Termination of the marital union

Divorce briefly in Turkish Law; can be defined as the termination of the marital union by the court decision. The basic condition for divorce to take place is the existence of a valid marital union between the spouses. There is no obstacle to divorce before the Turkish Courts for spouses with a valid marital union. If the spouses want to divorce or one of the spouses has foreign citizenship, if their marriage is a valid marriage and their marriage is registered with the civil registration, it is possible to divorce with the decision of the Turkish Courts.

In order to start the divorce proceedings in Turkey, the marriage must be registered with the local Vital Statistics Office. If a foreign citizen followed the registration procedure in order to obtain the divorce he or she has to go to a civil court from where he or she will receive a court divorce decree. The foreigner can’t go to a court in another jurisdiction in order to get the documents for divorce, this process must be completed with a civil court from Turkey that will make the judgment. Complete legal advice in this matter can be offered by one of our Turkish lawyers.

Initiating Divorce Proceedings

Divorce proceedings can be initiated in Turkey, both by Turkish citizens and by foreigners.

There are several causes of divorce recognized by Turkish civil provisions.

Here is some information about divorce in Turkey. You can contact BIÇAK LAW FIRM for any additional questions and for the assistance of a lawyer specializing in Family Law.

Steps 

Hire a lawyer

First of all, if assistance from a lawyer in Turkey is needed, the person seeking to divorce must grant the lawyer a power of attorney (vekaletname).

Grounds for divorce in Turkey

1. Contentious Divorce Suit

One of the spouse may bring a case to the court in order to end the martial relationship. The divorce suits are examined by the Court of Family (Aile Mahkemesi) which has exclusive jurisdiction related to divorcement. The suits must be brought to the court where spouses resided last 6 months or the court situates where the domicile of the applicant is.

There are 2 main type of grounds (General or Specific) to divorce which are explicitly mentioned in Turkish family law.

• Incompatibility: the two spouses no longer share the same ideas and feelings. This is a common cause of divorce in Turkey.

Article 165 of the Turkish Civil Law defines irretrievable breakdown of marriage as a general legal ground for divorce. If the marriage has broken down in an irretrievable way so that the spouses cannot be expected to continue their marriage, any of them will be entitled to file a lawsuit for divorce.

• Adultery
• Unreasonable behavior
• Maltreatment, physical violence or attempt to kill
• If one of the spouses committed a crime

As ordinary contentious suits, spouses should convince the court concerning their rightness and others mistake or faults.’

2. Uncontested Divorce (Consensual Divorce)

One of the spouse may apply to the court by submitting separation agreement and property settlement concluded among them. If none of objection will arise, spouses could be divorced in accordance with the provisions of the separation agreement and property settlement with consensus.

For this agreement to be made under Turkish law. Spouses should:

1) Be married more than one year

2) Should come to an agreement on all aspects of the divorce. Including separation of assets, child custody and separation of furniture

Woman’s family name

The woman usually goes back to her family name before the marriage. But she can keep the ex-husband’s name after the divorce, only if the judge approves it.

Property and real estate division

The marital home and the property are usually divided equally (50/50). The values are established by the Family Court.

In the event of a marriage contract or special marriage regime, the division may not be egalitarian.

The assistance of a lawyer is recommended in the event of disagreement between the spouses.

Child custody

The court decides on children issues related to custody and may force the parents to contribute to the children growth according to their income.

Child custody will be decided in court and the judge will choose the spouse who can provide the child with the needed care, both material and emotional.

If the spouses separated because of family violence, one of the parties may ask for a limitation of the visitation rights.

A lawyer in Turkey will help you with court representation, especially in those cases where the situation of the children needs to be carefully considered.

For more information, please contact BIÇAK LAW FIRM

contact@bicakhukuk.com