BDDK) is aimed at identifying the banking relationship; learning the account balance and past movements is different. Once the bank is identified, the account types, foreign currency, interest or profit share, maturities, blocks, pledges and credit relationship as of the date of death should be asked about. Movements after the death may also be requested separately. For an investment account seen in a query of the Central Registry Agency (MKK), a detailed statement of the portfolio is obtained from the brokerage firm; division is not made on the basis of the existence of the account alone. [3] [4]
Why Does Debt Research Also Cover Third-Party Commitments?
The debt inventory does not consist only of a credit card statement. Suretyship, joint liability, tax debts, lease obligations, possible liability arising from company shareholding or from serving as a manager, and pending lawsuits and enforcement files are examined. A debt that has not yet fallen due or whose amount is disputed is marked separately. Entering a debt claim in the inventory should not mean that it is legally accepted; the statuses “alleged,” “documented,” “objected to” and “paid” are kept apart. [1] [10]
The possibility of being a debtor does not by itself create an obligation to disclaim the entire inheritance. The value of the assets and liabilities, the scope of legal liability and the alternatives are assessed together. However, while the research continues, the disclaimer or official estate inventory (terekenin resmî defteri) time limits must not be missed. The one-month period for requesting an official inventory under Article 619 of the Turkish Civil Code (TMK) is separate from the general disclaimer period. The reason “replies have not yet arrived from all the banks” does not by itself stop the time limits. [1]
Invisible Receivables and Post-Death Income
There may be rent, wages, a sale price, a shareholder current account receivable or an insurance payment that arose before death but was not collected. Not every payment is an estate receivable: the independent right of a life insurance beneficiary or the death pension of the Social Security Institution (SGK) falls under a separate regime. In the research, the person entitled and the legal source must be identified as well as the name of the payment. Dividing all death-related payments among the inheritance shares without making this distinction may lead to wrongful collection. [1] [5] [11]
Rent and other income arising from estate assets after death are also recorded. Property expenses, taxes and maintenance payments are linked to their documents. If an heir collects income, the collection dates and the account into which it was paid should be visible. Money paid into a personal account does not become the personal property of the person who collected it merely because it is in that account.
How Are Uncertainty and Valuation Shown in the Inventory?
| Record | Matter to be determined | Meaning of the value |
|---|---|---|
| Immovable | Owner, share, encumbrances, actual use | Tax value and sale value may differ |
| Bank | Date of death and current balance | Interest, expenses and later withdrawals are separated |
| Company share | Type, ratio, unpaid capital | Nominal value is not the real economic value |
| Receivable | Debtor, maturity, evidence, objection | Collectability is examined separately |
| Debt claim | Basis, amount, security | Determination is not acceptance |
In a hypothetical example, an apartment thought to have a market value of 3 million Turkish lira may carry a mortgage of 2 million lira and significant maintenance expenses. The 500,000 lira seen in the bank for the same estate may also be the subject of a claim that it was money entrusted by a third party. For this reason, adding up gross values and stating the net amount the heir will receive is misleading. Until the validity of the debt, the scope of the security and the ownership claim are resolved, the figures in the example are only a starting point for research.
Protective Measures and Closing the Research
If there is a risk of assets being removed, property being lost or documents being unobtainable, the provisions of the TMK on protection of the estate and the interim protective routes appropriate to the nature of the dispute are considered. The indefinite freezing of all accounts is not requested in every inheritance file. The request should explain the asset to be protected, the danger and why a lighter measure is not sufficient. For an interim injunction, the conditions in the Code of Civil Procedure (HMK) are examined separately from the special provisions on protection of the estate. [1] [9]
At the end of the research, instead of an absolute guarantee such as “there are no other assets,” it is shown which registries and institutions were searched, under which identities and for which dates. An additional declaration and transfer procedure may be required for an asset or debt found later. The closing report should contain together the verified assets, the disputed items, the missing replies and the time limits that need to be followed.
