Turkish Family Law for International Cases
When life crosses borders through marriage, divorce, or family relationships, understanding which country's laws apply becomes crucial. Turkey's International Private Law provides clear guidance for these complex situations, ensuring fair outcomes for everyone involved.
Marriage and Engagement Rules
Which Law Governs Your Engagement?
Engagement capacity and requirements follow each person's national law at the time of engagement. This means if you're German and your partner is Turkish, both German and Turkish laws must be satisfied for your engagement to be valid.
For the effects and consequences of your engagement:
If you share the same nationality, that country's law applies
If you have different nationalities, Turkish law governs your engagement relationship
This dual approach ensures both partners' legal traditions are respected while providing clarity about your rights and obligations during the engagement period.
Marriage Capacity Requirements Abroad
Each person's ability to marry depends on their national law at the time of marriage. If you're a French citizen marrying in Turkey, you must meet France's marriage capacity requirements, while your Turkish partner must satisfy Turkish legal requirements.
This includes:
Age restrictions
Mental capacity
Any prohibitions based on existing marriages or family relationships
Both countries' laws must be satisfied simultaneously, which sometimes requires obtaining certificates or declarations from your home country's authorities before proceeding with the marriage ceremony.
Valid Marriage Forms in Turkey
The formal requirements for your marriage ceremony are governed by the law of the country where the marriage takes place. This means marriages performed in Turkey must follow Turkish procedural requirements, regardless of the couple's nationalities. The ceremony must be conducted by authorized Turkish officials in the prescribed manner.
This rule ensures that marriages are recognized locally and simplifies the process for couples, as they only need to comply with one set of formal requirements rather than trying to satisfy multiple countries' ceremonial laws simultaneously.
Divorce and Separation Procedures
Applicable Law for Divorce Grounds
Divorce and separation grounds and effects are governed by the following hierarchy:
The couple's shared national law
When spouses have different nationalities, the law of their common habitual residence applies
If they don't share a common residence, Turkish law governs the divorce proceedings
This hierarchy ensures that couples living together abroad can rely on familiar local laws, while providing Turkish law as a reliable fallback. The same principles apply whether you're seeking divorce, legal separation, or annulment, creating consistency across different types of marital dissolution cases.
International Custody Decisions
Child custody and guardianship issues in divorce cases follow the same law that governs the divorce itself - typically the couple's shared national law or their common habitual residence law. This unified approach ensures that all aspects of the divorce, including decisions about children, are handled under one consistent legal framework.
When parents have different nationalities and no common residence, Turkish courts apply Turkish law to determine custody arrangements, visitation rights, and parental responsibilities, prioritizing the best interests of the child within the applicable legal framework.
Temporary Protection Measures
During divorce proceedings, temporary protection measures are always governed by Turkish law, regardless of which country's law applies to the divorce itself.
This includes:
Temporary custody arrangements
Restraining orders
Interim financial support
Other urgent measures needed to protect family members during the legal process
Turkish courts can act quickly under familiar procedures to ensure immediate safety and stability, while the main divorce case proceeds under the applicable foreign law. This practical approach balances legal consistency with the need for swift protection.
Cross-Border Alimony Claims
Two different rules apply:
Spousal support claims between divorced parties follow the same law governing their divorce
Maintenance claims more broadly are governed by the law of the maintenance creditor's habitual residence
This means if you're seeking ongoing support from your ex-spouse, the law where you typically live will likely determine your rights and the amount you can claim. This approach protects the economically weaker party by applying the law of their home country, where they understand their rights and can access legal assistance most easily.
Matrimonial Property Rights
Choosing Your Property Regime
Couples can explicitly choose between:
Their marriage-time habitual residence law, or
Either spouse's national law to govern their matrimonial property regime
This choice must be made clearly at the time of marriage.
Without such a choice, the law applies in this order:
Their shared national law at marriage
Their shared habitual residence law at marriage
Turkish law as the final fallback
This system gives couples control over their financial future while providing predictable rules when they haven't made explicit choices about property arrangements.
