Let your inheritance pass by a plan, not a feud.
Succession planning that also covers company shares: the will, the inheritance contract, the balance of reserved portions, and coordination of Turkish-German inheritance law.
Unplanned succession is the most expensive transfer
When no succession planning is done, statutory distribution takes over: company shares are fragmented, a management vacuum arises, and imbalances among heirs turn into litigation. Planning is not about deciding who receives what; it is about designing how the business survives.
The toolbox
Will
compliant with formal requirements (an official will is recommended), a distribution that respects reserved portions.
Inheritance contract
a strongly binding instrument that can carry waivers and undertakings.
Inter vivos transfers
transfer that retains control through combinations of share transfer and usufruct — the tax dimension is calculated with our tax team.
The corporate layer
share transfer restrictions in the articles of association and alignment with the family constitution.
The reality of the reserved portion
Under Turkish law, the reserved portions of descendants and the spouse must be calculated when the plan is made; dispositions that infringe them are clawed back through an action for abatement (tenkis). Balance is achieved by covering the reserved portions with cash and other assets and consolidating the company shares in the managing heir.
Turkish-German coordination
For family members resident in Germany, or families holding German assets, our Germany Desk settles the applicable law (a choice of law under the EU Succession Regulation), the risks of double wills, and a set of documents that holds good in both countries. Where the line of heirs is unclear, an estate investigation comes first.
How the planning process runs
The work follows five steps: an asset and family map (shareholdings, real estate, receivables, assets abroad); scenario design, in which the reserved portions under the Turkish Civil Code (Law No. 4721) are calculated for each option before a single document is drafted; execution, observing the formal requirements — for wills, the official form before a notary or civil registrar is the robust route; corporate alignment of the articles and any balance agreements; and a periodic review, because a plan ages with every marriage, birth and share transfer. Deliverables: the estate map, the executed document set and a review calendar. Typical clients: founders preparing generational succession, Turkish-German families with assets in both countries, and heirs seeking order before a dispute forms — the wider frame of our Family Businesses & Generational Succession focus.
What to know at the Turkish-German intersection
The succession provisions of the 1929 Turkish-German Consular Treaty still apply today to the estate of a Turkish national resident in Germany: immovable property follows the law of the country where it is situated, while the movable estate follows the national law of the deceased. Turkish private international law points the same way — Article 20 MÖHUK subjects immovable property in Türkiye to Turkish law, so a will drawn up in Germany cannot override the Turkish reserved-share rules on a flat in İstanbul. On the tax side a liability can arise separately under the Inheritance and Transfer Tax Law (No. 7338) and under German inheritance tax; the filing periods and the scope for crediting one against the other are worked into the plan rather than discovered afterwards. The corporate layer is handled by our restructuring team and transfers of real property by our real estate team.
We are by your side for Inheritance & Will Planning
We plan with the company in mind, not only the estate: the succession design protects management continuity while respecting every heir's statutory position. In Turkish-German families, both legal orders are read at the same table, so the documents work on either side of the border. The goal is a plan the family understands and the courts never need to interpret.
Other Applications of This Service
Corporate Structuring — our other specialised solutions in this area.
Matter Connections
The focus areas, practice areas, desks and legislation connected with this sub-service.
Our Matters in This Service
The anonymised examples of our work that relate to this service.
Designing corporate governance across group companies
Single-source management and documentation of general assembly, board and compliance processes.
Review the matter →Advisory · Family BusinessEstablishing a family constitution and share-transfer structure
Making a family constitution binding through the articles of association, share-transfer restrictions and a shareholders' agreement.
Review the matter →Planning · InheritanceInheritance and will planning for assets in two countries
Consistent planning across two legal systems of the will, matrimonial property regime and company-share structure for assets in Türkiye and Germany.
Review the matter →The Team Delivering This Service
With our multilingual team of lawyers, well-versed in Turkish and German law, we are by your side.
It depends on the EU Succession Regulation and the choice-of-law setup; the goal should be a single plan valid in both countries. Two separate, conflicting wills are the worst-case scenario.
Legally possible but risky: the risk of formal defects and loss is high. For plans involving company shares, we recommend an official will or an inheritance contract.
The reserved share is mandatory law; however, with renunciation agreements, insurance solutions, and balanced inter vivos transfers, the plan can be structured in line with the reserved share.
Inheritance & Will Planning — get the right legal support.
Let us identify the right solution together, drawing on our experience in Türkiye and the DACH region.