Turkiye Noterler Birligi Review - Halal Finance Products

Turkish succession law runs on the Civil Code (TMK), not religious law. Intestacy gives the surviving spouse one quarter alongside descendants, with children (sons and daughters equally) sharing the rest. Reserved shares (sakli pay) then armor-plate this: descendants are entitled to half of their statutory share and the surviving spouse to the full statutory share when inheriting with descendants or parents, no matter what a will says. A testator who drafts a faraid-patterned will (for example, 2:1 son-to-daughter) invites a tenkis abatement lawsuit from any shortchanged protected heir, and the will loses to the reserved share.

The workable Muslim strategy in Turkey is therefore two-layered. First, the notary will handles what civil law permits: dispositions of the freely disposable portion (which maps naturally onto the Islamic wasiyya limit of one third to non-heirs), funeral and debt instructions, guardianship wishes for minors, and charitable bequests. Second, the faraid division itself is achieved after death by consent: TMK Article 676 lets all heirs unanimously agree a division contract (miras taksim sozlesmesi) in any proportions they choose, and Diyanet's Din Isleri Yuksek Kurulu guidance endorses heirs voluntarily redistributing to Islamic shares. Where even one heir declines, civil shares prevail; families who care about faraid outcomes therefore prepare heirs in advance.

Execution mechanics and cost are refreshingly transparent. The 2026 notary tariff sets the will deed fee at 2,661.62 TL plus 80.68 TL per page of writing, with revocation or amendment at one third (887.21 TL) and a 319.60 TL travel allowance if the notary attends a home or hospital. Two witnesses are required, mental capacity may need a medical report for elderly testators, and the will is registered centrally so the civil court opens it automatically on death. A typical single will lands around 3,000 TL all-in, which is modest against the family disputes it prevents.

What Turkey does not have is any commercial Islamic will-writing service of the UK or Malaysian type: no online wasiyya builders, no Shariah-certified estate planners operating at scale. The building blocks are the notary, the Civil Code's disposable portion, Diyanet's fatwa guidance, and heir consent. We record that gap honestly rather than padding this category.