When legator dies, it is first considered whether legator has an heir in the first group. If there is no heir in the First party, then those in the second will inherit. If there is no heir in the first and the second party, then the third party will inherit.

What should be considered in the maintenance of the surviving spouse’s inheritance is how to acquire the title of spouse. According to the provisions of the Turkish Civil Code, marriage is established by formal marriage and the title of spouse is gained by formal marriage. Thus, by acquiring the title of spouse, all rights granted by the law to spouses can be taken advantage of. However, non-formal marriages are still observed in society due to social values and customary traditions. These associations sometimes occur with the imam’s marriage in a way that is not legally valid. Sometimes it takes place without even an imam’s marriage.

In such a case, the question of whether the surviving person will be the heir to murise as the surviving spouse as a result of the death of one of the persons who maintained an active union without a formal marriage comes to mind.

It is only possible for a person other than the ones listed in the law to become an heir through a will or other death-related savings. In other words, the inheritor may make his/her Unmarried Wife / imam’s married wife as his / her heir by means of a will or an inheritance agreement. However, in this case, the heir of The Unmarried Wife/imam is due to death savings and The Unmarried Wife/imam is not the heir with a reserved share. Since there is no heir with a reserved share, the right of inheritance is eliminated in case of possible cancellation of the will or the inheritance contract. Other than that, there is no possibility that The Unmarried Wife/imam married wife will be the heir.

Although the unmarried spouse/imam is not a legal heir, the case law of the Supreme Court has ruled in favor of these persons as compensation for lack of support.