When people start looking for divorce legal assistance in Alanya, two different needs usually drive the search: either the marriage has effectively ended and they want to know how the process works, or proceedings have already begun and they need a concrete roadmap on issues such as alimony, custody or division of property. In this guide we bring together the divorce provisions of the Turkish Civil Code (TMK), the differences between uncontested and contested proceedings, and the latest divorce data for Antalya province published by the Turkish Statistical Institute (TÜİK).
Divorce cases conducted in Alanya, a district of Antalya, are subject to the same legal framework in terms of both procedure and substance; province-wide statistics therefore also provide meaningful local context for divorce litigation practice in Alanya.
Divorce in Antalya: An Overview Based on TÜİK Data
According to TÜİK’s judicial statistics, a total of 73,398 divorce cases were concluded in Antalya in the period 2016-2025. Of these, 97.65% (71,671 cases) were based on the general ground for divorce set out in Article 166 of the Turkish Civil Code, “irretrievable breakdown of the marriage”, known colloquially as severe incompatibility. The share of cases based on special grounds such as adultery, desertion, attempt on life and the like remains below even 0.2% of the total (adultery 0.11% – 80 cases, desertion 0.05% – 40 cases, attempt on life and severe ill-treatment 0.02% – 15 cases, commission of a crime/dishonourable life 0.01% – 9 cases, mental illness 0.01% – 4 cases).
Looking at the annual trend, the number of divorces in Antalya rose steadily from 5,687 in 2016 to 9,013 in 2024, and largely maintained this high level in 2025 with 8,831; this represents an increase of approximately 58.5% from 2016 to the 2024 peak. A separate TÜİK data set focusing on 2019-2025 recorded a total of 55,304 divorces, with a 23% increase from 7,167 in 2019 to the 2024 peak of 9,013; after the pandemic-related fall in 2020 (6,388), the upward trend regained momentum.
Divorce Trends by Age Group
The age distribution for 2019-2025 shows that divorce is not confined to a particular stage of life. Among women, the highest divorce rate is in the 35-39 age group at 19.2% (10,624 cases); among men it is also in the 35-39 age group at 19.3% (10,681 cases). Adding the 30-34 and 40-44 age groups, the 30-39 age range accounts for 37.9% of all cases among women, and the 35-44 age range for 38.0% among men. The most common couple combination is marriages where the wife is 30-34 and the husband 35-39, with 3,937 divorces in this profile. This picture shows that getting through the initial adjustment period of marriage does not prevent crises, and that the need for legal support continues into the later years of marriage.
Grounds for Divorce Under the Turkish Civil Code
General Ground for Divorce: Irretrievable Breakdown of the Marriage
Under the first paragraph of Article 166 of the Turkish Civil Code, if the marriage has broken down so fundamentally that the spouses cannot be expected to continue their life together, either spouse may file for divorce. In these cases it must be shown with concrete facts that the marriage has become intolerable and that the other party is at fault; the established case law of the 2nd Civil Chamber of the Court of Cassation (Yargıtay) (e.g. E. 2024/1205, K. 2024/8603) emphasises that this finding is made on the basis of the evidence submitted to the file and the events as a whole. If the plaintiff’s fault is greater than the defendant’s, the defendant has the right to object to the divorce; however, if this objection amounts to an abuse of rights and there is no longer any interest worth protecting in the continuation of the marriage, divorce may still be granted.
Special Grounds for Divorce
The Code sets out a limited number of special grounds for divorce in TMK Arts. 161-165: adultery (Art. 161), attempt on life, severe ill-treatment or degrading behaviour (Art. 162), commission of a degrading crime or leading a dishonourable life (Art. 163), desertion without just cause (Art. 164) and incurable mental illness (Art. 165). For adultery and attempt on life/severe ill-treatment, the right to sue lapses six months after learning of the act and in any event five years after the act; a spouse who has forgiven the other also has no right to sue. An action based on desertion requires at least six months of actual separation and a formal warning duly served through a judge or notary. The weight of these time limits and formal requirements is the main reason why the vast majority of plaintiffs rely on the general ground (TMK Art. 166/1).
Uncontested or Contested Divorce?
A large share of divorce cases in Alanya proceed as either uncontested or contested, depending on whether the parties agree on the decision to divorce.
