Inheriting Assets in Türkiye While Living in Germany

Many inheritance, tax, banking and land registry procedures can be pursued through a power of attorney. A Turkish consulate in Germany can issue one without a separate German apostille. A German notarial instrument must meet the Turkish transaction’s requirements.

For land registry use, this means notarial execution, beyond signature certification, with the required photograph, powers, apostille and certified Turkish translation. Information requests, withdrawals, sales and renunciation each require appropriate authority. Personal attendance in Germany may be necessary to execute the document. Turkish Consulate General in Hannover.

German residence does not determine the law governing every Turkish asset. Within its scope, the 1929 German–Turkish succession agreement links movable succession to the deceased’s nationality at death and immovable succession to the property’s location. A Turkish apartment therefore follows Turkish succession law; a bank account may follow different rules. Succession agreement, section 14.

Turkish private international law takes the same general approach, preserving treaty rules. For nationality-based connections, Turkish authorities treat a Turkish dual national as Turkish; the German analysis requires separate consideration. An heir’s German nationality does not itself prevent inheritance, although foreign land-ownership rules require checking. Law No. 5718, articles 1, 4 and 20.

EU Succession Regulation 650/2012 generally uses the deceased’s last habitual residence and permits a choice of nationality law. It applies to deaths on or after 17 August 2015, but preserves relevant earlier international agreements. The German–Turkish agreement must therefore be considered before assuming that residence or a choice of German law settles the entire estate. Regulation 650/2012, articles 21–22, 75 and 83.

A Turkish mirasçılık belgesi, or veraset ilamı, identifies heirs and their shares. A Turkish notary can handle suitable applications. Foreign applicants, insufficient civil registry information or matters requiring judicial examination necessitate an application to the competent Sulh Hukuk Mahkemesi, a Turkish civil court. The certificate neither inventories nor divides the assets. Turkish notarial regulation, article 5.

A German Erbschein can have legal effect in Türkiye. Section 17 of the agreement accepts a succession certificate issued under its own law by the competent authority of the deceased’s nationality state as proof concerning movable assets. For a solely German national, an appropriate Erbschein may therefore establish entitlement to Turkish bank assets. This does not cover Turkish real estate or every German certificate. Bank payment still requires appropriate authority and compliance with co-heirs’ rights and tax requirements. Succession agreement, section 17.

The European Certificate of Succession has automatic effects under the EU Regulation in participating Member States. Türkiye is outside that system. Any use there depends on Turkish and treaty rules; an apostille does not extend the certificate’s legal scope. Regulation 650/2012, articles 62–69.

Death, birth, marriage and name-change records may be needed to establish family relationships and reconcile records. A death abroad should also be registered in Türkiye where the deceased has a Turkish civil registry record.

A treaty-compliant multilingual Formül C death extract, unlike a standard German death certificate, needs no apostille between Germany and Türkiye; additional free-text entries may need translation. Other public documents require an apostille unless exempt, and the necessary Turkish translation. Apostilles authenticate signatures, official capacity and seals, not substantive legal effect. Turkish Foreign Ministry guidance, Hague Apostille Convention.

A German will may affect the distribution of Turkish assets. Both countries participate in the Hague Convention on the form of wills. Compliance with the law of the place of execution can establish formal validity. Capacity, protected inheritance shares and implementation remain separate questions. The will and any German opening record or related court decision guide the assessment of Turkish opening, notification or recognition procedures. Translation or apostille alone is insufficient. Hague Testamentary Dispositions Convention.

Review land records and encumbrances, bank balances at death, vehicles, company interests, receivables and debts. Authorised institutional enquiries and, where necessary, court inventory or preservation measures help establish the position. An inheritance certificate does not reveal every asset or liability.

Under Turkish law, heirs may become personally liable for estate debts. Renunciation generally has a three-month deadline: from knowledge of death for statutory heirs, subject to proof of later knowledge of heirship; for appointed heirs, from formal notification. An unconditional declaration must be submitted in the required form to the competent Turkish court. Dealings beyond ordinary administration or necessary preservation may forfeit renunciation rights. Turkish Civil Code, articles 599 and 605–610.

Where German law applies, the ordinary period is six weeks, extended to six months only in the specified foreign-residence or overseas-presence circumstances. Residence in Germany does not extend a Turkish deadline. A declaration made in one country should not be assumed to cover every part of a divided estate. BGB section 1944.

For an heir located in Germany, the Turkish inheritance tax filing period runs from death:

Waiting for an inheritance certificate does not postpone the deadline. A return is required even if the inherited share falls below the exemption. Assessed tax is paid over three years in six equal instalments, in May and November. Turkish Revenue Administration.

For 2026, progressive inheritance tax rates range from 1% to 10% of the taxable amount. The exemption is TRY 2,907,136 for each descendant and the surviving spouse, rising to TRY 5,817,845 for the spouse where there are no descendants. The applicable year matters. General Communiqué No. 57.

German residence can also trigger German inheritance tax obligations, including generally notifying the tax office within three months of learning of the acquisition. This is separate from the Turkish return. Credit for Turkish tax is conditional, not an automatic discharge of German obligations. German Inheritance Tax Act, sections 2, 21 and 30.

• Germany: Four months
• Türkiye: Six months
• Another foreign country: Eight months

Tapu intikali records the inheritance without partitioning the property. Registration need not await tax assessment; subsequent sale generally requires clearance of the property’s inheritance tax. Obtaining the certificate does not authorise one heir to sell the entire property. Amendment to article 19 of the Turkish inheritance tax legislation.

Co-heirs can agree a division or joint sale. A claim to terminate co-ownership generally requires prior mediation; the court may order physical division or sale. Law No. 6325, article 18/B.

Since 31 July 2026, where all owners acquired through inheritance and no outside owner holds an interest, the first court-ordered partition auction is restricted to the owning heirs. Bids must exceed the full appraised value and meet the additional statutory conditions. An unsuccessful first auction leads to the general second-auction procedure. Auctions advertised before the change remain under the earlier rules. Ownership history and the auction notice date therefore matter when assessing a possible sale. Law No. 7589, article 1 and transitional article 1.