What types of maintenance does Turkish law recognise?

Turkish law (the Turkish Civil Code — TMK) recognises four types of maintenance (nafaka): 1. Tedbir Nafakası — interim maintenance during divorce proceedings (Art. 169 TMK); 2. Yoksulluk Nafakası — spousal maintenance after divorce (Art. 175 TMK), payable only if divorce causes the recipient to fall into poverty; 3. İştirak Nafakası — child support after divorce (Art. 182 TMK); 4. Yardım Nafakası — family maintenance for relatives in direct line of descent (Art. 364–365 TMK).

How is child support (İştirak Nafakası) calculated in Turkey?

Turkey has no fixed maintenance table (unlike Germany's Düsseldorfer Tabelle). The family court determines the amount based on the child's needs (education, health, living costs) and the paying parent's financial capacity (income, assets, earning potential). In practice, courts often set child support at roughly 20–40% of the paying parent's net income, but this is judicial discretion, not a statutory rule. The amount can be reviewed and adjusted when circumstances change significantly.

What happens if maintenance is not paid in Turkey?

Under Art. 344 of the Turkish Enforcement and Bankruptcy Law (İİK), a person who deliberately fails to pay a final court-ordered maintenance obligation can be imprisoned for up to three months (tazyik hapsi — coercive detention). This is a civil enforcement mechanism, not a criminal conviction: once the arrears are paid, the person is released. In addition, wages and bank accounts can be garnished by Turkish enforcement offices (İcra Müdürlüğü).

Can a Turkish maintenance order be enforced in Germany?

Yes. A final Turkish maintenance order can be recognised and enforced in Germany through an exequatur (recognition) procedure. Both Turkey and Germany are parties to the 1973 Hague Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Decisions Relating to Maintenance Obligations and the 1956 UN Maintenance Convention. The creditor applies to the competent German family court; once recognition is granted, the order is enforced under German law (wage garnishment, bank account seizure). The EU Maintenance Regulation (No. 4/2009) does not apply to Turkey.

Can a German maintenance order be enforced in Turkey?

Yes. A final German maintenance order can be made enforceable in Turkey through a tanıma ve tenfiz (recognition and enforcement) application to the competent Turkish Asliye Hukuk Mahkemesi. The application requires a certified translation of the German order with apostille, a certificate of finality, and proof of service. Once recognised, the order is enforced through Turkish enforcement offices.

Which country's law applies to maintenance in a Turkish-German divorce?

The applicable law depends on where the maintenance creditor lives and which court is handling the case. Under Turkish private international law (MÖHUK Art. 16), the law of the maintenance creditor's habitual residence applies. For German courts, the Hague Protocol 2007 (to which Turkey is not a party) points to the same result. In practice: if the maintenance creditor lives in Germany, German law tends to apply; if they live in Turkey, Turkish law applies. Because the two systems differ significantly, forum selection is strategically important.

Maintenance and Alimony Under Turkish Law: Complete Guide

Q: What are the conditions for Yoksulluk Nafakası (spousal maintenance) in Turkey?

Under Art. 175 TMK, three conditions must be met: (1) The claimant must be facing genuine poverty as a result of the divorce — not just reduced income, but actual inability to meet basic living costs; (2) The claimant must not be more at fault for the breakdown of the marriage than the other spouse — a more-at-fault spouse loses the right entirely; (3) The paying spouse must have the financial means to pay. This is more restrictive than German or English spousal maintenance, where fault and 'poverty' in this sense are not decisive.

Q: When does Yoksulluk Nafakası (spousal maintenance) end under Turkish law?

Under Art. 176(3) TMK, spousal maintenance ends when: the recipient remarries; the recipient's poverty ends (they become financially self-sufficient); the recipient lives permanently with a new partner as if married (fiilen birlikte yaşama); or either party dies. The paying spouse can bring a modification claim at any time if circumstances have materially changed.

Maintenance — known as nafaka in Turkish — is one of the most contested areas in Turkish family law, particularly for Turkish-German families navigating a divorce that spans two countries. When one party lives in Germany and the other in Turkey, questions multiply quickly: Which law governs? Which court is competent? Can a Turkish order be enforced in Germany, or a German order in Turkey?

