Power of attorney

Hi

I am a 25 year old male living in the United Kingdom with a Turkish mother and an English father. I visit Turkey (Istanbul) every year.
My Turkish grandfather (mother's father) is deceased, but my Turkish grandmother is still alive. She owns several properties in Istanbul. When she dies these properties will be divided between my mother and her two sisters.

My mother and I are concerned that my grandmother is becoming less and less capable of managing her property and money. She is now 84 years old. Her short-term memory is very bad and she is often quite confused. It seems likely that the people staying in her properties sometimes do not pay rent because she forgets to collect it.

A further worry is that my cousin (who is my grandmother's eldest grandson) lives with my grandmother and gets her to pay nearly all of his expenses. I feel that he is taking advantage of her deteriorating mental capacity.

It is important to me that I safeguard my inheritance. It is hard to see though that there is anything that I can do. One possibility is to transfer control of my grandmother's assets to my mother and her sisters (using a power of attorney). It is unlikely however that my grandmother would consent to this transfer.

In England I think it would be possible to transfer my grandmother's assets without her explicit consent as long as her family doctor agreed that she was not mentally competent enough to be in charge of her assets. What I really want to know is whether this can be done in Turkey. I have been told that in Turkey my grandmother would have to be tested in a hospital; this would be a traumatic experience for her and we want to avoid it. However, if her mind gets worse and worse then we may have no choice.

I am looking for advice on these matters and any personal experience. How can the Law help me in this situation?

Thanks,
Fred

Hi Fred, according to Turkish Civil Code, your grandma needs to be kept under guardianship. As a rule, the guardianship is a public duty however private guardianship is available in some circumstances. Considering your case, since your grandma has properties in rent which can be deemed as a "business", a private guardianship can be granted to "family council" to be established. Family council consists of 3 members who should be "close relatives." Coming back to the case, the guardianship for the reason of "mental illness or mental defect" can ONLY be granted upon a test report from a hospital. No other way, unfortunately. Nevertheless, if you claim a guardianship for the reason of "bad management of the goods/properties", you will not need a test report; but in this case, the court will hear the person who shall be kept under guardianship, namely your grandma.
Please do not hesitate to ask any question if any part of my explaination is vague.

All the best,

Ahmet Sirvan KILIC
Attorney at Law
Istanbul Bar