KÜHEYLAN HUKUK
Participation in Acquired Property Regime, Jewelry Claims and Precautions to be Taken Against Property Smuggling
Summary In Turkey, unless couples agree otherwise, they are subject to the "Regime of Participation in Acquired Property"; under this regime, half of all assets acquired through work during marriage are the right of the other spouse upon divorce. Personal property is excluded from this division. Wedding jewelry, unless proven otherwise, is considered the wife's personal property and can be reclaimed even if spent on household expenses. Procedural tools such as preliminary injunctions and actions for annulment of disposition are available against attempts to conceal assets.
Whose Title, Whose Claim?
One of the most common misconceptions in divorce proceedings is the belief that ownership of a title deed or invoice determines who owns that property. This is not how it works in Turkish law. Even if an apartment bought during marriage was purchased with the husband's salary and registered solely in his name, the wife acquires a right to half of that value. Below, the source and limits of this right and specific rules for wedding jewelry are discussed.
Regime of Participation in Acquired Property: What Property is Subject to Division?
Pursuant to the Turkish Civil Code which came into force on January 1, 2002, if spouses have not signed a contrary property regime contract when marrying, the "Regime of Participation in Acquired Property" legally applies between them. Under this regime, in the event of divorce, each spouse has a fifty percent right to the assets acquired through their own labor during the marriage. For correct division, the law divides property into two categories.
Acquired Property (Subject to Division) Acquisitions in return for work: Income from salary, bonuses, freelance earnings, or commercial enterprises of one spouse during marriage. Social security payments: The portion of retirement bonuses, severance pay, disability pensions, or temporary incapacity benefits corresponding to the duration of the marriage. Income from personal property: Rental income from a property owned before marriage or interest income accrued on personal money during marriage is considered acquired property pursuant to Article 219, paragraph four of the Turkish Civil Code. Values replacing acquired property: If a vehicle bought with money earned during marriage is sold and real estate is purchased in its place, that real estate also has the status of acquired property.
Personal Property (Not Subject to Division) Pre-marital assets: Movable and immovable assets acquired by one spouse with their savings or with family support before marriage. Inheritance and gratuitous acquisitions: Even if during marriage, inheritance left to one spouse by their family or direct donations made to them (including lottery winnings). Claims for non-pecuniary damages: Amounts of non-pecuniary damages awarded to one spouse in their own name due to an injustice suffered. Personal use items: Items exclusively for one spouse's use, such as personal clothing, professional tools, or a personal computer. Division of Wedding Jewelry: Who Owns It?
Wedding jewelry is one of the areas where clients most frequently suffer loss of rights in field cases. According to the settled jurisprudence of the General Assembly of Civil Chambers of the Supreme Court, wedding jewelry (gold, bracelets, sets, money), regardless of type and to whom it was given, is considered the personal property of the wife, unless there is contrary custom, tradition, or written agreement.
Regarding cash or quarter gold coins given to the husband, which are not specific to women, if there is no strong local custom indicating that the jewelry belongs to the woman, her right is protected. To claim jewelry in a divorce case, a separate lawsuit for jewelry claims must be filed, and the existence of the jewelry must be concretely proven through wedding videos, photographs, or expert examination.
The most common defense in practice is the claim that the jewelry was cashed in to pay wedding debts or for a down payment on a house. In this situation, the Supreme Court holds the male spouse responsible: unless the female spouse explicitly states that she "donated the gold, never to be taken back" when it was cashed in and used for a debt, the male spouse is obliged to return the value of this jewelry to the woman in kind or in cash. If it was used for the purchase of a house or car, the woman's right arising from this amount is included in the property division case as a "claim for increased value share."
A property division lawsuit can be filed concurrently with a divorce lawsuit; however, the court usually treats the finalization of the divorce lawsuit as a "preliminary issue." Therefore, the merits of the property division lawsuit cannot be heard and decided before the divorce becomes final.
Statute of Limitations Lawsuits filed after the expiration of the period from the date the divorce decision became final are directly rejected due to the 10-year statute of limitations.
Competent and Authorized Court The place where the spouses have resided together for the last six months or, in places without a family court, the civil court of first instance acts as a family court in the domicile of the defendant.