This guide explains how the Turkish maintenance system works from the ground up — the four types of nafaka, how each is calculated, how enforcement works in Turkey, and how cross-border recognition operates between Turkey and Germany.

The Four Types of Maintenance (Nafaka) Under Turkish Law

The Turkish Civil Code (Türk Medeni Kanunu — TMK) recognises four distinct maintenance obligations:

Type	Legal Basis	When it Applies
Tedbir Nafakası (Interim maintenance)	Art. 169 TMK	During divorce proceedings
Yoksulluk Nafakası (Spousal maintenance)	Art. 175 TMK	After divorce is finalised
İştirak Nafakası (Child support)	Art. 182 TMK	After divorce, until child reaches majority
Yardım Nafakası (Family/relative maintenance)	Art. 364–365 TMK	Between relatives in direct line when in need

Each type has its own conditions, calculation method, and duration. Understanding which type is relevant to your situation is the starting point for any nafaka claim or defence.

Tedbir Nafakası: Interim Maintenance During Proceedings

Once a divorce petition is filed, Art. 169 TMK requires the court to set provisional maintenance (tedbir nafakası) of its own motion — the applicant does not need to make a separate request. This maintenance covers the basic needs of both spouses and any children during the often lengthy divorce proceedings.

Key characteristics:

Ordered by the court automatically (resen) — no separate application required

Applies throughout the proceedings; terminates when the divorce judgment becomes final

Temporary by nature — its amount does not automatically carry over into the final order

Either party can apply for modification if circumstances change significantly during the proceedings

For couples where one spouse is in Germany and the other in Turkey: tedbir nafakası is set by the Turkish court if the divorce petition is filed in Turkey. A German-resident spouse's living costs in Germany will be factored into the assessment.

Yoksulluk Nafakası: Turkish Spousal Maintenance After Divorce

Yoksulluk nafakası (literally: poverty maintenance) is Turkish law's mechanism for ongoing spousal support after the divorce is finalised. It is considerably more restrictive than its German (§§ 1569–1580 BGB) or English (Matrimonial Causes Act 1973) equivalents.

The Three Conditions (Art. 175 TMK)

Condition 1: Actual Poverty Caused by the Divorce (Yoksulluğa Düşme)

The claimant must demonstrate that the divorce itself will cause them to fall into poverty — an inability to meet basic living expenses from their own means. Merely having a reduced standard of living after divorce is insufficient. The causal link between the divorce and the poverty must be established.

Condition 2: Fault Threshold (Kusur Koşulu)

The claimant must not be more at fault for the breakdown of the marriage than the other spouse. Under Turkish Supreme Court (Yargıtay) case law, equal fault allows a maintenance claim; but a spouse who bears the greater share of fault for the divorce is entirely barred. This fault element has no equivalent in modern German or English maintenance law.

Condition 3: Financial Capacity of the Paying Spouse

The paying spouse must have the means to make the payments. A maintenance order against someone with genuinely no income or assets is unlikely to be granted.

How Is the Amount Determined?

There is no fixed formula. Turkish family courts exercise broad discretion, weighing:

The standard of living established during the marriage

Current income, assets, and earning potential of both parties

Whether the claimant has realistic employment prospects

The number of children in the claimant's care

Turkey's cost-of-living indicators at the time of judgment

Maintenance can be ordered as a monthly payment or as a lump sum (toplu ödeme) if the parties agree or the court deems it appropriate.

How Does Yoksulluk Nafakası End? (Art. 176(3) TMK)

The obligation terminates when:

The recipient remarries

The recipient's poverty ends — they become financially self-sufficient

The recipient lives permanently with a new partner as if married, without formal remarriage (fiilen birlikte yaşama) — the paying spouse must bring a modification claim to terminate

Either party dies

The paying spouse can bring a modification claim (nafaka uyarlama davası) at any time if circumstances materially change — for example, if the claimant obtains stable employment, or if the payer's income significantly decreases.

İştirak Nafakası: Child Support After a Turkish Divorce

Art. 182 TMK requires the court to determine child support as part of the divorce judgment — setting the obligation on the parent who does not have custody to pay iştirak nafakası to help cover the child's needs.

