Can Property Be Sold Using an Old Power of Attorney After the Principal’s Death?

Estate and Heirship

Prepared by: Constantinople

An old power of attorney does not establish that every sale after death is possible or that every transaction is necessarily invalid. The Turkish Code of Obligations provides that death terminates the mandate unless the contract or nature of the work indicates otherwise. Exceptions, transaction timing and knowledge of termination must be assessed separately. Broad powers at the document’s execution date do not alone resolve its use after death.

We need to examine not only the notarial document but also the basis of the mandate and the transaction carried out. The date of death, when the agent learned of it, contractual terms and the sale or collection date matter. The law contains provisions on interests requiring protection after termination and acts performed without knowledge of termination. We therefore do not make a general statement of invalidity without checking case-specific exceptions.

If title was transferred after death, transaction documents, the transfer chain, price movements and current records should be collected. If there is a danger of another sale, the conditions for a protective claim are examined separately. For a new transaction, the heirs’ current entitlement and representation must be established; the deceased’s old power of attorney cannot be used as a new authorisation from all heirs.