Conditions for an Uncontested Divorce (TMK Art. 166/3)
If the marriage has lasted at least one year, and the spouses apply jointly or one spouse accepts the other’s petition, the marriage is deemed to have irretrievably broken down. However, for a divorce to be granted, the judge must hear the parties in person and be satisfied that they have expressed their will freely, and must find the arrangement on the financial consequences of the divorce and the situation of the children appropriate. If the protocol does not regulate alimony, compensation, custody and the matrimonial property regime clearly and in an enforceable manner, it may give rise to new disputes years after the divorce; it is therefore recommended that every clause of an uncontested divorce protocol be prepared with care.
Fault and Proof in a Contested Divorce
If the parties cannot agree on the divorce itself or on its financial consequences, the case proceeds as a contested divorce. In this process it is decisive for the plaintiff to substantiate the allegations with lawfully obtained evidence such as witness statements, records of correspondence and photographs; Court of Cassation decisions consistently emphasise that data obtained through spyware or covert listening devices cannot form the basis of a judgment because it violates the right to privacy, whereas publicly available social media posts may be submitted as evidence.
Divorce on Grounds of Actual Separation (TMK Art. 166/4)
If, after an action filed on any ground for divorce has been dismissed and that dismissal has become final, the couple’s life together has not been re-established, either party may file a new divorce action on the basis of actual separation. Following the amendment made by Article 13 of Law No. 7532 of 14/11/2024, this waiting period has been reduced from the previous three years to one year; this change speeds up the process for couples who remain married on paper for years after a dismissal becomes final.
Types of Alimony in Divorce: Interim, Poverty and Child Support
To meet the needs of the parties and of any children during the proceedings, the judge may of his or her own motion order interim maintenance (tedbir nafakası) under TMK Art. 169; no inquiry into fault is made at this stage. Once the divorce has become final, under TMK Art. 175 a party who would fall into poverty as a result of the divorce, and whose fault is not greater than the other party’s, may claim indefinite poverty alimony (yoksulluk nafakası) in proportion to the other party’s financial means; fault on the part of the paying spouse is not required. Under TMK Art. 176, this alimony may be paid as a lump sum or as periodic (monthly) payments; periodic alimony ends automatically upon the recipient’s remarriage or death, and by court decision upon cohabitation outside marriage or the end of the recipient’s poverty, and it may also be increased or reduced according to changes in the parties’ financial circumstances.
If there are children of the marriage, the parent who is not granted custody is obliged under TMK Art. 327 to contribute to the child’s care and education expenses, in proportion to his or her means, through child support (iştirak nafakası); in determining the amount, the child’s age and needs and the economic situation of both parents are assessed together. Questions frequently encountered in practice, such as whether school fees are covered by child support, are also resolved within this general framework.
Claims for Pecuniary and Non-Pecuniary Compensation (TMK Art. 174)
A spouse who is not at fault, or less at fault than the other, and whose existing or expected interests are harmed by the divorce may claim appropriate pecuniary compensation from the party at fault. A party whose personality rights have been directly attacked by the events leading to the divorce (for example, in cases of physical violence, serious insults or conduct undermining trust) may claim non-pecuniary (moral) compensation. In determining the amount of compensation, the parties’ economic and social situation, their degrees of fault and the seriousness of the interest infringed are taken into account together; it is therefore important that the claims be supported with concrete facts in the statement of claim.
Custody and the Best Interests of the Child
The decisive criterion in custody arrangements is not the parents’ economic strength but the child’s physical, mental and moral development; in practice this principle is referred to as “the best interests of the child”. Through social inquiry reports and, where necessary, by hearing the child in person if the child is of an age of discernment, the court takes into account preserving the social and educational environment the child is used to, keeping siblings together as far as possible, and preventing the parents from fighting through the child. Custody is not independent of the financial consequences of divorce; indeed, established case law stresses that assessing fault, compensation, alimony and custody claims together is necessary for a sound decision.
Division of Property: The Effect of Divorce on the Matrimonial Property Regime
Under TMK Art. 225, when the court grants a divorce, the statutory matrimonial property regime between the spouses (the regime of participation in acquired property, unless otherwise agreed) ends with effect from the date of filing. The liquidation of the property regime may be the subject of a separate action independent of the divorce case; the merits of the liquidation are generally examined only after the divorce judgment has become final. Since how the regime of participation in acquired property works and how the participation claim in the surplus value is calculated is a separate and technical subject, it is recommended that in cases involving significant assets this matter be planned at the start of the divorce process.