Calculation: No Table System

Unlike Germany (Düsseldorfer Tabelle) or the UK (Child Maintenance Service formula), Turkey has no standardised child maintenance table. The court assesses each case individually, applying the following criteria:

Criterion	What Courts Consider
Child's needs	School fees, health costs, clothing, food, housing
Paying parent's income	Salary slips, tax returns, other income sources
Paying parent's assets	Property, savings, business interests
Custodial parent's income	Reduces the assessed need accordingly
Life standard during marriage	Upper reference point for the child's needs

In practice, Turkish courts have informally gravitated toward a range of roughly 20–40% of the paying parent's net monthly income for one child, but this is judicial tendency rather than statutory rule.

Duration

Child support is paid until the child reaches 18 years of age (majority under Turkish law). If the child continues in full-time education and is not economically independent, the court can extend the obligation beyond age 18 on application.

Modification

Either parent can bring a nafaka uyarlama davası (modification claim) before the Aile Mahkemesi (family court) if circumstances have materially changed: the payer's income has dropped significantly, the child's needs have increased, or the general cost of living in Turkey has risen substantially. Given Turkey's inflation environment in recent years, modification claims have become particularly common.

Yardım Nafakası: Family and Relative Maintenance

Articles 364–365 TMK impose mutual maintenance obligations between relatives in the direct line of descent — parents and children, grandparents and grandchildren — when one party cannot meet their own basic living costs.

Conditions:

The claimant must be genuinely unable to support themselves

The respondent must have the financial means to contribute

Other available resources (own income, state benefits) must be exhausted first (subsidiarity)

For members of the Turkish diaspora in Germany: a parent in Turkey can bring a yardım nafakası claim before a Turkish court against an adult child living in Germany. The legal obligation exists; its enforcement cross-border follows the same recognition framework as other Turkish maintenance orders.

Enforcement in Turkey: What Happens When Maintenance Is Not Paid?

Turkish law takes maintenance non-payment seriously.

Coercive Detention (Tazyik Hapsi) — Art. 344 İİK

When a maintenance debtor intentionally fails to pay a final maintenance order, the creditor can apply to the enforcement office for the debtor's detention for up to three months. This is not a criminal sentence — it is a civil enforcement tool (tazyik hapsi: coercive imprisonment). The detained person is released the moment they pay the outstanding arrears.

This sanction is a powerful lever in practice, particularly for maintenance creditors pursuing debtors who have assets or employment in Turkey.

Wage and Account Garnishment

Turkish enforcement offices (İcra Müdürlüğü) can attach:

Up to one quarter of the debtor's monthly wages (maaş hacziyatı)

Bank accounts (banka hesabı hacziyatı)

Other assets (real property, vehicles, receivables)

Maintenance creditors can pursue multiple enforcement routes simultaneously.

Cross-Border Enforcement: Turkish Orders in Germany

Because Turkey is not an EU member state, the EU Maintenance Regulation (No. 4/2009) does not apply in the Turkey–Germany relationship. Instead, two international conventions govern:

1. The 1973 Hague Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Decisions Relating to Maintenance Obligations

Both Turkey and Germany are contracting states. This convention facilitates mutual recognition of maintenance decisions.

2. The 1956 UN Maintenance Convention (New York Convention)

Also ratified by both countries. Establishes an administrative and judicial cooperation framework for cross-border maintenance recovery.

The Recognition Process in Germany

1.The maintenance creditor applies to the competent German family court (Familiengericht) at the debtor's location or assets

2.Required documents: certified German translation of the Turkish judgment + certificate of finality (kesinleşme şerhi) + proof of service

3.The German court checks: Turkish court's international jurisdiction, no violation of German public policy (ordre public), no conflicting German title

4.Once recognition is granted: enforcement proceeds under German civil procedure — wage garnishment, bank attachment

Cross-Border Enforcement: German Orders in Turkey

A final German maintenance order (court judgment, enforceable notarial deed) can be made executable in Turkey through a tanıma ve tenfiz (recognition and enforcement) application to the competent Turkish Asliye Hukuk Mahkemesi.

Required documents:

Certified Turkish translation of the German judgment with apostille

Certificate of finality (Rechtskraftzeugnis)

Proof that the German proceedings were properly served

The Turkish court examines: reciprocity between the two countries' systems, compliance with Turkish public order (kamu düzeni), and the absence of a conflicting Turkish judgment. Once granted, enforcement proceeds through İcra Müdürlüğü offices.

