CASE FOR THE CANCELLATION OF THE WILL
Individuals can exercise their rights of disposal over their property even after their death. To this end, individuals can determine who will inherit their property or to whom they will leave their property after their death by drawing up a will (you can read our article on drawing up a will at http://www.anil-coskun.com/vasiyetname-duzenleme-sartlari/). In addition, wills drawn up in violation of the law may infringe upon the inheritance rights of other heirs. Accordingly, a court decision is required to invalidate wills drawn up in violation of the law.
There are four grounds for invalidation specified in the Civil Code. These are: (i) the incapacity of the person who drew up the will, (ii) the will being contrary to the law, morality and decency, (iii) a formal deficiency in the will, and (iv) the will having been drawn up through error, fraud, threat or coercion. If any of these circumstances exist, a case for the annulment of the will may be filed. The annulment case may be filed with regard to both the will and the dispositions made in the inheritance contract.
The revocation of a will may be requested and sued for after the death of the testator. While the testator is alive, only he or she may revoke his or her disposition of property upon death; no other person has such authority.
1. Who May File a Revocation Lawsuit?
According to the Civil Code, the persons who may request and file a lawsuit for the invalidation of the testator's disposition upon death are the heirs who have an interest in the invalidation of the disposition and the persons in whose favour the will was made. For example, persons whose inheritance rights will increase or decrease or legal heirs have a legal interest in filing a lawsuit for the invalidation of wills. Another example is a reserved share heir who has an interest in requesting the annulment of a disposition upon death that excludes them from the inheritance.
However, in contrast, the creditors and debtors of the testator and heirs do not have the right to file an annulment lawsuit. The executor of the will also cannot file a lawsuit to invalidate the will.
2. Competent Court and Defendant
A lawsuit to invalidate a will must be filed in the district court of the testator's last place of residence. If the testator resided abroad, the case must be filed in the court of the place where the person was registered in the population registry. The defendant in the annulment case is the person who directly benefits from the will to be annulled in terms of inheritance law. In other words, the case will be directed at the appointed heir who benefits from the will.
3. Time Limits to Consider in Annulment Proceedings
Article 559 of the Civil Code sets out the time limits for annulment proceedings. These time limits are preclusive, so they must be observed. If the annulment proceedings are not initiated within the time limits specified in the law, the will will remain valid.
a) One-Year Time Limit
The one-year time limit for an annulment action begins on the date the testator's disposition and the grounds for annulment are discovered. This includes the discovery of the testator's death and the interested party's status as a beneficiary. However, merely having the opportunity to discover this information is insufficient; the date of discovery must be determinable.
b) Ten-Year Period
Regardless of whether the interested party becomes aware of the grounds for annulment, an annulment action cannot be brought against bona fide defendants after ten years have elapsed from the date of opening of the will. The opening of the will is distinct from the opening of the estate upon the testator's death. The opening of the will takes place when the conciliation judge invites the interested parties and opens the will in their presence and reads its contents. If the will is not opened by the court, the time limits do not begin to run.
c) Twenty-Year Period
If the defendant acts in bad faith, the annulment action is subject to a twenty-year statute of limitations. In this case, the concept of good faith as regulated in the Civil Code becomes important. If the defendant knew or should have known that there was a reason for annulment in the will but nevertheless acquired property based on the unlawful will, they would have acted in bad faith.
4. Result
At the conclusion of the annulment proceedings, if the grounds for annulment are established, the will shall be annulled by the court. This decision shall completely nullify the will by retroactively invalidating its provisions, rendering the will as if it had never been made. The court may decide to annul certain provisions of the will while upholding others. If the entire will is invalidated, legal inheritance will come into play. The invalidation decision issued by the court will only have legal effect and consequences for the parties to the case. If there are other heirs, the decision will not have any consequences for them. Thus, only the plaintiffs who filed the invalidation case can benefit from the consequences of the invalidation case. As mentioned above, in a will invalidation case, it is necessary to act carefully to avoid loss of rights after becoming aware of the existence of the will. In this context, legal assistance should be sought, and care should be taken to ensure that the necessary procedures are carried out in a timely manner.,
***
Av. Sinem Orhan (Dipl.-Jur.)
Av. Dr. Anıl Coşkun, LL.M
http://www.anil-coskun.com
info@anil-coskun.com
0553-308-80-69
All articles and content on our website are the copyright of Attorney Anıl Coşkun. All articles are electronically signed and time-stamped for the purpose of registering copyright ownership. Any unauthorised reproduction or summarisation of articles from our website on other websites will result in legal and criminal proceedings.
Share Article