Testimonial is a written document or a verbal declaration that determines the principles of sharing the last wishes and desires of the testator and the rudiments of inheritance portion. As the testimonial can be made in the form of a public official (notary public, judge, etc.), it can also be made by way of testator’s own handwriting, or by verbal declaration if applicable. Testator can carry out the following transactions upon death:

  • One or more of the heirs can be removed from inheritance (Turkish Civil Code Article 510)
  • Heirs can be assigned (MK m.516)
  • Testator may assign certain goods to one of the heirs or to a third person (Turkish Civil Code Article 517)
  • Testator may put conditions and obligations (MK m.515), may assign a substitute heir (Turkish Civil Code Article 520), substitute heir (Turkish Civil Code Article 521)
  • Testator may make a testimonial requesting a foundation be established (Turkish Civil Code Article 526)

The most important of these death-related commands is the testimonial. With testimonial thereof, individual carries out a transaction over heritage thereof which bears legal consequences after death. Testimonials are one-sided death-related free-will operations. In testimonials, there is no need for the declaration of will to reach to the other side and the other party to accept it. The testator makes these procedures in a way that bears legal consequences after death. Therefore, the inheritor can change the wills freely and unilaterally until his death. Any condition and obligation that the inheritor shall not change the testimonial while he is alive is invalid. Some of the services we offer to our clients in this field are topics such as regulation of inheritance, inheritance transactions, inheritance lawsuits, regulation of inheritance contracts and refusal of inheritance.