Which Law Applies? The Conflict-of-Laws Problem

This is the most technically complex aspect of Turkish-German maintenance disputes — and one that significantly affects outcomes.

The German Side

German courts apply the Hague Protocol of 2007 to determine the applicable law for maintenance obligations. The Protocol points to the law of the maintenance creditor's habitual residence. Turkey is not a party to the Hague Protocol — but German courts still apply it, effectively pointing to Turkish law if the creditor lives in Turkey, or German law if they live in Germany.

The Turkish Side

Turkish private international law (MÖHUK, Art. 16) applies the same general rule: the law of the maintenance creditor's habitual residence governs. If the creditor lives in Germany, German law applies (from the Turkish perspective); if in Turkey, Turkish law applies.

The Practical Consequence

Scenario	Applicable Law
Creditor in Germany, proceedings in Germany	German maintenance law
Creditor in Turkey, proceedings in Turkey	Turkish maintenance law
Creditor in Germany, proceedings in Turkey	Turkish court applies German law (MÖHUK m. 16) — but may apply Turkish law if it characterises the situation differently
Cross-recognition proceedings	Each country applies its own conflict rules

Because Turkish and German spousal maintenance law differ substantially — particularly on the poverty and fault requirements — the forum chosen for the main proceedings can determine the entire outcome. Where to file is a strategic decision that should be made with a lawyer who knows both systems.

Comparison: Turkish vs. German Maintenance Law

Feature	Turkish Law	German Law
Spousal maintenance: key condition	Poverty caused by divorce + no greater fault	Need + reasonableness (§ 1578b BGB)
Fault relevance	Yes — decisive for yoksulluk nafakası	No — irrelevant in principle
Child support: calculation method	Judicial discretion (no table)	Düsseldorfer Tabelle
Enforcement sanction	Up to 3 months coercive detention (İİK Art. 344)	No direct imprisonment; enforcement order + fine
Relative/family maintenance	Mutual (Art. 364–365 TMK)	§§ 1601 ff. BGB — similar structure
Cross-border basis with Germany	1973 Hague Convention + 1956 UN Convention	Same, plus EuUnterhVO (EU-to-EU only)

Step-by-Step: Managing a Maintenance Claim Across Turkey and Germany

Step 1 — Determine the forum

Where does the maintenance creditor live? Is the divorce already pending somewhere? The answers determine jurisdiction and applicable law.

Step 2 — File for interim maintenance (tedbir nafakası) immediately

If Turkish proceedings are underway, the court sets this automatically — but your lawyer should ensure the amount reflects your actual German-based living costs.

Step 3 — Gather financial evidence

For both parties: salary slips, tax assessments, bank statements, property registers. German documents must be certified and translated for Turkish proceedings.

Step 4 — Grant a power of attorney

Turkish consulate in Germany or apostilled German notary. The power of attorney should expressly cover: maintenance claims, modification claims, and recognition/enforcement proceedings.

Step 5 — Obtain the final maintenance order

In Turkey: Aile Mahkemesi. The judgment includes both spousal and child maintenance if applicable.

Step 6 — Enforce in the other country if needed

Turkish order in Germany: exequatur at German Familiengericht. German order in Turkey: tanıma ve tenfiz at Asliye Hukuk Mahkemesi. Your lawyer manages the process.

Doğru Kanzlei: Turkish-German Maintenance Matters

Doğru Kanzlei — Ankara Bar (Reg. No. 47068) and Karlsruhe Bar (§ 207 BRAO) — advises clients throughout Europe on Turkish family law, including maintenance proceedings. We handle the full lifecycle: initial assessment of which law applies and where to file, Turkish court representation via power of attorney, and cross-border recognition and enforcement of maintenance orders in both directions.

Book a consultation with Doğru Kanzlei →

This article is also available in German:

Unterhalt nach türkischem Recht: Nafaka, Kindesunterhalt und grenzüberschreitende Durchsetzung →

This article is also available in Turkish:

Türk Hukukunda Nafaka: Yoksulluk, İştirak Nafakası ve Almanya'da İcra →

Maintenance and Alimony Under Turkish Law: A Complete Guide