Özet:

The voluntary refusal of inheritance is a legal way to enable removing the title of heir by not accepting the inheritance. Inheritance can freely be refused without providing any reason, only by conforming to the procedure specified by the law. However, the heir’s use of this right to refuse inheritance with the aim of damaging his creditors does not comply with the rule of honesty. In such a case, the law has given such an heir’s creditors the right to file a lawsuit. In order to bring about this action regulated in Article 617 of the Turkish Civil Code, the assets of the heir rejecting the inheritance should not be sufficient to cover the debt, the inheritance should be refused for harming the creditors, and the creditors bringing about the action of nullity must not have provided enough security to cover their receivables. The nullity action should be introduced to the Civil Court of First Instance located in the settlement of the legator within the peremptory time limit of six months from the rejection of the inheritance. The case is filed by the bankruptcy administration in the case of the heir’s bankruptcy, otherwise it is filed by the willing creditors. Although contentious in doctrine, the Supreme Court accepts that the nullity action may be filed against an heir who’s refused inheritance and those benefitting from this refusal of inheritance. Upon acceptance of the nullity action, the share of the inheritance belonging to the heir whose rejection has been cancelled is subject to an official liquidation. The receivables of the heir’s creditors are paid first from the value obtained upon the official liquidation. Any remaining value is then distributed amongst the heirs who would have benefitted from it had the rejection remained valid.

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