Case for the Annulment of the Rejection of Inheritance in Turkish Law

CASE FOR THE ANNULMENT OF THE REJECTION OF INHERITANCE

What is the Annulment of the Rejection of Inheritance? Upon the death of the deceased, the inheritance passes to the heirs by law. When the inheritance is opened, the heirs have elective rights. These include acceptance of the inheritance, rejection of the inheritance, requesting an official inventory, and official liquidation. One of these elective rights is the rejection of the inheritance, which gives the heir the authority to refuse the inheritance status. There are two types of rejection of inheritance: actual rejection and statutory rejection. Actual rejection is the unilateral declaration by the heir that they will not accept the inheritance. For the actual rejection of the inheritance, a written or oral notification must be made to the local court in the place where the deceased lived within three months after the death. Those who do not reject the inheritance within this period are deemed to have accepted it. On the other hand, statutory rejection is considered to have occurred according to the prevailing laws rather than any action taken by the heir. Rejection of the inheritance can be defined as the refusal of the entire estate, including all assets and debts of the deceased, by the legal or appointed heirs. You can access our article with detailed information about the rejection of the inheritance here.

Since the act of rejecting the inheritance has consequences for both the creditors of the deceased and the creditors of the heir rejecting the inheritance, the law has introduced regulations to protect these creditors. If an heir, whose assets are insufficient to cover their debts, rejects the inheritance to harm their creditors, the creditors or the bankruptcy administration have the right to file a lawsuit for the annulment of the rejection of the inheritance within six months from the date of rejection if they are not provided with sufficient security.

PROTECTION OF THE CREDITORS OF THE DECEASED

It is possible for a person who has left an estate to transfer their assets to their heirs with the aim of harming their creditors, hoping for better financial conditions in the future or due to negligence, in which case the creditors need to be protected. Heirs who reject the inheritance of a deceased person who was insolvent are held liable to the creditors of the deceased to the extent of the value they received from the deceased within five years prior to their death and are obliged to return in the distribution of the inheritance. This provision allows the creditors to reclaim unpaid debts under certain conditions by holding the rejecting heir responsible for paying the debts of the deceased. Creditors of the deceased have the right to sue the rejecting heirs in cases of both actual rejection and statutory rejection.

There are three conditions sought in the case of the annulment of the rejection of the inheritance:

1. The first condition for the liability of the heirs to protect the creditors of the deceased is that the deceased was insolvent at the time of death. This does not need to be officially recorded.

2. Another condition is that the heirs of the deceased who was insolvent at the time of death have rejected the inheritance.

3. The last condition for invoking the ruling is that the liability to be determined is limited to the value of the benefits received from the deceased within the five years before their death, which are subject to offset against the creditors.

This liability can apply even if the deceased has only one heir, but since the obligation of offset only applies to legal heirs, appointed heirs cannot be held liable. Likewise, if the deceased exempts the heirs from the obligation of offset, the validity of this intent will be questionable if it is deemed to be aimed at evasion.

The value of the benefits subject to offset is determined according to their value at the time the inheritance is opened. However, gifts given as dowry or ordinary education and training expenses are excluded from the responsibility of the rejecting heirs and are defined as exceptions to the heirs’ obligation of offset. Additionally, if the rejecting heir acted in good faith, they will only be liable for the value of the enrichment at the time of the request. If the heir acted in bad faith, they will be fully responsible for the value of the gifts they received.

PROTECTION OF THE CREDITORS OF HEIRS WHO REJECT THE INHERITANCE AND CASE FOR THE ANNULMENT OF REJECTION OF INHERITANCE

If an heir, who is unable to pay their debts due to insolvency or bankruptcy, rejects the inheritance, their creditors may not be able to collect their claims. To prevent this, our legal system provides a protection measure for these creditors. If an heir, whose assets are insufficient to cover their debts, rejects the inheritance to harm their creditors, the creditors or the bankruptcy administration have the right to file a lawsuit for the annulment of the rejection of the inheritance within six months from the date of rejection if they are not provided with sufficient security. If the rejection is annulled, the inheritance is subject to official liquidation. The part of the inheritance that falls to the rejecting heir will first be used to pay the claims of the objecting creditors, and then the claims of other creditors. If any assets remain, they will be distributed to the heirs who would have received them if the rejection had been valid.

