Levent Law Firm represents heirs in Izmir by establishing their inheritance rights, securing estate assets, and bringing disputes over wills, lifetime transfers, and division before the court. As your Izmir inheritance lawyer, we examine the family record, the deceased person's documents, and the property or business interests at stake, then take responsibility for the claim that will move the estate forward. A foreign heir with an apartment in Izmir and a resident heir disputing a will both need a legal position grounded in the same records the court and land registry will examine.
We handle the estate file under your power of attorney
With a power of attorney, we apply for the inheritance certificate, submit estate protection requests and court claims in your name, and pursue authorized land registry filings for inherited property. We correspond with the civil registry, land registry, other heirs, and the court, answer requests for missing documents, and track the dates that govern each claim. Our office receives decisions and court papers served on counsel and takes the next action from the actual notice.
Articles 71 and 73 of the Code of Civil Procedure allow a party to bring and follow a case through an appointed lawyer and define the ordinary scope of litigation authority. Article 74 identifies acts requiring express authority, including settlement; Article 18 of the Land Registry Regulation requires a power of attorney covering the registry act requested by a representative. We check those authorities against the inheritance claim and any proposed transfer before submitting the file.
Article 18 of the Regulation on Service of Process directs service to counsel when a matter is followed through a representative. We obtain the service record, receive the court's decision, and calculate the available response from that record. We then carry the judgment into the inheritance certificate or property record it affects.
We establish who inherits and obtain the certificate
The inheritance certificate identifies the heirs and their shares for the Turkish file. Under Article 598 of the Turkish Civil Code, a court or notary may issue a certificate to established legal heirs on application; the law also allows the certificate's invalidity to be raised later. We examine death and family records, earlier marriages, parentage, and any will, then request the certificate through the appropriate authority and contest an incorrect record.
A certificate may become contentious when a relative is missing from the civil record, a will appoints another heir, or foreign records describe a family relationship differently. We identify the evidence needed for the particular relationship and put the conflicting records before the competent court. Our claim seeks an accurate statement of heirship so later dealings with an Izmir home, bank account, or company interest rest on the correct shares.
The Civil Code's Article 599 gives heirs the estate as a whole by operation of law when the deceased dies. That immediate acquisition is a valuable starting point: we use the heir's existing legal right to seek the certificate, protect assets, and demand a division. We then connect the inherited right to the documents an institution needs before it can act on a specific asset.
We identify and protect the Izmir estate
An estate can hold a residence, land, accounts, receivables, and an interest in a business, while records of those assets sit with different institutions. We examine the deceased person's deed and registry history, account and company documents available to the heirs, debts, and earlier transfers. The resulting file shows what belongs to the estate and which asset or transaction is actually disputed.
Under Civil Code Article 589, the civil court of peace can take measures to preserve estate property and secure its passage to those entitled to it. Article 640 allows an heir to seek protection of estate rights and permits the court, on an heir's request, to appoint a representative for the community of heirs until division. We bring the relevant request when an Izmir property needs to be preserved, information needs to be gathered, or the heirs cannot act together.
We turn inherited property into a usable share
Multiple heirs hold the estate together until division under Civil Code Article 640. Article 642 gives an heir the right to request division, and allows the court to allocate particular assets in kind where possible or order a sale when physical division cannot be made. We examine the Izmir deed, the heirs' positions, the asset's use and value, and any agreement that affects division, then bring the request that fits the whole estate.
An inherited apartment may be occupied by one heir while another wants to receive the value of a share. We address both the occupation and the division with the deed, succession certificate, payment history, and correspondence between the heirs. Where the court can allocate a whole property to one heir, Article 642 permits differences in allocated values to be balanced with a monetary payment; we present a workable allocation supported by the asset record.
If the heirs can agree, we prepare terms that identify the assets, shares, payment obligations, and registry action needed to implement the division. If they cannot, we represent the heir in the court proceeding and follow the decision through to the relevant registration or payment. Our Izmir real estate practice addresses a separate title or possession dispute that may arise after an inherited share is established.
We challenge a will and press reserved-share rights
A will can designate an heir or leave a particular asset to someone, but its legal effect depends on the document and the rights of those entitled to protected shares. We obtain the will, the record of its opening and service, and the family and estate documents needed to measure its effect. We then bring the claim supported by the particular defect or by the value of the share left to our client.
