Divorce Compensation Lawyer in Antalya: Material and Non-Pecuniary Claims

Compensation in a Turkish divorce is not automatically awarded simply because one spouse has suffered emotionally or financially during the marriage.

Article 174 of the Turkish Civil Code establishes specific conditions for material and non-pecuniary compensation arising from divorce. The court must examine the events leading to the breakdown of the marriage, the parties' fault, the interests affected by the divorce and, for non-pecuniary compensation, whether the conduct relied upon constitutes an infringement of personality rights.

When I review a divorce compensation claim, I therefore separate the compensation issues from alimony, child support and matrimonial property. Each of these claims has a different legal basis and should not be treated as one general financial demand.

Attorney Cennet Kesici Çetinbaş
Antalya Bar Association
Last updated: 30 August 2026
Legal review: Attorney Cennet Kesici Çetinbaş

Quick Answer: Can You Claim Compensation in a Turkish Divorce?

Yes, but compensation is not automatic.

Under Article 174 of the Turkish Civil Code:

• a spouse who is faultless or less at fault may seek appropriate material compensation from the spouse at fault where existing or expected interests are impaired because of the divorce, and
• a spouse whose personality rights have been infringed by the events leading to divorce may seek appropriate non-pecuniary compensation from the spouse at fault.

The existence and amount of compensation depend on the proven facts of the individual divorce case.

What Does Article 174 of the Turkish Civil Code Regulate?

Article 174 contains two legally distinct compensation claims arising from divorce.

Article 174/1 – Material Compensation

The first paragraph concerns the financial consequences of the divorce for a spouse whose existing or expected interests have been impaired.

Article 174/2 – Non-Pecuniary Compensation

The second paragraph concerns infringement of personality rights caused by the events that led to divorce.

The factual basis for the two claims can overlap, but the statutory conditions are not identical.

What Is Material Compensation in a Turkish Divorce?

Material compensation under Article 174/1 is not a general reimbursement mechanism for every expense or financial disadvantage experienced during the marriage.

The statute focuses on existing or expected interests impaired because of the divorce.

The spouse requesting compensation must also be faultless or less at fault than the other spouse.

What Interests Can Be Relevant?

The assessment depends on the circumstances of the marriage and the consequences of divorce.

The court may consider whether the requesting spouse loses financial or economic benefits that could reasonably have been expected if the marital relationship had continued.

The purpose is not to calculate every hypothetical future benefit mathematically. The court determines an appropriate amount according to the statutory conditions and equity.

Does Material Compensation Mean Half of the Other Spouse's Assets?

No.

Material compensation under Article 174 and claims arising from the matrimonial property regime are completely different legal mechanisms.

Claims concerning acquired property, participation claims and asset valuation should be examined separately under the matrimonial property rules.

For that subject, see Property Division and Participation Claims in Divorce in Antalya .

What Is Non-Pecuniary Compensation in a Turkish Divorce?

The Turkish expression manevî tazminat is most accurately described in this context as non-pecuniary compensation.

Article 174/2 allows compensation where the events causing the divorce also constitute an infringement of the requesting spouse's personality rights and the other spouse is at fault.

The assessment therefore requires more than showing that the marriage was unhappy or that one spouse experienced ordinary emotional distress following separation.

What Conduct May Be Relevant?

Depending on the facts and evidence, conduct considered in the divorce case may include allegations involving:

• physical violence,
• serious insults or humiliation,
• conduct attacking personal dignity,
• sexual violence or coercive conduct,
• serious breaches of marital fidelity,
• threats,
• other conduct affecting physical or psychological integrity, and
• other proven behaviour capable of constituting an infringement of personality rights.

Whether particular conduct reaches the required legal threshold depends on the circumstances. The label attached to an allegation is not sufficient by itself.

Does Adultery Automatically Produce Non-Pecuniary Compensation?

Not every case should be analysed through an automatic formula.

