Official, Holographic and Oral Wills

Legal Article · 12 November 2026
Attorney Thomas Andreas Di Constantinople

A will is a transaction by which a person unilaterally expresses wishes intended to take effect after death. TMK m. 531 provides three forms: an official will, a holographic will and an oral will. Validity depends not only on the contents but also on the mandatory formal requirements for the selected type.

Requirements Specific to Each Type

An official will is executed by an authorised official with the participation of two witnesses. Different procedures apply where the testator can read and sign or cannot read or sign. The eligibility of witnesses and others participating in execution must also be assessed against the statutory prohibitions.

A holographic will must be written entirely in the testator’s own handwriting, contain the year, month and day, and be signed. A text prepared on a computer and merely signed does not meet this type’s requirements. Depositing the document with a notary for safekeeping does not automatically cure defects such as missing handwriting or date.

An oral will is not an ordinary alternative. It requires inability to use the other forms because of extraordinary circumstances such as imminent danger of death, interruption of transport, illness or war; two witnesses and a documentation procedure are required. Opening a will by the judge of the civil court of peace does not establish its validity conclusively. Objections concerning matters such as form and capacity require a separate legal assessment.

Source

Turkish Civil Code No. 4721, m. 531–541, 596.

This article has been prepared for general legal information purposes.