Divorce terminates the marriage between the parties by court order, and the dissolution of the marriage has several consequences. Material and moral compensation and alimony are among the financial consequences of a divorce case.
Material Compensation: The innocent or less culpable party whose existing or expected interests are harmed due to the divorce may request appropriate material compensation from the culpable party.
Moral Compensation: The party whose personal rights have been violated due to the events leading to the divorce may request an appropriate amount of money as moral compensation from the other culpable party.
Alimony: The party who will fall into poverty due to the divorce, provided their fault is not more severe, may request alimony from the other party indefinitely, in proportion to their financial capacity. The fault of the alimony obligor is not considered.
The legal rights arising from the termination of marriage due to divorce (material and moral compensation, alimony) are subject to a one-year statute of limitations from the date the divorce decree becomes final.
In determining the amounts of pecuniary and non-pecuniary damages and alimony claims requested during or after a divorce case, the economic and social circumstances of the parties, the degree of fault of the parties in the events leading to the divorce, the purchasing power of money, the violation of personal rights, and the existing and expected interests violated should be taken into consideration. All these factors must be evaluated together to determine the amount of compensation and alimony in a fair and legally appropriate manner.
An example Supreme Court decision on the subject:
**Republic of Turkey Supreme Court, 2nd Civil Chamber, Case No. 2016/16823, Decision No. 2018/6020, Date: 3.5.2018**
**SUMMARY:** The case concerns a request for divorce.
Considering the determined economic and social circumstances of the parties, the degree of fault of the parties in the events leading to the divorce, the purchasing power of money, the violation of personal rights, and the existing and expected interests violated, the pecuniary and non-pecuniary damages awarded in favor of the plaintiff woman are insufficient. Considering the principle of equity in Article 4 of the Turkish Civil Code and the provisions of Articles 50 and 51 of the Turkish Code of Obligations, a more appropriate amount of material and moral compensation should be determined, and the judgment rendered without considering these aspects is incorrect.
CASE: The local court’s judgment, dated and numbered as shown above, was appealed by the plaintiff woman regarding the amounts of alimony and compensation; and by the defendant man regarding the determination of fault, alimony, and compensation. After reviewing the documents and considering the matter, the following decision was reached:
DECISION: 1-) Based on the documents in the file, the evidence on which the decision is based, the legally sound reasons, and especially the absence of any error in the assessment of the evidence, all of the defendant man’s and the plaintiff woman’s appeals, except those covered in the following paragraph, are unfounded.
2) Considering the parties’ established economic and social circumstances, the degree of fault in the events leading to the divorce, the purchasing power of money, and the existing and expected interests violated by the attack on personal rights, the material and moral compensation awarded in favor of the plaintiff woman is insufficient. Taking into account the principle of equity in Article 4 of the Turkish Civil Code and the provisions of Articles 50 and 51 of the Turkish Code of Obligations, a more appropriate amount of material (Turkish Civil Code Article 174/1) and moral (Turkish Civil Code Article 174/2) compensation should be awarded. The judgment rendered without considering these aspects is deemed incorrect.
CONCLUSION: The appealed judgment is REVERSED for the reason stated in paragraph 2 above, and the other parts of the appeal not covered by the reversal are AFFIRMED for the reason stated in paragraph 1 above. The costs listed below are to be borne by the defendant; since the advance appeal fee of 143.50 TL has been paid, no further fees are to be collected. The advance appeal fee shall be returned to the plaintiff if requested. This decision was made unanimously, with the possibility of requesting a correction of the decision within 15 days from the date of notification. 03.05.2018