Evidence and Procedure in a Divorce Case: What to Watch Out For
The most common losses of rights in divorce proceedings stem from procedural errors. Facts not stated in the statement of claim and the statement of defence, or ancillary claims not requested (such as alimony or compensation), cannot be raised at the evidence-taking stage; this can be done only by a lawful amendment of the claim (ıslah) or with the express consent of the other party. The lawfulness of evidence is another critical point: decisions of the Constitutional Court and the Court of Cassation consistently state that data obtained by methods such as installing spyware on a spouse’s phone or planting a covert listening device violate the right to privacy and cannot form the basis of a judgment.
How Does a Divorce Case in Alanya Proceed?
In a divorce case to be filed in Alanya, the competent court is, as a rule, the family court of the place of residence of either spouse or of the place where the spouses lived together for the last six months before the action. The process begins with the preparation of the statement of claim; in an uncontested divorce, a protocol regulating alimony, compensation, custody and division of property is also submitted, and the parties are heard in person by the judge at the hearing. In contested proceedings, the case goes through the stages of exchange of pleadings, gathering of evidence, hearing of witnesses and, where necessary, expert examination. Correctly following time limits and procedural rules at every stage of the process is important to prevent losses of rights that are difficult to remedy; it is therefore advisable to seek professional legal advice from a lawyer at the start of the process so that the strategy for the case is set up correctly.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long must the marriage have lasted for an uncontested divorce?
Under TMK Art. 166/3, to apply for an uncontested divorce the marriage must have lasted at least one year from the date of the civil marriage. In actions filed before this period has elapsed, the court will not treat the request as an uncontested divorce even if the parties have agreed; the case proceeds as a contested divorce under the general provisions.
Is poverty alimony indefinite?
TMK Art. 175 provides for poverty alimony “indefinitely”; however, this does not mean it will continue unchanged for life. Alimony may be terminated by court decision if the recipient remarries, dies, cohabits outside marriage or ceases to be in poverty; an increase or reduction may also be requested if the parties’ financial circumstances change.
How long must one wait for a divorce on grounds of actual separation?
With the amendment to Law No. 7532 that entered into force on 14/11/2024, the period to be waited from the date on which the dismissal of an action filed on any ground for divorce becomes final has been reduced from three years to one year. If the couple’s life together has not been re-established at the end of this period, either party may file a new action based on actual separation.
Which evidence is considered unlawful in a divorce case?
According to decisions of the Court of Cassation and the Constitutional Court, recordings obtained by installing spyware on a spouse’s phone, cracking their password, or planting covert listening or camera devices in the home or car are unlawful evidence because they violate the right to privacy, and cannot form the basis of a judgment. By contrast, submitting publicly available social media posts as evidence is not regarded in this way.
By which criterion is custody determined?
In custody arrangements, the child’s physical, mental and moral development — that is, the best interests of the child — takes precedence over the parents’ financial strength. In making this assessment, the court draws on social inquiry reports, the parties’ statements and the views of a child who has reached an age of discernment; the parent not granted custody is obliged to contribute to the child’s expenses through child support.
Who pays child support, and for how long?
Under TMK Art. 327, both parents are responsible for meeting the child’s care and education expenses; the parent not granted custody contributes to these expenses through child support. In determining the amount, the child’s age, needs and educational situation and both parties’ financial means are taken into account together. Child support as a rule continues until the child reaches majority (age 18); however, for children who continue their education this obligation may be extended by court decision.
Conclusion
TÜİK data for Antalya show both that divorces are increasing in number and that they are almost entirely based on the general ground in TMK Art. 166. Behind the figures, however, each case has its own equation of fault, alimony, custody and division of property; setting up this equation correctly helps achieve an outcome that is less draining, both emotionally and financially, at the end of the process. For an assessment specific to your situation, it is advisable to seek professional legal advice from a lawyer.
Legal Notice: This text has been prepared for general information purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. sophoshukuk.com makes no referral, guarantee or promise of outcome. Each case must be assessed on its own particular circumstances; for your specific dispute, please obtain professional advice from a lawyer.