A Foreign Heir Conducting Research in Türkiye
Living abroad and being a foreign national are not the same legal situation. A Turkish-citizen heir’s access to electronic services in Türkiye may differ from that of a person holding a foreign identity. Before the heir’s citizenship, the decedent’s citizenship, the death record and a usable certificate of inheritance are determined. Under Article 20 of Law No. 5718 on Private International and Procedural Law (MÖHUK), inheritance is as a rule governed by the national law of the deceased; Turkish law applies to immovables located in Türkiye. Article 20/2, on the opening, acquisition and division of the inheritance, is also assessed separately. The applicable law for a bank account in Türkiye cannot be chosen merely by looking at the heir’s passport. Law No. 5718, Article 20
Affixing an apostille to a foreign authority’s certificate of inheritance does not by itself ensure that every institution in Türkiye accepts the document as one that settles the heirs and their shares. The nature of the document and the need for a certificate of inheritance issued by Turkish authorities are examined separately. A name change, multiple citizenships, different spellings of the date of birth, or an account opened in Türkiye under a former identity are shown in the research plan. Translation of records in a foreign language should be able to explain this chain of identity.
Research without coming to Türkiye can be conducted through a representative holding the necessary authority. However, obtaining information, collecting money from a bank, division, settlement and filing a lawsuit are not the same authority. The scope of the power of attorney is determined according to the acts to be performed. It is not necessary in every case to grant the person assigned to the research unlimited authority to collect and divide. When a common document package is prepared for institutions, the registration number and reply date of each application are kept separately.
A Query Opened in 2026 for Electronic Money and Payment Accounts
With Announcement No. 2026-30 of July 29, 2026 of the Central Bank of the Republic of Türkiye (TCMB), a service for querying account ownership information at payment and electronic money institutions through e-Devlet was announced. The service can also be used in respect of persons of whom one is an heir. This channel is separate from the bank deposit query; balances and transaction records are requested separately from the institutions found. TCMB announcement
Thus the research list is not limited to banks. A balance in a phone application may be a bank deposit, electronic money, an investment receivable or a crypto asset. The same transfer procedure should not be applied without determining the legal nature of the product, the service provider and the identity of the rights holder. Having the access password to the application is no basis for an heir to act, after the death, as though they were the account holder.
The Difference Between Estate Determination, Protective Recording and the Official Inventory
Court of Cassation: A Research Request Cannot Be Rejected on the Ground of a Wrong Time Limit
In the decision of the 14th Civil Chamber of the Court of Cassation (Yargıtay 14. Hukuk Dairesi) dated April 3, 2017, E. 2016/5311, K. 2017/2635, a request to determine the decedent’s assets and debts had been rejected on the ground that the time limit had passed. The Chamber reversed the decision, stating that the request was not an official inventory forming the basis of acceptance or disclaimer within the meaning of TMK Article 619, but a determination for protective purposes under Article 589 et seq. It explained that determination for protective purposes is, as a rule, not subject to a time limit and may be requested until division, unless it has become useless or impossible. Full text of the decision — De Jure, an account may be required for access
The practical result of the decision is that merely writing “let an inventory be kept” in the petition is not sufficient. The purpose of the application, the protection requested and the expected legal result should be explained. Failing to list a debt in the determination inventory does not eliminate the debt; listing an asset does not finalize disputed ownership either. This determination cannot be used in place of an action for performance or an ownership action that resolves entitlement.
The TMK Article 607 Exception in the Disclaimer Period
Under TMK Article 606, the disclaimer period is, as a rule, three months. For a statutory heir, learning of the death is the basis; if it is proved that the status of heir was learned later, the starting point may change. For an appointed heir, the official notification is significant. TMK Article 607, on the other hand, in the recording of the estate as a protective measure, ties the disclaimer period to the civil judge of peace’s notification that the recording has been completed. This special provision should not be confused with an ordinary bank query or with an inventory prepared privately. TMK Articles 606–607, 615, 619
The period for requesting that an official inventory be kept is one month, in compliance with the disclaimer procedure. Where there are important reasons, Article 615 may separately come into play for the extension of the disclaimer period or the granting of a new period. A bank’s failure to reply should not be treated as an automatic extension. When the time limit is calculated, the death, the learning of it, the court decision and the date on which the notification was served are recorded separately.
