07.10.2025 10:46
Köksal and Yüksel Kalkan, brothers living in Germany, learned at the notary office they visited for inheritance procedures after performing their last duties for their father, who passed away in Erzurum, that they were listed as deceased in the system. The two brothers applied to the Civil Court to prove that they were alive.
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Köksal (55) and Yüksel Kalkan (58), brothers living in the Baden-Württemberg state of Germany, brought the funeral of their deceased father Sayim Kalkan (92) to Oltu district of Erzurum on September 30 and bid him farewell on his final journey. After the funeral, the brothers went to a notary in Oltu district for inheritance procedures and experienced the shock of their lives. Köksal Kalkan learned that he had been declared dead since 1999 when he acquired German citizenship, while Yüksel Kalkan was said to have been dead since 2007. The two brothers applied to the Oltu Peace Court to prove that they were alive. The court panel personally saw the Kalkan brothers during the hearing and made a 'live identification'. As a result of the procedures, the two brothers were re-registered in the Turkish population system.
COURT DECISION In its decision, the Oltu Peace Court stated, "When the population registration sample of the plaintiff Köksal Kalkan was obtained through the UYAP system, it was found that the events and dates section contained the expression 'Death: Unknown' for both Köksal Kalkan and Yüksel Kalkan, and it was understood that both brothers had separated from Turkish citizenship. It was also found that the events and dates section contained the expression 'Death: Closed' for another sibling, Güldane Kalkan. In order to determine whether they are still alive, after contacting the plaintiff, Köksal Kalkan and his brother Yüksel Kalkan personally applied to our court's registry, and their identity verifications were made using the identity documents of the Republic of Turkey Temporary Blue Card, and copies were taken into the file. After Güldane Kalkan was registered in the UYAP system as a relevant person, it was understood that she was alive. Therefore, it was concluded that the heirs of the deceased are his wife Sündüz Kalkan, daughter Gülzade Kalkan, son Yüksel Kalkan, son Köksal Kalkan, and daughter Güldane Akçay, and it was understood that there are no other heirs, thus it is necessary to decide on the inheritance as stated below."
"I PAY TAXES, I GIVE POWER OF ATTORNEY BUT I AM SUPPOSEDLY DEAD" Speaking about the incident, Köksal Kalkan said, "My father passed away in Germany on September 28. We brought him to Oltu by plane for burial. While doing the official procedures after the funeral, they told us that I have been dead since 1999 and my brother since 2007. We appeared before the judge. After a lot of effort, we proved that we are alive. I come to Turkey every year, I pay my taxes, I give power of attorney, I enter and exit with a blue card. But I am not in the system, my registration in Oltu didn't even come up," he said.
"I HAVE RECEIVED POWER OF ATTORNEY FROM TWO DEAD PEOPLE" Zafer Tosun, childhood friend of the Kalkan brothers living in Oltu, expressed his disbelief about the events, saying:
"Köksal and Yüksel are my childhood friends. For years, they have been having me handle their business in Oltu by giving me power of attorney. When we started the official procedures for the inheritance declaration after their father's death, we learned that both of them were dead in the system. It's like an Aziz Nesin story. I realized that I had received power of attorney from two dead people! Thank goodness the court confirmed that my friends are alive."
THEY APPEAR DEAD IN TURKEY BECAUSE THEY ACQUIRED GERMAN CITIZENSHIP It has been learned that the reason the Kalkan brothers appear as dead in Turkey is due to their acquisition of German citizenship. It was understood that the two brothers who acquired German citizenship were removed from the Turkish population registration system not as a 'change of citizenship status' but as 'death'.
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