Advancements and Set-Off in Inheritance Equalisation

Legal Article · 12 November 2026
Attorney Thomas Andreas Di Constantinople

Inheritance equalisation means taking gratuitous benefits granted by the deceased during life as advancements against inheritance shares into account upon partition. Its purpose is to achieve balance among intestate heirs within the statutory conditions. Not every gift is automatically subject to equalisation; the nature of the benefit and the deceased’s intention are decisive.

Benefits to Descendants and Restitution

TMK m. 669 establishes a special presumption for gratuitous benefits to descendants, such as a dowry or start-up capital, transfers of assets and release from debt. Unless the deceased expressly provided otherwise, these are subject to equalisation. For other intestate heirs, whether the benefit was an advancement against an inheritance share must be assessed separately.

The heir liable to equalise may generally return what was received in kind or have its value set off against the heir’s own inheritance share. Any different arrangement made by the deceased and the other heirs’ rights to reduction are reserved. Under TMK m. 673, the equalisation value is determined as at the time of equalisation; automatically applying the date of death to every calculation is incorrect.

Ordinary gifts and customary wedding expenses are generally not equalised. For educational expenses, the portion exceeding the customary level and the deceased’s intention are also relevant. Equalisation and reduction are separate legal mechanisms: the former concerns accounting between inheritance shares, while the latter protects reserved shares. Exemption from one does not mean that the other is inapplicable in every case.

Source

Turkish Civil Code No. 4721, m. 669–675.

This article has been prepared for general legal information purposes.