A reader from Spain is wondering if she could use prenuptial agreement forms allowed under Turkish law. “Hello. My name is Teresa. I found an article you wrote on the Internet in March about prenuptial agreement. I am about to marry a Turkish citizen. I’m Spanish myself and live in İstanbul. I have a few concerns, as I have gotten differing answers, but it is my family that stresses me out the most. I would be very grateful if you could help me with your knowledge of Turkish law and calm me down a bit. I love my fiancé to bits and I’m planning a happy and long life with him, but life brings unexpected surprises, so it’s better to be prepared. I have the following questions:”Dear Teresa, I will try to shed some light on this matter and give you brief responses to these questions. However, please note that it is almost a must to get the advice of a Turkish lawyer before acting on your own in this matter. This is not a “do it yourself” type of thing and things may become complicated in the future if the procedure is not followed strictly.
The first question: “I own three apartments in Spain and two in Belgium. Is it advisable that I sign a prenuptial agreement before marriage so in the event of a divorce my husband does not have a claim to them? Or is it that because I owned these before marriage, he has no rights to them anyway [and I have nothing to worry about]?”
Under the Turkish Civil Code, only properties and assets purchased after marriage are subject to sharing by the couple. Accordingly, he does not have any rights to your apartments directly. In any case, to avoid any future conflict, I would recommend that you make a prenuptial agreement and agree that the assets of the parties (regardless of if they were acquired before or after the marriage) will be separate and independent of the other party.
2. “If we get married in Turkey but I decide to get divorced in Spain according to Spanish law, will I be regarded as divorced only in Spain and not in Turkey? Can I notify Turkish courts about my divorce and will the Spanish court’s verdict be accepted there?”
If you get divorced in Spain, you have to go to a Turkish court to provide recognition of divorce. It is possible to obtain recognition of divorce in Turkey in accordance with reciprocity between Turkey and Spain.
3. Matters regarding children. “I heard that it is very difficult for women to get custody or even shared custody in Turkey due to traditions and the social understanding and that it is more likely for a man to keep the children in the event of a divorce. How true is this?”
There is no strict legal regulation in Turkey regarding custody. The decision of the court will be based on many elements and consider the merits and conditions of each case (financial and psychological well-being of the parties, the child’s wishes, social conditions. etc.). If the child is so young that it needs the mother’s care, the mother generally gets custody. However, the courts will be reluctant to give custody to the mother if extreme conditions are present, such as the mother leading an immoral life, being a drug addict, etc.
NOTE: Berk Çektir is a licensed attorney at law and available to answer questions on the legal aspects of living in Turkey. Send enquiries to b.cektir@todayszaman.com The names of the readers are disclosed only upon written approval of the sender.DISCLAIMER: The information provided here is intended to give basic legal information. You should get legal assistance from a licensed attorney at law while conducting legal transactions and not just rely on the information in this column.
