Inventory, Sealing and Administration for Estate Preservation

Legal Article · 12 November 2026
Attorney Thomas Andreas Di Constantinople

Estate preservation measures aim to prevent inherited assets from being lost or their transfer to those entitled from being jeopardised. TMK m. 589 assigns responsibility for necessary measures to the judge of the civil court of peace at the deceased’s domicile. The judge may act on their own initiative or on request, according to the circumstances.

Measures Are Selected According to Need

An estate inventory records which assets, rights and debts exist. Sealing may be used to preserve particular assets. Official administration provides temporary management where heirs cannot be found, heirship is uncertain or other statutory conditions exist. It is not mandatory to take every measure together following every death.

An inventory made for preservation is not the same as the official inventory procedure under TMK m. 619 and the following provisions. An official inventory has specific consequences for acceptance of inheritance and liability for debts. A simple identification exercise does not automatically give an heir this special protection.

Anyone holding a will must deliver it without delay to the judge of the civil court of peace. The judge considers steps such as opening the will and provisional delivery alongside the need for preservation. Measures taken do not conclusively resolve disputed ownership or inheritance shares in every case; substantive claims may be examined in separate proceedings.

Source

Turkish Civil Code No. 4721, m. 589–594, 595–596.

This article has been prepared for general legal information purposes.