The reserved share is the portion that the law sets aside for certain heirs and which the deceased cannot freely dispose of by will or inheritance contract. The calculation has three steps: first the estate taken as the basis for calculation is determined, then the heir’s statutory share, and finally the ratio in Article 506 of the Turkish Civil Code is applied to that share. Concretely: where the deceased leaves a spouse and two children, the reserved shares together amount to %62,5 of the estate, leaving %37,5 that may be freely disposed of.
Who the heirs entitled to a reserved share are, why siblings have no reserved share and the general framework of abatement are explained on the Inheritance Law page. This article deals only with the calculation itself.
The three steps of the calculation
1. The estate taken as the basis for calculation. The ratios are not applied to the assets as they stand on the date of death; deductions and additions are made first (see below).
2. The statutory share. The ratio is applied not to the whole inheritance but to that heir’s own statutory share. Children take equal shares, and the descendants of a child who predeceased the deceased take that child’s place (Article 495). If there are no descendants, the heirs are the parents; if one of them has predeceased, that parent is replaced by his or her own descendants, namely the siblings and nieces and nephews (Article 496). If there are no descendants, parents or descendants of parents either, the grandparents’ order inherits (Article 497). The surviving spouse’s share depends on the order with which he or she inherits (Article 499): one quarter of the inheritance with descendants, one half with the parents’ order, three quarters with the grandparents and their children; if none of these exist, the entire inheritance passes to the spouse.
3. The ratio in Article 506.
| Heir | Reserved share (of the statutory share) |
|---|---|
| Descendants | 1/2 |
| Each of the mother and father | 1/4 |
| Surviving spouse — if inheriting with descendants or with the parents’ order | the whole |
| Surviving spouse — in all other cases | 3/4 |
The spouse’s “other cases” cover two situations: inheriting together with the grandparents’ order and being the sole heir. The second is the most restrictive — see the 6. example below.
The estate taken as the basis for calculation: what is deducted and what is added
If this step is skipped, all the ratios are applied to the wrong base. Under Article 507 of the Turkish Civil Code, the disposable portion is calculated according to the position on the date of the deceased’s death, and the following are deducted from the estate: the deceased’s debts, funeral expenses, the costs of sealing and recording the estate, and the three months’ living expenses of persons who lived with the deceased and were supported by him or her.
Additions are then made. Under Article 508, gratuitous inter vivos benefits are added to the calculation to the extent that they are subject to abatement. Article 565 lists in four subparagraphs which of these are subject to abatement: benefits made to a statutory heir who has lost that status in satisfaction of that heir’s share of the inheritance, and transfers of assets to descendants, release from debt, and dowry and start-up capital beyond what is customary, made on condition that they are not returned; benefits made for the purpose of settling inheritance rights before death; gifts made subject to a right of revocation, and gifts other than customary gifts given within one year before death; and benefits whose evident purpose is to defeat the rules on reserved shares.
Article 509 lays down a separate rule for life insurance. If the deceased took out insurance in favour of a third party payable on his or her own death, later designated such a person as beneficiary, or transferred the claim against the insurer gratuitously, the purchase value at the time of death of the insurance claim is added to the estate.
In everyday terms: debts and expenses are deducted first, then the gratuitous benefits granted by the deceased during his or her lifetime that the law lists are added back. The resulting amount is the base for the calculation.
Six examples
In the examples below the estate taken as the basis for calculation is taken to be 1.000.000 TL. The figures serve only to illustrate the ratios.
1 — Spouse and two children. Statutory shares: the spouse 250.000, each child 375.000. Reserved shares: the spouse, inheriting with descendants, has the whole of his or her share (250.000), each child one half of its share (187.500). Total 625.000. Disposable: 375.000 TL. In this structure the total is always 625.000, irrespective of the number of children.
2 — Spouse, mother and father, no descendants. Statutory shares: the spouse 500.000, the mother 250.000, the father 250.000. Reserved shares: the spouse the whole of his or her share (500.000), the mother and the father one quarter each of their shares (62.500). Total 625.000. Disposable: 375.000 TL.
3 — Mother and father, no spouse, no descendants. Statutory shares 500.000 and 500.000; reserved shares 125.000 and 125.000, total 250.000. Disposable: 750.000 TL. In other words, the existence of heirs entitled to a reserved share does not always tie the deceased’s hands to the same extent.
4 — One child, no spouse. Statutory share 1.000.000, reserved share 500.000. Disposable: 500.000 TL.
5 — Only two siblings. The siblings are heirs and have no reserved share. The deceased may dispose of the whole of the 1.000.000 TL.
