Legal Services for Individuals in Turkey

This page is for people living in Türkiye, Turkish citizens and foreign residents, who need a lawyer for a personal matter: a divorce, an estate, a dismissal, a traffic accident, a defective purchase or a criminal investigation. Karanfiloglu Law Firm, the office of Av. Kaan Karanfiloğlu in Şişli, Istanbul, advises and represents individuals before courts and authorities across Türkiye, and remotely by power of attorney where the procedure allows.

Below you will find the situations that most often bring individuals to us, how the work is organised, and what to know about legal aid and mediation before going to court.

Common situations

• Divorce: one spouse wants to end the marriage, by agreement or through a contested case, and custody, maintenance (nafaka) and the division of property acquired during the marriage have to be settled. Our divorce lawyer page explains both routes.
• Inheritance: a parent has died leaving a flat, bank accounts or debts, and the heirs need a certificate of inheritance, want to divide the estate or are weighing whether to renounce it within the statutory period. See inheritance matters.
• Employment: an employee has been dismissed, or wages, overtime or severance pay remain unpaid. These claims usually go to mediation before any lawsuit; see employment law.
• Traffic accidents: someone has been injured, or has lost a relative, and wants compensation from the insurer and the party at fault. An application to the insurer usually comes first. Read more on car accident compensation.
• Consumer problems: a car, a phone or a newly built flat turns out to be defective, or a seller refuses to honour a contract. Depending on the amount, the dispute goes to a consumer arbitration committee or to the consumer court (consumer law).
• Criminal matters: you have been called to give a statement to the police or the prosecutor, as a suspect or as a complainant, and want a lawyer beside you from the first interview. See criminal defence.
• Housing and property: a landlord and a tenant disagree about rent or eviction, or the co-owners of a flat cannot agree on what to do with it (real estate law).

How we work with individuals

Everything starts with a first meeting, at the office in Şişli or by video call, and a review of the documents you already hold: a court notification, a dismissal letter, a title deed, an accident report. Often it is these papers, more than the story, that show what is possible. You can arrange the meeting through the contact page.

After the review, you receive a written explanation of your options, the likely steps, a realistic timeline and the costs involved, such as court fees, fees of the court-appointed assessor (bilirkişi) and notary costs. Our fee is agreed in writing before any work begins. Nothing is filed without your approval.

Most court work in Türkiye runs on a power of attorney signed at a notary. With it, you do not have to attend every hearing, and a file in another city, or a matter you follow from abroad, can largely be handled remotely. Some steps still need you in person, for example a statement to the prosecutor or a hearing at which the judge wants to hear the parties.

Av. Kaan Karanfiloğlu works in Turkish, English and French. Clients who speak Russian or Chinese are served through native-speaking advisors at the office.

You receive a written update after each significant step: a hearing, a bilirkişi report, an interim decision, a judgment. Turkish courts set their own calendar. When a delay comes from the court's schedule rather than from us, we say so plainly.

Legal aid and mediation before court

Being unable to afford a case does not by itself close the courthouse door. Under the Code of Civil Procedure, a person who cannot pay court fees and costs without serious hardship can ask the court for legal aid (adli yardım), which defers those costs, and the Istanbul Bar's legal aid office can assign a lawyer to applicants who meet its conditions. In criminal proceedings, the bar appoints defence counsel in the situations the Code of Criminal Procedure provides.

Mediation often comes before court. As a rule, most employment claims, consumer disputes above the arbitration committee limit, many landlord and tenant disputes and disputes over the partition of a co-owned property must first be taken to a mediator, and a lawsuit filed without that step is dismissed on procedural grounds. Where mediation is optional, it can still settle a dispute in weeks rather than the months or years a trial may take. Av. Kaan Karanfiloğlu is also a registered mediator (no. 41909). He never acts as mediator and as one side's lawyer in the same dispute. More on our mediation services.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need a lawyer to go to court in Türkiye?

No, Turkish law lets you file and follow a case yourself. In practice, deadlines, evidence lists, court fees and objections to bilirkişi reports are where unrepresented parties tend to lose ground, so many people at least take advice before filing.

Can you represent me if I live in another city or abroad?

Yes, in most matters. A power of attorney lets us file and attend hearings across Türkiye. One signed abroad is made at a Turkish consulate, or before a local notary with an apostille and a sworn translation. Steps that require your personal attendance are explained at the outset.

How long does a court case take in Türkiye?

It depends on the type of case and the court's workload. An uncontested divorce can end at a single hearing, while a contested case with bilirkişi reports often takes a year or more at first instance, and an appeal to the regional court and then the Court of Cassation adds further time. After the review, you receive an estimate for your own file.

Who pays the costs if I win or lose?

As a rule, the losing party is ordered to pay the court costs and a statutory counsel fee set by the minimum fee tariff. This is separate from the fee you agree with your own lawyer. If you win only in part, the costs are usually shared in proportion.

Is what I tell the lawyer confidential?

Yes. A lawyer in Türkiye is bound by professional secrecy under the Attorneys' Act, and that duty applies from the first meeting, whether or not you go on to instruct us.