Asset Division Rules
When dividing matrimonial assets:
General property regime law applies to most assets
For immovable property specifically, the law of the country where the property is located governs the liquidation process
This means your house in Germany will be divided according to German law, even if Turkish law governs your overall property regime. This territorial approach respects local property registration systems and legal procedures, ensuring that asset division can be practically implemented where the assets actually exist.
Immovable Property Liquidation
The liquidation of immovable property during asset division follows the law of the country where the property is located, regardless of which law governs the overall matrimonial property regime. This territorial rule ensures that local property laws, registration requirements, and transfer procedures are properly followed.
Additionally, spouses who acquire a new shared nationality after marriage can choose to become subject to that new law for their property relations, though third-party rights must be preserved during such transitions.
Parent-Child Legal Relationships
Establishing Parentage Internationally
Parentage establishment follows a cascade of laws designed to ensure every child has legally recognized parents:
The child's national law at birth
The child's habitual residence law if parentage cannot be established
If these don't work, the system tries the mother's or father's national law at the child's birth
Then their shared habitual residence law
Finally the law of the child's birth country
This comprehensive approach ensures that cultural differences in family recognition don't leave children legally parentless.
Parental Rights and Duties
The effects of the parent-child relationship are governed by the same law that established the parentage. However:
When the mother, father, and child all share the same nationality, that shared national law governs their mutual rights and duties
If they don't share nationality but have a common habitual residence, that residence law applies
This system ensures that parental rights and responsibilities are determined by laws familiar to the family, promoting stability and predictability in parent-child relationships across international situations.
Cross-Border Adoption Process
Adoption capacity and requirements:
Governed by each party's national law at the time of adoption
Both the adoptive parents and the child must satisfy their respective national laws
When spouses are jointly adopting, both spouses must consent according to their respective national laws
The effects of adoption:
Follow the adoptive parent's national law
In cases of joint adoption by spouses, the law governing their marriage's general effects applies
This ensures that adoption creates legally secure family relationships recognized in all relevant countries.
Child Support Obligations
Child maintenance claims are governed by the law of the maintenance creditor's (typically the child's) habitual residence. This child-centered approach ensures that support obligations are determined according to the standards and cost of living where the child actually lives.
The system prioritizes the child's needs and circumstances over the paying parent's location, recognizing that children are the vulnerable parties in these relationships and deserve protection under laws that understand their daily living situation and requirements.
Inheritance Law Applications
Which Country's Inheritance Law Applies?
General rule: Inheritance matters are governed by the deceased person's national law at the time of death. This means if a German citizen dies, German inheritance law determines who inherits, regardless of where the death occurred or where assets are located.
Important exception: Immovable property located in Turkey is always governed by Turkish law, even if the deceased was foreign. This territorial rule for real estate ensures that Turkish property registration and transfer systems can function smoothly and predictably.
Turkish Property Inheritance Rights
When it comes to immovable property located in Turkey:
Turkish inheritance law always applies, regardless of the deceased's nationality
This means your Turkish house, land, or apartment will be inherited according to Turkish succession rules, even if you're a foreign citizen whose personal estate follows your home country's laws
If there are no heirs for property located in Turkey, that property automatically passes to the Turkish State, ensuring that abandoned real estate doesn't remain in legal limbo
Valid Will Requirements
Creating a valid will involves two key legal aspects governed by different rules:
Formal requirements for executing your will:
Can be satisfied by following either the law of the country where you make the will or the law governing the substance of your inheritance (typically your national law)
Additionally, a will that complies with the deceased's national law is also considered formally valid
Your capacity to make a will:
Determined by your national law at the time you create the will, ensuring you have the legal authority to dispose of your assets
Unclaimed Estate Procedures
The opening of inheritance proceedings, acquisition of inheritance rights, and division of estate assets:
Governed by the law of the country where the estate assets are located
This territorial approach ensures that local probate courts and administrative systems can efficiently handle inheritance procedures using familiar legal frameworks
For estates without heirs located in Turkey:
The property automatically passes to the Turkish State, preventing indefinite legal uncertainty and ensuring that abandoned property is properly managed under Turkish public administration
