Delivery of Inheritance and Security Following a Declaration of Absence

Legal Article · 12 November 2026
Attorney Thomas Andreas Di Constantinople

A declaration of absence is a legal mechanism attaching the legal consequences of death by a court decision in specified circumstances where death cannot be conclusively established. Disappearance in life-threatening circumstances or a prolonged lack of news is assessed together with the other statutory conditions. Without a declaration of absence, the mere fact that someone has not been seen for a long time is insufficient for their inheritance to be partitioned in the ordinary way.

Delivery of the Estate Against Security

TMK m. 584 requires the absent person’s heirs or others entitled to the inheritance to provide security before receiving estate assets. Security protects restitution if the absent person or another person with a superior right subsequently appears. This is one of the important consequences distinguishing a declaration of absence from established death.

For disappearance in life-threatening circumstances, security is provided for five years; for a prolonged lack of news, for fifteen years. The five-year period runs from delivery of the estate assets, and the fifteen-year period from the date of the last news. In all cases, the period remaining until the absent person would reach the age of one hundred is the upper limit.

If the absent person or a person with a superior entitlement appears, the recipients’ duty to return the assets is assessed under TMK m. 585. Good faith, the value remaining and the applicable limitation rules may affect the outcome. A declaration of absence therefore does not mean that recipients of the estate acquire final and unconditional rights in every eventuality.

Source

Turkish Civil Code No. 4721, m. 32–35, 584–588.

This article has been prepared for general legal information purposes.