Contract Of Maintenance For Life
WHAT IS A MAINTENANCE CONTRACT UNTIL DEATH?
When the regulations and definitions in the Turkish Civil Code are taken into consideration, the contract of maintenance until death can be defined as a contract that obliges both parties, is formal, dependent on chance and coincidence, where the maintenance debtor undertakes to take care of the maintenance creditor during his/her lifetime, and the maintenance creditor undertakes to transfer his/her assets or some asset values through inter vivos or testamentary disposition.
The Turkish Code of Obligations regulates the contract of maintenance until death as follows;
ARTICLE 611- “A maintenance contract is a contract in which the maintenance debtor undertakes to take care of the maintenance creditor until death, and the maintenance creditor undertakes the obligation to transfer an asset or some asset values to him.
If the care debtor is appointed heir by the care creditor, the provisions regarding the inheritance contract shall apply to the contract of care until death.”
ARTICLE 612- “A contract of maintenance until death, even if it does not include the appointment of an heir, shall not be valid unless it is made in the form of an inheritance contract.
If the contract is concluded by a care institution recognized by the State in compliance with the conditions determined by the competent authorities, the written form is sufficient for its validity.”
ARTICLE 613- “A maintenance creditor who has transferred an immovable to a maintenance debtor shall have a legal mortgage right on this immovable like a seller in order to secure his rights.”
ARTICLE 614- “The maintenance creditor becomes a member of the family community of the maintenance debtor upon the conclusion of the contract. The maintenance debtor is obliged to fulfill to the maintenance creditor the acts required by equity according to the value of the goods received and the social status of the maintenance creditor before.
In particular, the care obligor is obliged to provide the care recipient with adequate food and housing, and to care for and treat the care recipient with due diligence in the event of illness.
The scope and performance of the care obligation of institutions established for the purpose of caring for the persons they accept until death shall be determined by general regulations prepared by them and approved by the competent authorities. These regulations shall be considered as part of the content of the contract.”
WHAT ARE THE CHARACTERISTICS OF A MAINTENANCE CONTRACT UNTIL DEATH?
If we need to look at the characteristics of the maintenance contract until death;
The care of the maintenance creditor by the maintenance debtor until his/her death is the most prominent element of this contract and it is a permanent obligation.
The care creditor undertakes an obligation to transfer an asset or some asset values to the care debtor in return for being cared for until death.
The care of the maintenance creditor until death must be continuous.
The contract of care for the deceased is a contract that imposes obligations on both parties, is a contract with consideration, consensual, independent, and dependent on chance and coincidence.
What should be the form of the contract of maintenance until death?
A maintenance contract will not be valid unless it is made in the form of an inheritance contract. In order for the inheritance agreement to be valid, it must be drawn up in the form of an official will. The parties to the contract notify the official authority of their wishes at the same time and sign the contract in front of the official and two witnesses. (Article 545 of the Civil Code)
