Turkey Supreme Court rules refusing guests and changing furniture heavy fault in divorce

The Turkish Supreme Court’s General Assembly (Yargıtay Hukuk Genel Kurulu) set a precedent that a spouse’s refusal to accept guests and the continual replacement of household items constitute a heavy fault in divorce proceedings. The ruling stemmed from a 43‑year marriage in which the husband, a retired civil servant, alleged the wife’s gambling, unpaid debts and harassment, while the wife, a retired teacher, accused the husband of verbal abuse and neglect of family responsibilities. The lower Family Court found both parties at fault but deemed the wife’s conduct more serious, rejecting her claims for compensation and granting the husband modest monetary damages. After appeals, the regional court declared equal fault, but the Supreme Court overruled, reaffirming the heavy‑fault assessment of the wife’s behavior. The decision, cited as an exemplar case, emphasizes that denying guests and repeatedly changing home furnishings are considered serious breaches of marital duties under Turkish law.