Registration of the Will with the Land Registry Office
After the decision to execute the will has been made and this decision has become final, the court issues a document (certificate of inheritance) confirming the status of the legal and appointed heirs to the requesting legal and appointed heirs.
a) Registration Request by Legal Heirs:
Legal heirs may request a certificate of inheritance from the judge after the will has been opened, read, and the enforcement decision has become final. If there is an appointed heir, their name will also appear on the certificate of inheritance to be issued to the legal heirs. This is because the appointed heir is also an heir in the proportion specified in the will. In this case, the legal heir who is the beneficiary of the will may request the Land Registry Office to carry out the transfer process with the inheritance certificate they have received. With this transfer process, the ownership of the immovable property is shared through inheritance. The rules of joint ownership apply between the parties.
b) Registration Request of Appointed (Designated) Heirs
After the decision to execute the will has been made, the heirs appointed by the will may request an inheritance certificate from the judge proving that they are heirs. An appointed heir may be one or more persons. Therefore, each has the right to request a separate inheritance certificate. Once the appointed heir has obtained the inheritance certificate, they are no different from a legal heir. They may apply to the land registry office alone to request the transfer of the inheritance.
In this case, the land registry office will carry out the transfer on behalf of all legal and appointed heirs listed on the inheritance certificate submitted by the appointed heir. As a rule, this transfer is registered as joint ownership. However, if requested by all heirs (legal or appointed) or their authorized representatives mentioned in the inheritance certificate, the transfer (inheritance) can also be registered directly on the basis of joint ownership. If appointed heirs request the transfer, it is not necessary to search for a copy of the will, the judge’s enforcement decision, or the registration document in addition to the inheritance certificate (TST.21/a). It is sufficient to bring the inheritance certificate.
c) Registration request on behalf of the beneficiary of a specific will:
A certificate of inheritance is not issued to the beneficiary of a specific will. This is because this person is not the heir to a specific share of the inheritance, but the person to whom a specific asset is bequeathed. This person has rights against the heirs and the inheritance and is therefore referred to as the legatee or beneficiary. After the will is executed, inheritance certificates are issued to the other heirs, but not to the person bequeathed a specific asset. As a rule, since this person (the beneficiary) does not have an inheritance certificate, they will request that the asset bequeathed to them be registered in their name from the heirs or, if applicable, from the executor of the will.