Adultery can be highly relevant to fault and may, depending on the proven circumstances, support a non-pecuniary compensation claim. The court must still evaluate the actual conduct, the effect on personality rights, the parties' fault and the evidence.

How Does Fault Affect Divorce Compensation?

Fault is one of the central issues in an Article 174 compensation claim.

For material compensation, the statute expressly requires the requesting spouse to be faultless or less at fault than the spouse from whom compensation is requested.

In practice, comparative fault is also highly significant when courts assess non-pecuniary compensation.

This is one reason compensation claims are closely connected with the evidentiary and fault analysis in a contested divorce .

Can an Equally Faulty Spouse Receive Material Compensation?

Under Article 174/1, a spouse seeking material compensation must be faultless or less at fault than the other spouse.

An equal-fault finding therefore creates a fundamental problem for a material compensation claim under this provision.

Does Every Faulty Act Create a Right to Compensation?

No.

The fact that one spouse is found at fault in the divorce does not automatically establish every condition for material or non-pecuniary compensation.

For material compensation, impairment of existing or expected interests must also exist.

For non-pecuniary compensation, the conduct must also amount to an infringement of personality rights.

What Evidence Is Important in a Divorce Compensation Claim?

The evidence should correspond to the specific facts relied upon for fault and compensation.

Depending on the file, relevant evidence may include:

• witness statements,
• lawfully obtained messages and correspondence,
• photographs,
• medical documentation,
• police and prosecution records,
• protection or restraining orders,
• official documents,
• financial records where relevant to the claim,
• social and economic investigation records, and
• other legally obtained evidence directly related to the alleged events.

Are WhatsApp Messages Relevant?

They may be.

However, a screenshot should not be evaluated only according to what appears on the screen.

The source of the communication, authenticity, completeness, context and method by which it was obtained can all be important.

Unlawfully obtaining private communications may create significant evidentiary and privacy issues.

Are Witnesses Enough?

Witness evidence can be important, but its strength depends on what the witness personally observed.

A witness who directly perceived the relevant events may have different evidentiary value from a witness who merely repeats what one spouse later told them.

How Is the Amount of Divorce Compensation Determined?

There is no statutory tariff or mathematical table that fixes compensation according to the type of marital misconduct.

The court determines an appropriate amount after considering the circumstances of the particular case.

Relevant considerations can include:

• the parties' social and economic circumstances,
• their comparative fault,
• the seriousness of the conduct relied upon,
• the nature of the personality-right infringement,
• the consequences of the divorce,
• the financial interests affected, and
• principles of proportionality and equity.

Does the Other Spouse's Income Matter?

The parties' economic and social circumstances can be relevant when the court determines an appropriate amount.

However, the wealth of one spouse does not by itself create a right to compensation.

The statutory conditions under Article 174 must first be satisfied.

Compensation, Property Division and Alimony Are Different Claims

These concepts are frequently confused, particularly in international divorce files.

They should be separated clearly.

Compensation

Material and non-pecuniary compensation arise from Article 174 and depend on the statutory conditions concerning fault, interests and personality rights.

Spousal Maintenance

Spousal maintenance is governed by Article 175 and focuses on whether a spouse will fall into poverty because of the divorce and whether the requesting spouse is more at fault.

Property Division

Matrimonial-property claims concern liquidation of the applicable matrimonial property regime and are calculated under a separate legal framework.

When Can Divorce Compensation Be Claimed?

Material and non-pecuniary compensation can be requested within the divorce proceedings.

They may also, subject to the applicable procedural and limitation rules, be pursued after the divorce judgment has become final.

The procedural position should be considered carefully before deciding to postpone a compensation claim.

Does the Court Award Compensation Automatically?

No.

Compensation is a claim that must be requested and legally supported.

The court does not simply add compensation to every divorce judgment on its own initiative.

What Is the Time Limit for a Compensation Claim After Divorce?

Article 178 of the Turkish Civil Code contains a particularly important limitation rule.

Claims arising from the termination of marriage by divorce become time-barred one year after the divorce judgment becomes final.

