Maintenance, Custody and Child Contact in Turkey | İzmir

What we do in this area

The divorce judgment ends the bond between the spouses; the legal relationship built around the children and maintenance continues for years. Under this heading the office handles both the maintenance and custody claims within the divorce action and the actions brought after the divorce for increase, reduction, modification of custody and re-regulation of contact. The divorce action itself is covered on the uncontested and contested divorce page.

Main work carried out:

Claims for interim, child and post-divorce maintenance in the divorce action
Actions for the increase, reduction or termination of maintenance
Actions for the determination and modification of custody
Regulation of contact with the child and enforcement of the order
Support maintenance actions between an adult child and ascendants and descendants

Types of maintenance

Maintenance	For whom	Basis	Duration
Interim maintenance	Spouse and children, during the proceedings	Art. 169 of the Turkish Civil Code (TMK)	Until the judgment becomes final
Child maintenance	Contribution of the non-custodial parent to the child	Arts. 182, 328 TMK	Until majority; subsequent educational support is assessed separately under Article 328/2
Post-divorce maintenance	Spouse who will fall into poverty because of the divorce	Art. 175 TMK	New legislation on duration awaited (below); ends in the cases in Art. 176
Support maintenance	Descendants, ascendants and siblings who will fall into poverty	Art. 364 TMK	As long as the statutory conditions continue; siblings must be in affluent circumstances

Interim maintenance is assessed by the judge of their own motion once the divorce action is filed (Art. 169). A spouse who lives apart for a just cause without filing a divorce action may separately request, under Art. 197, that the financial contribution to be made by the other spouse be determined.

Child maintenance ends at majority. If education continues, the adult child may claim continued support under Article 328/2 TMK to the extent reasonably expected of the parents; the existing child-maintenance award does not automatically continue. Child maintenance is determined having regard to the needs of the child and the living conditions and financial capacity of the mother and father (Art. 330). On request, the judge may also rule on the criterion by which maintenance will increase in future years; without such a provision a separate action is needed for each increase. Post-divorce maintenance is awarded to the spouse who is not more at fault and who will fall into poverty because of the divorce, in proportion to the other spouse's financial capacity. The words "indefinitely" in the article were annulled by the Constitutional Court's decision of June 2026; the annulment takes effect nine months after publication in the Official Gazette, the current text applies until that date, and new legislation on the duration of maintenance is expected within that interval. Maintenance ends automatically on the recipient's remarriage or the death of either party, and by court order if the recipient lives with someone as if married without marrying, ceases to be in poverty or leads a dishonourable life (Art. 176). Post-divorce maintenance not claimed in the divorce action may be claimed by a separate action within one year of the judgment becoming final (Art. 178).

When the parties' financial circumstances change, an action for increase or reduction may be brought for both types of maintenance (Arts. 176, 331). The test in these actions is the change in the parties' income and the child's needs since the date of the previous judgment.

How custody is determined

The decisive test in custody is not the parents' wishes but the best interests of the child. The court weighs the child's age, established routine, schooling and health, each parent's capacity to provide care and the principle of keeping siblings together. The social inquiry report prepared by the psychologists, pedagogues and social workers attached to the family court is the main basis of this assessment; the view of a child old enough to understand is taken. Fault in the divorce is not decisive for custody on its own; the test is the parent's capacity to care for the child.

In the settled practice of the Court of Cassation (Yargıtay), joint custody may be ordered where the parties agree and it serves the child's interests. Modification of custody may be requested when new facts arise, such as the remarriage, relocation or death of the mother or father (Art. 183); a modification requires a concrete deterioration in the child's current situation.

Contact and enforcement of the order

The mother or father not granted custody has the right to appropriate contact (visitation) with the child (Art. 323); in exceptional circumstances contact may also be regulated for relatives such as grandparents (Art. 325). The order sets out weekends, mid-term and summer holidays and religious festivals in terms of days and hours. A vaguely worded contact order cannot be enforced; setting out the arrangement concretely is the most important technical step in these files. Handover of the child and enforcement of contact orders are carried out by the judicial support and victim services directorates under the procedure laid down in the Child Protection Law No. 5395; persistent obstruction of contact may be a ground for modifying custody.

Unpaid maintenance is collected through enforcement proceedings; on the creditor's complaint, a debtor who fails to comply with a maintenance order may be sentenced to coercive imprisonment of up to three months (Article 344 of the Enforcement and Bankruptcy Code No. 2004, İİK). For the enforcement side: enforcement and bankruptcy law. The office follows these files before the İzmir family courts and in other provinces where the venue rules so require.

For details of how we work: How we work.

FREQUENTLY ASKED

What people ask about this area

Until when is child maintenance paid?

As a rule it is paid until the child reaches majority; if the child's education continues after majority, the mother and father are obliged to provide for the child until the end of that education, to the extent that can be expected of them in the circumstances (Article 328 of the Turkish Civil Code, TMK). During this period the adult child claims the maintenance in their own name as support maintenance. Maintenance may be terminated by court action if the child's need ceases (Art. 331).

How is the amount of maintenance determined, and can it be increased later?

Child maintenance is determined according to the needs of the child and the living conditions and financial capacity of the mother and father (Article 330 of the Turkish Civil Code, TMK); for post-divorce maintenance the test is the recipient's poverty and the debtor's financial capacity (Art. 175). If the judgment sets an annual increase criterion, the maintenance is updated automatically; if not, an action for increase is brought by proving that the parties' circumstances have changed (Arts. 176, 331). The same route applies to a request for reduction by a debtor whose ability to pay has fallen.

Is custody always given to the mother?

No; the Code contains no presumption in favour of the mother or the father, and the test is the best interests of the child. In Court of Cassation (Yargıtay) practice, a young child's need for the mother's care is treated as a weighty factor; but the child's established routine, each parent's capacity to provide care and the social inquiry report are considered together. Fault in the divorce does not on its own determine custody unless it affects the capacity to care for the child.

My former spouse will not let me see the child. How is a contact order enforced?

A contact order is enforced under the procedure laid down in the Child Protection Law No. 5395, through the judicial support and victim services directorates; the request is made to that unit and the child is collected on the day and at the time stated in the order. Persistent obstruction of the order is a fact taken into account in an action for modification of custody. This is why the order must clearly specify the day, time and place of handover; a vague order cannot be enforced.

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