Who owns what in a marriage in Turkey?
Turkey's default regime is participation in acquired property: each spouse owns their own assets, and the property acquired during the marriage is shared when it ends.
Updated October 2026. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.
What applies by default
Each spouse owns and manages their own property. Property acquired during the marriage by work is a category that is shared at the end.
When the marriage ends in divorce
Each spouse has a claim to half of the value of the property acquired during the marriage by the other, subject to debts and to adjustments.
A marriage contract
Spouses can choose another regime, such as separation of property or a community, in a notarised marriage contract, before or during the marriage.
What stays your own, and gifts
Personal items, property from before the marriage, and gifts and inheritances are personal property.
If one spouse is a foreigner
Turkey has its own private international law. Check which country's law applies if one spouse is a foreigner.
Understand the legal system first
Turkey belongs to the Civil law family. Family law grows out of the legal tradition, so it helps to know how the system works.
Read the Turkey legal-system profile in the Legal Families Atlas →
Can a foreigner buy property in Turkey? →
Official sources
Take it further
The family and property rules of a European country in one PDF, with questions for a local lawyer.
Set the property rules before the marriage, in your own terms.
For couples who live together without marrying.
Marriage, divorce, custody and support, step by step.
Divide property and settle the terms in writing.
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TheLawToKnow Tools’s marital property guide is an educational overview of general rules. It is not legal advice, and it does not replace the official source or a lawyer in the country. Report a mistake.
