Will Translation for the USA

Telling a will apart from a trust

In US succession practice, part of the estate is often transferred outside the will, through a trust structure set up during the testator’s lifetime (a living trust), and such a structure may fall outside the probate process. Where the Turkish document is a will, it is translated with its own identity and not confused with a trust instrument; the two are different legal devices, and neither takes the place of the other in translation. What the document actually is, a will or some other disposition, is plainly preserved in the translation.

Conditional dispositions and obligations in the will are carried across as they stand; an intention expressed as “on condition that”, “to such a person” or “to the extent of” is preserved without being blurred. Where a concept peculiar to the law of succession has no exact counterpart in English, the term is chosen so as to preserve the meaning of the source and is supported by an explanation where necessary. If the document is to be dealt with in more than one state, having the names and the descriptions of property run consistently through every set keeps the documents from contradicting one another in succession proceedings that can go on for a long time. The type of the will, holograph, witnessed or made before a notary, is stated the same way in every set, because it is from this that the probate court reads the formal validity of the document.

Ancillary probate and immovable property

Where the deceased owned property in another country or another state, a separate probate process (ancillary probate) may arise for those assets, since each state conducts the transaction over property within its own borders under its own rules. If a Turkish will is to be used in such a process, the descriptions of the properties, parcel, plot and address, are preserved exactly in the translation, because it is this information that settles which asset has been left to whom. A description that has slipped makes the transaction disputable at once.

US wills commonly contain a section signed in the presence of witnesses and setting out their statements (the self-proving affidavit); where a Turkish will carries details of witnesses and of a notary, these elements are stated plainly in the translation, because the probate court assesses the formal validity of the document through them. The type of the document, holograph, witnessed or made before a notary, is shown clearly in the translation; that is the first thing the court looks at.

Conditional expressions and obligations in the will (“on condition that”, “to such a person”, “to the extent of”) are conveyed as they stand, without being blurred; where a concept peculiar to the law of succession has no exact counterpart in English, the term is chosen so as to preserve the meaning of the source and is supported by an explanation where necessary. Settling for an approximate equivalent can widen or narrow the scope of the intention without anyone noticing. The translator carries the intention; the assessment of validity is made by the probate court.

The probate court and the executor

A will in the USA is usually opened before a probate court at state level, and the court issues a document (letters testamentary) authorising the person named in the will (the executor). Where a Turkish will is to be submitted to that process, the court reads the content of the intention and the identity of the person appointed from the translation. The executor’s name, the names of the beneficiaries and the proportions of the shares are preserved exactly in the translation; a small difference in spelling opens to argument the question of who holds the authority.

State differences and the absence of a central register

There is no central register of wills covering the whole country in the USA; the process follows the probate rules of the state in which the assets lie. Which state the will is to be used in therefore also affects which further documents, the death certificate or a schedule of assets, are added to the translation. Stating the type of the will (holograph, witnessed) in the translation matters, because some states treat a handwritten (holographic) will differently.

The declaration of accuracy and the order of authentication

Since there is no sworn translator regime in the USA, the assurance behind a translation is the signed declaration of accuracy (certificate of accuracy). Where a will originates with a notary or a court, the apostille is obtained from the relevant judicial justice commission.

• Do not add any comment on the validity of the intention; that is for the probate court to assess.
• Check that the declaration of accuracy has been attached to the translation.
• Find out in advance what the probate court in the state where it will be used expects.

The USA is a party to the Hague Apostille Convention; confirm the current position from the official HCCH list. You can have your file handled at our single office in Ankara Kızılay, see the cost on our pricing page and upload your document to request a quotation. This page is for general information and is not a substitute for legal advice; for succession matters, consult your lawyer.