Time and Domicile of the Opening of Succession

Legal Article · 12 November 2026
Attorney Thomas Andreas Di Constantinople

Succession opens on the deceased’s death under TMK m. 575. This is the starting point for determining the heirs and the scope of the estate. The opening of succession is not the same as opening a court case or reading a will in court. As a rule, heirs acquire the inheritance without waiting to make a declaration of acceptance following death.

Distinguishing Time and Place

The law requires inheritance-related benefits and allocations made during the deceased’s life to be assessed by reference to the state of the estate at death. This does not mean that every asset must be valued at only one date in every type of dispute. Special valuation rules applicable at the reduction, equalisation or restitution stage must also be considered.

Succession opens at the deceased’s domicile in respect of the entire estate. TMK m. 576 identifies the court there for annulment or reduction of testamentary dispositions, estate partition and inheritance recovery actions. Territorial jurisdiction differs from subject-matter jurisdiction, which determines the type of court hearing the case.

The rule that an heir must be alive when succession opens has special cases, including a conceived child and a successive heir. In cases with a foreign element, the applicable law and international jurisdiction must also be determined separately. The city in which death occurred is not necessarily the place where succession opens.

Source

Turkish Civil Code No. 4721, m. 575–576, 580–583, 599.

This article has been prepared for general legal information purposes.