Forms and Contents of Testamentary Dispositions

Legal Article · 12 November 2026
Attorney Thomas Andreas Di Constantinople

A testamentary disposition is an arrangement made in the form prescribed by law to take effect after a person’s death. The Turkish Civil Code principally allows these wishes to be expressed through a will or an inheritance agreement. The selected form affects validity, binding effect and subsequent amendment.

Form and Content Are Assessed Separately

A will is unilateral and can be revoked by the statutory procedures. An inheritance agreement involves mutual consent and contractual commitment. Calling a document a “will” does not automatically satisfy statutory formal requirements. Official wills, holographic wills and oral wills made in extraordinary circumstances are governed by different rules.

A disposition may appoint an heir, leave a specific legacy, establish a foundation or appoint an executor. An appointed heir acquires heirship over the entire estate or a specified fraction, whereas a person left a specific legacy generally acquires a personal claim.

Conditions and charges may also be added to a disposition. However, unlawful or immoral content may raise annulment issues; special provisions apply to terms that are meaningless or intended merely to annoy others. A formally valid disposition infringing a reserved share also requires a reduction assessment, which differs from annulment.

Source

Turkish Civil Code No. 4721, m. 514–529, 531, 545.

This article has been prepared for general legal information purposes.