The Role of the Termination Date in Liquidating a Matrimonial Property Regime

Legal Article · 12 November 2026
Attorney Thomas Andreas Di Constantinople

The time at which a matrimonial property regime ends is a fundamental criterion for identifying the period to which the property subject to liquidation belongs. Article 225 TMK provides that the regime of participation in acquired property ends upon the death of a spouse or adoption of another matrimonial property regime. If a court orders annulment, divorce or a transition to separation of property, the regime ends with effect from the date of the relevant action.

Filing for divorce and the divorce judgment becoming final are different events. Where divorce is granted, linking the termination date to the filing date affects the assessment of acquisitions after that date. However, the mere filing of an action does not establish that the marriage and matrimonial property regime necessarily ended where the action is dismissed. The legal consequence must be considered together with the outcome of the proceedings.

The termination date must not be confused with the valuation date. Article 228 TMK requires personal and acquired property to be separated according to their condition at termination. Article 235 TMK provides that acquired property existing at that time is included at its value at liquidation. Whether an asset enters the calculation and the amount at which it is valued are therefore different questions. Special provisions also apply to property disposed of earlier that must legally be added to the calculation.

In practice, the dates of marriage, any matrimonial property agreement, proceedings, death and asset acquisition are compared. Payments for the same asset spread across different periods may also require separate calculations. In particular, loans that continue to be repaid during divorce proceedings are not classified solely by reference to the final repayment date. Keeping the legal function of each date distinct enables the assets and liquidation calculation to be determined correctly.

Legal Basis: Turkish Civil Code No. 4721, Arts. 225, 228, 235.

This article has been prepared for general legal information purposes.