Official will

Testamentary dispositions are used in two different meanings in the Turkish Civil Code (TCC). Therefore, testamentary dispositions are divided into two groups: "formal" and "material" dispositions. In practice, an official will which is a formal disposition is nearly always made by a notary public. TCC provides strict formal rules in order to make an official will. The fundamental aim of the mentioned formal rules is to ensure that the last wishes of the testator to be right and clear. However, the last wishes of the testator may be declared invalid because of that these detailed formal rules are not performed completely. In our thesis, it's aimed to analyze especially the formal rules regarding official wills. In this regard, we researched established doctrine and decisions of Turkish Supreme Court (Yargitay) extensively. We approved teleological and in favor of validity of wills (favor testamenti) interpretation while interpreting provisions of TCC. In our thesis, it's analyzed the causes that make an official will void. Lastly, the conversion theory and the validity problem of common wills were studied. Keywords: Testamentary Dispositions, Official Will, Formal Rules of Official Will, Voidness of Official Will, Common Wills.