Preventing Asset Concealment As soon as the lawsuit is filed, a preliminary injunction can be requested on vehicles, title deeds, and bank accounts. Recording a "litigated" annotation on the title deed prevents the transfer of the property to a third party.
Liquidation Share Claim Half of the remaining amount after deducting debts from the net value of the acquired property. Not the ownership of the asset, but half of its current market value at the date of liquidation is claimed in cash.
Ms. Meltem and Mr. Hakan married in 2015, filed for divorce in 2024, and their marriage ended with a final decision in 2026. During the marriage, an apartment was purchased with Mr. Hakan's engineering salary and registered in his name in the title deed. At the wedding, Ms. Meltem was given 20 Cumhuriyet gold coins and 5 bracelets; these gold coins were cashed in during the marriage and used for the down payment on the apartment. Mr. Hakan objected to the claim, asserting that the house was bought with his salary and the title deed was in his name.
Trial and Proof Process In the property regime liquidation and jewelry claim lawsuit filed by Ms. Meltem through her attorney at the Antalya Family Court, a preliminary injunction was first placed on the title deed to prevent the apartment from being sold to third parties. Wedding videos were examined by an expert to determine the list of gold coins given to Ms. Meltem and their current market value. The court determined that the gold coins were used for the apartment's down payment and calculated this amount as a claim for increased value share in favor of Ms. Meltem.
Legal Ruling In line with the expert report, the court ruled that 1,800,000 TL, comprising the liquidation share claim, which is half of the current value of the apartment, and the cash equivalent of the wedding jewelry spent on the down payment, should be collected from Mr. Hakan and paid to Ms. Meltem. Mr. Hakan's defense that the house was "bought with his own salary" was rejected because the salary acquired during marriage is legally considered acquired property.
Does rent income from a house purchased before marriage, acquired during marriage, enter into property division? Yes. Pursuant to Article 219, paragraph four of the Turkish Civil Code, rental, interest, or dividend income generated by one spouse's personal property during marriage is considered acquired property. These accumulated incomes during marriage, or new assets purchased with this income, are subject to fifty-fifty division upon divorce.
How do loans taken by a spouse during marriage affect property division? In property liquidation, each spouse's debts related to acquired property are deducted from the value of that property. For example, if a car purchased with a loan still has outstanding loan debt at the date of the divorce lawsuit, the remaining debt is deducted from the market value of the car, and the division is made over the net remaining amount. However, a spouse's personal debts, gambling debts, or secret debts unrelated to the family do not bind the other spouse.
The spouse transferred their assets to relatives before the lawsuit was filed; what can be done? This is the most common method of asset concealment encountered in practice. Pursuant to Article 229 of the Turkish Civil Code, gratuitous dispositions made by one spouse within one year prior to the divorce lawsuit without the other spouse's consent, with the aim of reducing the rights arising from liquidation, are calculated by adding them to the existing assets as if they had never been transferred. A lawsuit for the annulment of disposition can be filed against third parties for the annulment of these fraudulent sales.
Failure to clearly state the claim in the petition: Failure to additionally and clearly specify the request for liquidation of the property regime and the jewelry claim in the divorce petition leads to insufficient court fees and failure to itemize the assets. A divorce case and a property division case are two entirely independent actions in terms of fees and procedure.
Incorrect valuation date: The value of real estate or vehicles is not calculated based on the date the divorce case was filed, but rather on the current market value at the liquidation date closest to the court's decision. Prolonging the case means that the value of the property increases in an inflationary environment; therefore, timely objections to expert reports or requesting additional reports is crucial.
Property regime liquidation and jewelry claim lawsuits are technical cases requiring actuarial calculations and procedural knowledge. Not whose title deed it is, but whether the property was acquired during marriage, is determinative. Taking timely measures against attempts to conceal assets and objecting to valuation at the right time directly affects the outcome of the case.
Important Legal Notice: The legal explanations, process flows, and example scenarios contained in this guide have been prepared by Küheylan Law Firm for general informational purposes. This text does not constitute legal advice; the outcome may vary according to the specific circumstances of each concrete case. Since property regime liquidation and jewelry claim lawsuits require advanced expertise in calculation, it is recommended that the process be conducted with the support of an attorney. © 2026 Küheylan Law Firm. All Rights Reserved.
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