This rule is important where material or non-pecuniary compensation was not resolved within the original divorce proceedings.

How Is Divorce Compensation Paid?

Article 176 distinguishes between material and non-pecuniary compensation.

Material compensation may be ordered as:

• a lump-sum payment, or
• depending on the circumstances, periodic payments.

Non-pecuniary compensation cannot be ordered as periodic payments. It must therefore be distinguished from ongoing maintenance.

What Happens to Compensation in a Mutual Consent Divorce?

In a mutual consent divorce , the spouses must reach agreement concerning the financial consequences of the divorce within the scope required by Article 166/3.

Compensation may therefore be expressly agreed, rejected or waived as part of the negotiated divorce arrangement.

The wording matters.

A clause stating that a spouse has no compensation claim may have materially different consequences from a protocol that simply remains silent on a separate financial issue.

For this reason, I review compensation clauses together with alimony and property-related provisions before a divorce protocol is signed.

Compensation Claims Involving Foreign Spouses in Antalya

Foreign nationality can introduce an additional choice-of-law issue.

Under Article 14 of Law No. 5718 on International Private and Procedural Law, the causes and consequences of divorce are generally governed first by the spouses' common national law.

Where the spouses have different nationalities, their common habitual-residence law applies; if there is no common habitual-residence law, Turkish law applies.

Therefore, the fact that divorce proceedings take place in Antalya does not necessarily mean that Article 174 governs every international divorce without further analysis.

What if the Divorce Was Already Granted Abroad?

Where a foreign divorce judgment already contains compensation or another financial award, the issue may no longer be a new Article 174 claim in Turkey.

Instead, the legal effect or enforcement of the foreign judgment may need to be considered.

For that subject, see Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Divorce Judgments in Antalya .

Divorce Compensation Lawyer in Antalya: How I Review a Claim

When I review a compensation file, I first identify exactly which events are alleged to have caused the breakdown of the marriage and which of those events can be proved.

I then separate the requirements for material compensation from those for non-pecuniary compensation.

I generally examine:

• the legal ground for divorce,
• the chronology of the marital dispute,
• the conduct attributed to each spouse,
• the likely comparative-fault assessment,
• whether the conduct is supported by lawful evidence,
• the existing or expected interests allegedly impaired by divorce,
• whether personality rights were infringed,
• the seriousness and duration of the relevant conduct,
• the parties' social and economic circumstances,
• whether compensation was already requested in the divorce case,
• whether the divorce judgment has become final,
• the Article 178 limitation period,
• any settlement or waiver in a divorce protocol,
• separate claims for alimony or matrimonial property, and
• foreign nationality or foreign judgments where relevant.

The objective is not to attach a monetary figure to every allegation. The objective is to determine whether the proven facts satisfy the statutory conditions for compensation and what request can reasonably be supported by the file.

What Documents Are Useful for an Initial Review?

Depending on the circumstances, useful documents may include:

• the divorce petition and response,
• counterclaim documents,
• previous court decisions,
• lawfully obtained correspondence,
• police or prosecution documents,
• medical records where relevant,
• protection orders,
• documents relevant to financial circumstances,
• witness information,
• any divorce protocol or settlement document, and
• the final divorce judgment if divorce proceedings have already ended.

For broader explanations concerning Turkish legal procedures, you can also review the Legal Guide for Turkey .

Attorney Cennet Kesici Çetinbaş
Antalya Bar Association
Muratpaşa, Antalya, Turkey

Frequently Asked Questions

Official Legal Sources

• Turkish Civil Code – Law No. 4721 – Articles 174–178 regulate material and non-pecuniary compensation, spousal maintenance, payment methods and limitation following divorce.
• Law No. 5718 on International Private and Procedural Law – Article 14 regulates the law applicable to the grounds and consequences of divorce in cases involving foreign nationals.
• Law on Family Courts – Law No. 4787 – Regulates the establishment and jurisdiction of Turkish Family Courts.