In Turkish family law, alimony requests can be demanded as a result of divorce or while the marriage union continues. Alimony can be in question both between spouses and joint children.
In Turkish law, some types of alimony are;
Child support
Temporary
Welfare
There are international agreements on the law to be applied in claims for alimony with foreign elements. Turkey is a party to the Convention on the Law Applicable to Maintenance Obligations dated 2 October 1973. This convention applies to all alimony obligations arising from all family relationships with children/out of wedlock. According to the convention, the law applicable to children and alimony for marital spouses are as follows;
Law of habitual residence of the alimony creditor,
If it cannot be ruled according to the law of habitual residence of the alimony creditor, the joint national law of the alimony debtor and the alimony creditor,
If alimony cannot be ruled according to the common national law, the law of the application authority for which alimony is requested is applied.
Regarding the demand for alimony after the divorce, alimony is determined according to the law applicable to the divorce for alimony between the spouses. In addition, according to MÖHUK article 14, the demand for alimony between divorced spouses is determined according to the law applicable to the divorce.
For more information on the Convention please see:
How Is the International Alimony Collected?
Turkey is a party to the 2007 Convention on the International Recovery of Child Support and Other Forms of Family Maintenance. This convention will be applied in the collection of child support and other family support.
The central authority determined in Turkey for the collection of alimony receivables is the Ministry of Justice, General Directorate of Foreign Relations and European Union. The alimony office established within the body of this directorate carries out the procedures related to alimony, submits domestic applications to foreign central authorities or accepts applications from abroad, and also carries out transactions related to these issues.
The Office of the Chief Public Prosecutor fulfils duties such as filing a lawsuit for the enforcement of the foreign court decision, which is the basis for alimony, and following the case, applying for execution or bankruptcy, applying to the court for a judgment on alimony, or getting an alimony decision from the competent authority, resorting to amicable solutions, peace and mediation.
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