What Is The Judicial Rejection Of Inheritance? How Is It Done?
What is the Legal Rejection of an Inheritance? How is it Done?
If the deceased’s inability to pay is clearly evident and officially determined at the time of death, the inheritance is deemed to have been rejected (TMK Art. 605/ll). In the case of legal rejection, no declaration of intent is required if the conditions are met. In such cases, no time limit is set for acceptance or rejection. This determination may always be requested from the court, and it may also be raised in lawsuits filed by creditors of the estate.
In cases of legal rejection, heirs acquire the estate as a whole upon its opening, but this acquisition is temporary. The heir is not required to declare that they have rejected the inheritance. By presumption, if the heirs remain silent during the rejection period, it is presumed that they have rejected the inheritance (TMK Art. 605). Since legal rejection is presumed, there is no need for the heirs to make a declaration of rejection. However, the heir may make a declaration to the Conciliation Court to prevent future disputes.
The conditions for legal rejection of the inheritance are as follows:
The deceased was unable to pay their debts at the time of death, and their inability to pay was clearly evident,
Or Their inability to pay their debts had been officially determined.
If these conditions are met, it is presumed that the heirs have rejected the inheritance. There is no need for them to make a separate statement to the Conciliation Court in this regard. However, there is no obstacle to filing a lawsuit for determination. Heirs may raise legal rejection as a defense in lawsuits filed against them by creditors of the estate due to the deceased’s debts. This objection may be examined and decided by the court as a matter of fact, or the heirs may be given a reasonable period of time to prove their claims in this regard. Article 68/IV of the Enforcement and Bankruptcy Law is also in this direction. In this way, in lawsuits or enforcement proceedings filed against the heirs, the heirs may raise legal rejection as an objection. For this purpose, the heir will be given a reasonable period of time to bring a judgment on this matter. The Enforcement Court is not authorized to examine this objection.
In cases where heirs raise a legal rejection in enforcement proceedings initiated against them due to estate debts, and in subsequent lawsuits to determine the legal rejection, the competent and authorized court is determined in accordance with the relevant provisions of the Code of Civil Procedure. Accordingly, the competent court is the court of the defendant’s place of residence at the time the lawsuit was filed. The competent court is the Civil Court of First Instance.