Preparation of wills and transfer of property to the heirs

Wills prepared by foreign nationals in their own countries can be executed in Turkey so as to transfer the ownership of a property to the individual(s) stated within the wills.

To carry out the property transfer pursuant to a will, a heir has to gather a court letter confirming the will from the relevant court of his/her own country and to have it ratified at the Turkish Consulate General. Then he/she has to submit that letter to the relevant court of the province in Turkey where the property is located. Then, the Turkish Court issues an official document which allows the transfer. Finally, the heir presents the document granted by the Court to the Tapu (Land Registry) Office as well as other documents required for the transfer of ownership.

These transfers are exempt from any military clearance and the other restrictions applied to foreign nationals.

Please note that transfer of ownership of a property to an heir is subject to inheritance tax. Thus, if the heir sells out his inherited property, he is not subject to any personal income tax based on the capital gains.