Didim Today

An e-mail from a reader who is in the process of divorce says: “I hope that you can advise me on the following problem as I don’t know who to ask. My estranged husband and I are UK citizens and purchased two properties in Turkey. One property is under joint names on the tapu [deed], the other is awaiting a sole name.

We have been informed by the builder/management company, which is a well-known and reputable company, that we have to pay builders’ taxes, etc. and it will cost approximately 2,000 euros. They said one spouse has to purchase the other’s 50 percent share. I did read a year ago somewhere that a transfer due to divorce, involving UK citizens is a simple case and only a small levy is charged. Do you have any knowledge on this please? Many thanks.

Dear Karen, before I start I would like to underline one thing that is written in my disclaimer. In no way is my advice in this corner binding, because my purpose is to give basic and helpful information. I am not given all facts and figures and I don’t have a complete file in front of me. Therefore, what I explain you in this article is only intended to shed some light on the matter. You may want to discuss your situation with a qualified lawyer to decide on the exact procedure you should follow.

There are two ways to do things; the correct way and the incorrect way. The correct way may not always be the fast, easy, cheap and convenient solution. The change in name is due to the divorce process, which requires you to submit documents to a Turkish court, requesting that they instruct the land registry office to split ownership of the property in accordance with the court’s decision. However, this might be a lengthy process.

I assume that the construction company proposed a simple solution. If one of the spouses simply sells half of the property to the other, the final result is that they share the property’s ownership, half and half. This is a mathematically correct result; however, the method is not exactly correct.

There are several possible consequences of doing things incorrectly. I am not saying that they are likely to happen but there is always a risk.

Because there is no real transaction taking place between the spouses, the way recommended by the construction company is not in compliance with the regulations and court orders of English courts.

There may also be tax burden for selling the property, even between spouses. There is also a tax for zero-value transfers.

You should consider all of the above and make a decision on how to proceed. If I were in your position, I would follow the correct procedure and register the property in the land registry upon a court’s decision.

I hope that this helps you.

Berk Cektir http://www.berkcektir.av.tr/ 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 corner. http://www.todayszaman.com/ This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it