Plan for Moving from Research to Actual Transfer
| Stage | Task to be completed | Condition for the next step |
|---|---|---|
| Identity | Matching the records of the decedent and the heirs | A usable document of status and representation |
| Research | Collecting institution and registry replies | Determination of assets and debts by documents |
| Protection | Assessing the risk of loss and the time limits | A court measure if necessary |
| Calculation | Separating ownership attribution, debts, values and income | A reasoned table on the net estate |
| Tax | Related transfer and tax return procedures | Tax clearance or withholding procedure suited to the asset |
| Delivery | Land registry, payment, registry or movable-property transaction | Entitlement and conditions for joint action |
For example, suppose that the research finds an apartment, two banks, an electronic money account and a receivable that is the subject of a lawsuit. Delivery of all of them to the heir on the same day is not expected. For the apartment, registration; for the banks, payment; for the electronic money institution, its own transfer application; for the receivable, collection or following the lawsuit is needed. It should not be assumed that, because the receivable in dispute has not been concluded, the transactions for the other, undisputed assets must necessarily wait; joint entitlement and the need for protection are assessed for each item.
At the end of the file, a closing schedule is prepared showing which research has been concluded, which debt has remained disputed and which asset has actually been transferred. This record shows, particularly to an heir abroad, whether the transaction has only been initiated or has actually been concluded.
Conclusion
The product of inheritance research is not merely a list of assets but a document-based inventory of assets, debts and transactions. If, for each asset, ownership attribution, restriction, valuation and the next transaction are determined, the transfer of the inheritance can be completed in a realistic order.
Related articles: Inheritance transactions without coming to Türkiye and power of attorney; A foreign heir’s certificate of inheritance; Effect of a foreign certificate of inheritance in Türkiye; Foreign documents, apostille and name differences; Bank collection for foreign and overseas heirs; Blocked accounts, joint accounts and withdrawal of money by a sole heir; Inherited gold, jewelry and bank safe deposit boxes; Inheritance of crypto assets
Frequently Asked Questions
Does e-Devlet Show the Entire Inheritance?
No. The scope of the services and identity matching may be limited; institutional research may be necessary.
Does Researching Assets End the Right to Disclaim?
Not every research has such a result. Protection and information gathering are distinguished from disposition beyond ordinary administration.
What Happens If a Bank Account Is Found Later?
The inventory and the tax file are completed; a separate payment or division procedure is carried out for the account.
Is Every Item Found in the Home Necessarily Part of the Estate?
No. The ownership claim and the evidence of the spouse or a third party are assessed.
Sources and legal bases
- Law No. 4721, Turkish Civil Code (4721 sayılı Türk Medeni Kanunu)
- e-Devlet, land registry information query on behalf of a person of whom you are an heir (mirasçısı olunan kişi adına tapu bilgileri sorgulama)
- e-Devlet / BDDK, bank query on behalf of an heir (mirasçı adına banka sorgulama)
- e-Devlet / MKK, investment account query on behalf of a person of whom you are an heir (mirasçısı olunan kişi adına yatırım hesabı sorgulama)
- Law No. 6102, Turkish Commercial Code (6102 sayılı Türk Ticaret Kanunu)
- Law No. 2918, Highway Traffic Law (2918 sayılı Karayolları Trafik Kanunu)
- Law No. 4632 on the Individual Pension Savings and Investment System (4632 sayılı Bireysel Emeklilik Tasarruf ve Yatırım Sistemi Kanunu)
- Law No. 7338 on Inheritance and Transfer Tax (7338 sayılı Veraset ve İntikal Vergisi Kanunu)
- Law No. 6100, Code of Civil Procedure (6100 sayılı Hukuk Muhakemeleri Kanunu)
- Law No. 6098, Turkish Code of Obligations (6098 sayılı Türk Borçlar Kanunu)
- Law No. 5510 on Social Insurance and General Health Insurance (5510 sayılı Sosyal Sigortalar ve Genel Sağlık Sigortası Kanunu)
- Law No. 5718 on Private International and Procedural Law (5718 sayılı Milletlerarası Özel Hukuk ve Usul Hukuku Hakkında Kanun), Article 20
- Announcement of the Central Bank of the Republic of Türkiye (TCMB duyurusu)
- Court of Cassation 14th Civil Chamber, April 3, 2017, E. 2016/5311, K. 2017/2635 (De Jure; an account may be required)