It can be said that the annulment of the rejection of the inheritance is only possible in cases of actual rejection, as the intent to evade property is sought in the regulation within the scope of this provision.

In case of filing a lawsuit for the annulment of the rejection of the inheritance, the court evaluates whether the conditions specified in the law for this case are met. If the conditions are met, the court will decide to annul the rejection. If the rejection is annulled, the inheritance will be officially liquidated. There is no need for an additional request to start the liquidation of the inheritance; the court will automatically operate the liquidation provisions.

CONDITIONS FOR THE CASE FOR THE ANNULMENT OF THE REJECTION OF INHERITANCE

The following conditions must be met for the request for the annulment of the rejection of the inheritance:

– The heir’s assets are not sufficient to cover their debts

If an heir’s existing assets, excluding the share of the inheritance that would pass to them in the case of the rejection of the inheritance, are not sufficient to pay their debts, it is accepted that they do not have sufficient assets to cover their debts. It is not necessary to present a certificate of insolvency to prove this, but the responsibility to prove this lies with the creditors who want to annul the rejection of the inheritance.

– Intention to harm creditors when rejecting

The second condition for the case for the annulment of the rejection of the inheritance is that the rejecting heir acted with the intent to harm their creditors. This means that the heir must be aware that their existing assets are not sufficient to cover their debts and that they chose to reject the inheritance with the intention of harming their creditors. In these cases, the burden of proof lies with the creditors who file the annulment case. Even if the creditors have not suffered direct harm, they can request the annulment of the rejection if the heir acted with the intention of harming them.

– Failure to provide sufficient security to creditors

Another condition for the annulment of the rejection of the inheritance is that the rejecting heir did not provide sufficient security to their creditors. The security must be sufficient to cover all the creditors’ claims and can be provided at any stage until the final judgment. If the security is provided, the annulment of the rejection of the inheritance cannot be decided.

– Submission of the request within a 6-month period

The law provides creditors and the bankruptcy office with a six-month period to annul the rejection of the inheritance. This six-month period starts from the date of rejection. The purpose of this period is to prevent delays in the distribution of the estate and to ensure that annulment cases are filed promptly. If the date of rejection has not been learned through other means, the annulment period will start from the date the rejection is registered by the court.

PARTIES TO THE CASE FOR THE ANNULMENT OF THE REJECTION OF INHERITANCE

The plaintiffs in the annulment case are the creditors of the heir who rejected the inheritance or the bankruptcy office, and only these persons can apply for the annulment. The creditors of the heir who rejected the inheritance have the right to file a lawsuit for annulment. Unless the heir is declared bankrupt, each creditor can file a separate lawsuit. If the heir is declared bankrupt, the bankruptcy office is authorized to file a lawsuit for annulment. According to the provision that the right to pursue a claim that the bankruptcy office does not deem necessary to conclude is transferred to the creditor who requests it, the right to file a lawsuit can also be transferred to the requesting creditors. If the annulment of the rejection is outside the scope of liquidation, the bankruptcy office may inform the creditors of the situation or notify them by letter, and the creditors may have the right to file a lawsuit.

In the annulment case, the defendant will be the heir who rejected the inheritance. This is because the declaration of rejection is a unilateral legal act that the heir can make without the knowledge or consent of the other rightful parties.

COMPETENT AND AUTHORIZED COURT IN THE CASE FOR THE ANNULMENT OF THE REJECTION OF INHERITANCE

No special court is assigned by law for the case for the annulment of the rejection of the inheritance, and since the general court, the civil court of first instance, is considered to be competent due to the fact that it is responsible for cases

related to property rights and cases related to personal rights unless otherwise regulated, it is accepted that the civil court of first instance is the competent court.

The court of the last residence of the deceased is definitively authorized to hear all cases against the heirs until the final distribution of the inheritance, and it is accepted that the competent court in the case for the annulment of the rejection of the inheritance is the court of the last residence of the deceased.

For more help or consultation on this topic, please contact us.