Liquidation of the estate in the regime of participation in acquired property in case of death and demands of the surviving spouse

While the matrimonial regime was the separation of matrimonial property regime during the former Civil Code, Turkish Civil Code (TCC), Law No.4721, accepted the regime of participation in acquired property unless otherwise agreed by the spouses, in accordance with Article 202 of the Code. In the regime of the separation of matrimonial property, the spouses have their own properties acquired and are responsible for their own debts. In the participation in acquired property regime, the property acquired during the marriage is accepted as the common property in principle and the income of the spouses is not considered while calculating the amount of the claim of participation. It is stated in the preamble of the Article 202 of the Law that the separation of matrimonial property regime leads to great injustices among the spouses, especially in the favor of the husband working, and to the detriment of woman doing housework and even helping the husband to perform his profession, that's why the latter law approves the regime of participation in acquired property. According to former Civil Law, there is an obligation of earning living of male, which was removed by TCC; if the property acquired in the marriage where both parties work, the woman will have the right to get a lower rate in the TCC period comparing to the former law. Though it is intended that the women will be protected, those who are working has become more disadvantaged from several aspects. In this paper, the content of participation in acquired property regime accepted as matrimonial regime for the first time by Turkish Civil Code, social and economic impacts on women and the woman's rights to claim when the said regime is terminated will be examined taking the approach of the doctrine and the Supreme Court decisions into consideration.