Lifetime care agreement

Under a lifetime care agreement, the caregiver undertakes to look after the other party until death, in return for the transfer of an estate or specific assets. The transfer of property by elderly persons in exchange for secured care is its typical form in Türkiye.

The agreement must be executed in the form of an inheritance contract, before a notary and witnesses; peace judges and land registry officers may also draw it up. The care duty covers housing, food, clothing, medical treatment in illness and attentive personal care. Substantial breach entitles the recipient to rescind, and statutory objection rights of maintenance creditors and other creditors are reserved.

Its significance in succession law stems from heirs' challenges: transfers lacking a genuine care purpose and aimed at removing assets from the estate may be annulled as collusive transfers by the decedent. Documenting that care was actually provided is the key to the contract's survival.