Time Limits and Debt Liability in an Official Estate Inventory

Legal Article · 12 November 2026
Attorney Thomas Andreas Di Constantinople

An official estate inventory identifies the estate’s assets and liabilities and provides a statutory basis on which an heir can assess acceptance or renunciation. Any heir entitled to renounce the inheritance may request this measure from the judge of the civil court of peace under TMK m. 619 within one month, calculated in accordance with the procedure governing renunciation. A request by one heir is effective for the others as well.

Preparing the Inventory and Making an Election

Estate assets and debts are entered in the inventory at their assessed values. Creditors and debtors are invited by public notice to submit notifications. Heirs must also disclose debts known to them. An heir’s lack of knowledge of a debt does not automatically extinguish that debt legally.

When the process is completed, the heirs are invited to make a declaration in accordance with the statutory procedure. Renunciation, official liquidation, unconditional acceptance and acceptance under the official inventory have different consequences. Failure to make a declaration within the period granted results in acceptance under the official inventory pursuant to TMK m. 627.

An heir accepting under the inventory is liable for debts entered in it with personal assets as well as estate assets. For unreported debts, special circumstances such as the creditor’s reason for failing to report, whether the debt is apparent from official records, and security interests become relevant. The generalisation that “an inventory removes all personal liability” is therefore incorrect. An inventory made to preserve an estate is not a substitute for the official inventory procedure.

Source

Turkish Civil Code No. 4721, m. 619–630.

This article has been prepared for general legal information purposes.