6 — Only a spouse. If there are no descendants, no parents’ order and no grandparents’ order, the inheritance passes entirely to the spouse (Article 499/3). The spouse falls within “other cases” here: the reserved share is three quarters of the statutory share, namely 750.000. Disposable: only 250.000 TL. This is the point on which a married deceased with no children most often goes wrong.
The most common mistake
Applying the ratio directly to the whole estate rather than to the statutory share. The statement “a child’s reserved share is one half” does not mean “the child takes one half of the inheritance”. Where the deceased leaves a spouse and two children, the child’s statutory share is 3/8 of the inheritance and the reserved share is one half of that, namely 3/16.
The same applies to the estate taken as the basis for calculation: the statutory shares are first determined on that amount, and the ratios in Article 506 are then applied to those shares.
What happens when abatement is applied?
An heir whose reserved share has been infringed may bring an action in abatement (Article 560). The right to bring the action lapses one year from the time the heir learns of the infringement and in any event ten years after it; these periods run irrespective of whether a dispute exists and are explained in detail on the Inheritance Law page. In an action in abatement, the court of the deceased’s last domicile has exclusive jurisdiction (Article 11/1-a of the Turkish Code of Civil Procedure); if the last domicile is Alanya, the case is heard in Alanya. Exclusive jurisdiction cannot be changed by a jurisdiction agreement between the parties (Article 18/1 of the Turkish Code of Civil Procedure) and the court examines it of its own motion (Article 19/1).
Abatement does not eliminate the benefit entirely; it reduces it to the extent necessary to complete the reserved share. Under Article 563, unless the disposition shows that the deceased’s intention was otherwise, abatement is made proportionately from all of the benefits acquired by appointment of an heir or by another disposition mortis causa.
A benefit made to an heir entitled to a reserved share is not excluded from abatement either. Under Article 561, where there are several dispositions mortis causa subject to abatement, the part of the benefit made to a holder of a reserved share that exceeds the reserved share, and the benefits made to persons who are not holders of a reserved share, are abated proportionately.
The order is also settled: under Article 570, abatement is made first from dispositions mortis causa and, if that is insufficient, from inter vivos benefits going back from the most recent to the oldest; benefits made to public legal entities and to public-benefit associations and foundations come last.
The most frequent problem in practice is where the subject of the will is an indivisible asset. Under Article 564, if a specific legacy of an asset that cannot be divided without a reduction in value is subject to abatement, the legatee may take the asset by paying the value of the part that must be abated, or may ask for the money corresponding to the value of the disposable part. If the asset remains with the legatee, the sum to be paid is determined on the value on the date of the judgment. The same rules apply to the abatement of inter vivos benefits.
Frequently asked questions
Are the reserved share and the statutory share of the inheritance the same thing?
No. The statutory share is the share that falls to the heir by law; the reserved share is the part of that share protected by the ratio in Article 506 of the Turkish Civil Code. If there is no will or inheritance contract, the heir takes the whole of the statutory share and there is no need to calculate the reserved share at all.
Is the estate taken as the basis for calculation the same amount as the assets left by the deceased?
Often it is not. Under Article 507 of the Turkish Civil Code, debts and the listed expenses are deducted; under Articles 508, 565 and 509, certain inter vivos benefits and the purchase value at the time of death of a life insurance claim are added. The base for the calculation may therefore come out lower or higher than the amount in the estate.
Does an adopted child have a reserved share?
Under Article 500 of the Turkish Civil Code, the adopted child and his or her descendants inherit from the adopter as if they were blood relatives. The reserved share ratio provided for descendants therefore applies to an adopted child as well.
Is it necessary to apply to a court to calculate the reserved share?
The calculation itself is a mathematical operation; if the heirs can agree among themselves, no action is needed. If no agreement can be reached or abatement of a disposition is sought, the action in abatement under Article 560 arises. The fact that no action has been brought does not suspend the periods of forfeiture.
Legislation relied on
Turkish Civil Code No. 4721, Articles 495–500, 505–509, 560–565, 570, 571 — mevzuat.gov.tr
Turkish Code of Civil Procedure No. 6100, Articles 11, 18, 19 — mevzuat.gov.tr
Related pages
- Inheritance Law — parent page
- How is an inheritance renounced? — the three-month period, the procedure and to whom the renounced share passes
This article is intended as general legal information. Because the circumstances of each case, the structure of the heirs and the applicable periods differ, you are advised to obtain legal support from your attorney at law for your specific situation.