Refusal Of Inheritance
Rejection of inheritance, also known as refusal of inheritance; It is called the rejection of the rights and obligations of the inheritance formed with all kinds of debts and receivables of the heir with a unilateral declaration of will. There is a principle of universal succession in inheritance law. In accordance with this principle, legal and appointed heirs automatically acquire the title of heirship upon the death of the heir. When the title of heirship is acquired, they become responsible for the debts of the heir not only with the inheritance, but also with their personal assets. Therefore, the issue of rejected inheritance is important.
Appointed or legal heirs can request “refusal of inheritance or refusal of inheritance” in two ways. These are
Actual rejection of inheritance
Forfeiture of inheritance
The provisions regarding the refusal of inheritance are regulated in Articles 605 and 618 of the Turkish Civil Code. According to these provisions, only legal and appointed heirs can refuse inheritance. In our inheritance law, the principle of universal succession is valid. İn this context, the assets of the heir pass to the heirs with all their assets and liabilities. In order to eliminate the inconveniences of the condition of universal succession, the legislator has regulated the institution of refusal of inheritance.
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Rejection of inheritance is the declaration of the desire to remain alienated from the inheritance of the heir with a unilateral declaration of will. Only legal and appointed heirs can reject the inheritance. The right to inheritance is acquired upon death. If the inheritance is rejected within the legal period, the heir is deemed to have lost the title of heirship as of the date of death of the heir.
The right to reject the inheritance is an absolute right.
However, since this right is not a personal right, it is possible to use it through a representative.
The right to refuse the inheritance is a right that gives rise to a reversible innovation. It is retroactive due to this nature.
According to the Turkish Legal System, when the inheritance is opened, the inheritance passes to the heirs as a whole. Therefore, the heirs do not need to make a declaration that they accept the inheritance in order to win the inheritance. Rejection of the inheritance is a legal transaction that removes the automatic acquisition of the inheritance and at the same time the temporary heirship position depending on the condition of rejection; with retroactive effect until the moment of the death of the heir.
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Only legal and appointed heirs may reject the inheritance. The testamentary creditors do not have any right to reject the inheritance. The fact that this right is not recognised for the testamentary creditors is that if the testamentary creditors of certain property do not claim the relevant property within the time limit, these rights are already cancelled.
As mentioned above, both the assets and liabilities of the heir, in other words, both the assets and debts of the heir will be completely transferred to the heirs. Moreover, for the heirs who accept the inheritance, their responsibilities will not be limited only to the inheritors, but they will be responsible for the debts of the heir with all their assets in proportion to their share. For this reason, in cases where the estate is insolvent, the heirs want to get rid of the responsibility for the debts of the heir by rejecting the inheritance.
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