Articles 557 and 558 of the Civil Code allow a person with an interest to seek annulment of a testamentary disposition on grounds that include lack of capacity, defective consent, unlawful content, or failure to follow the required form. Article 560 gives an heir whose reserved share has not been received a reduction claim against dispositions beyond the deceased person's disposable portion. We examine the will's formation and the estate values separately, so the petition asks for annulment or reduction on the grounds the evidence supports.
Both claims run on short statutory periods. Under Article 559, an annulment claim must be brought within one year of learning of the disposition, the ground and one's own right, and in any case within ten years of the will's opening against a defendant in good faith and twenty years against one in bad faith; Article 571 sets one year from learning of the impaired reserved share and ten years at most for a reduction claim. We read the will's opening record and notices, calculate the period for the proposed claim, and file the petition with the documents that establish both the right and the date.
We bring lifetime gifts into the inheritance account
A transfer made during the deceased person's life can change what the heirs receive after death. Civil Code Article 669 requires legal heirs to bring certain gratuitous lifetime benefits received against their inheritance shares back into the estate account for equalization. We examine the transfer deed, bank trail, family communications, and the deceased person's stated intention, then claim equalization where the transfer fits that rule.
The law also identifies benefits to descendants, including capital or property given without consideration, as subject to equalization unless the deceased expressly directed otherwise. We establish what was given, to whom, and on what terms before asking the court to adjust the inheritance account. That work gives an heir a route to a fair division even where the relevant asset no longer stands in the deceased person's name.
A different claim may arise where a disposition impairs a reserved share. We calculate that share against the estate and the relevant transfers and bring the reduction claim under Article 560 when the evidence supports it. The court receives a transaction history that explains the relief requested for each transfer.
We address estate debts and the right to renounce
Inheriting an estate also brings its liabilities into view. Civil Code Article 599 states that heirs acquire the deceased person's rights and debts with the estate, while Articles 605 and 606 give legal and appointed heirs a right to renounce and set a three-month period for doing so, with the starting point defined by the heir's position. Article 605 also treats the estate as renounced when the deceased person's insolvency was evident or officially established at death. We examine creditor notices, the estate's available records, the death or will notification, and the client's place in the succession before filing the appropriate court declaration or protective request.
The decision can affect an Izmir property that the family wants to retain alongside debts that must be understood. We assemble the asset and liability record promptly, calculate the applicable date, and present the legally available position to the civil court of peace under the power of attorney. Where preservation is needed while that position is assessed, we seek the estate measures supported by Article 589.
We resolve the foreign element in an Izmir inheritance
Foreign citizenship, a death abroad, or a will signed in another country can affect the law applied to an Izmir estate. Article 20 of Law No. 5718 on Private International Law generally points succession to the deceased person's national law, while Turkish law governs immovable property in Türkiye. It also addresses the form and capacity for testamentary dispositions; we examine the deceased person's nationality, the asset locations, and the will before presenting the applicable legal basis to the Turkish court.
A foreign heir can receive an Izmir property by inheritance, subject to the rules that govern acquisition and registration. The Land Registry and Cadastre Directorate's guidance for foreign nationals describes transfer by inheritance and the registry's document review. We establish the heir's position, present the certificate and property record through the authorized representative, and address the registry's assessment of the particular nationality and parcel.
Article 43 of Law No. 5718 directs an inheritance case to the court of the deceased person's last domicile in Türkiye or, if there was none, to the court where estate assets are located. We examine the domicile and asset records to bring an Izmir-connected claim before the court that can hear it. If a foreign judgment itself must take effect in Türkiye, our foreign judgment practice handles that distinct court claim.
Put your inheritance claim before us
Send us the death and family records, any will or inheritance certificate, the Izmir deed or other asset record, and any notice or correspondence already received. Levent Law Firm will identify the heirship question, the assets to protect, and the claim needed to obtain or defend your share. You can review our practice areas in Izmir and Attorney Alparslan LEVENT's background while we assess the records.
Contact us about the estate and give us authority to request the certificate, protect the property, and bring the dispute before the court. We will pursue the decision that establishes your share and puts it to use.