Preferences in Inheritance Practices for Death and after Death in Family Businesses

Heritage is defined by the Turkish Language Association as “a valuable entity transferred from one generation to the next.” This definition underscores the need to determine what is considered valuable, who the rightful beneficiaries are, the proportions of distribution, and the legal mechanisms governing the transfer. In the Turkish legal system, inheritance law, regulated as a sub-branch of civil law, governs this process. It addresses the distribution of a deceased or missing real person’s estate, the identification of rightful heirs, and the legal implications of rights and obligations that persist after the individual’s death. While statutory inheritance law is often applied, individuals may also choose to follow Islamic inheritance rules in accordance with their personal beliefs. Islamic inheritance law (Faraid), grounded in the Qur’an and Sunnah and elaborated through ijma and scholarly interpretations, outlines the principles governing the division of a deceased person’s estate. This study aims to examine the practical preferences between statutory inheritance law and Islamic inheritance law in the context of family businesses, focusing on the periods surrounding death and the aftermath. In doing so, it is necessary to briefly address the legal notion of “personhood.” In legal terminology, the concept of person is classified into “natural” and “legal” persons, defined as subjects capable of holding rights and obligations. Although family businesses constitute legal entities, the focus of this study is on natural persons who act as legal representatives within such enterprises. Accordingly, the scope of inheritance in relation to family businesses refers to all transferable assets and liabilities belonging to natural persons, passed on to subsequent generations upon death or absence, within the familial and corporate structure. Therefore, issues such as the joint and several liabilities of legal representatives in the event of company bankruptcy—which may be considered analogous to the “death” of the enterprise—are excluded from this scope. Within the framework of the study, the identification of legal heirs, the methods of inheritance distribution, and testamentary dispositions will be analyzed in comparative terms with reference to both statutory inheritance law and Islamic inheritance principles.