What Are Material and Moral Damages in Divorce, and What Are the Conditions?

When marriage ends, property is liquidated under the matrimonial regime—but liquidation does not always fully protect rights. One-sided spending or unilaterally bearing children’s expenses may justify damages beyond asset division.

TCC Art. 174/1: the faultless or less-faulty spouse whose present or expected interests are impaired by divorce may claim appropriate material damages from the faulty spouse. Two conditions: (1) impairment of present or expected interests; (2) the claimant is less faulty or faultless than the other.

Example: a spouse who left work for home and childcare and could not build savings or pension contributions has impaired interests—but if more at fault than the other, material damages fail. Equal fault also bars material and moral damages.

2nd Civil Chamber 29.11.2018, 2018/2497–13777: equal fault bars Art. 174/1–2 awards. 2nd Civil Chamber 19.02.2015, 2015/1338–2225: a spouse with mental illness cannot be faulted for involuntary acts; if the other used physical violence, Art. 174 conditions may favour the ill spouse—amount set by social–economic status, gravity and equity (TCC Art. 4; TCO Arts. 50–52, 58).

Higher awards need higher impaired interests and strong evidence—bank slips, invoices for one-sided family expenses. Higher fault of the paying spouse increases the amount. Parties’ means and the marriage’s socio-economic level also matter.

Art. 174/2: the spouse whose personality rights are attacked by the events causing divorce may claim an appropriate sum from the faulty spouse. Conditions: (1) attack on personality rights; (2) causal link to divorce events; (3) fault of the other spouse—e.g. adultery causing deep emotional harm.

No exact price for pain; the sum must be “appropriate” to the facts, means and fault. Specialist counsel is advisable.

Fear of paying opposite-party fees on the rejected portion of a high moral claim was largely removed when the Constitutional Court annulled CCP Art. 326/2 for moral-damages claims (25.12.2024, E:2024/29, K:2024/226).

At Karınca Law Firm in Çankaya we advise on Art. 174 strategy in Ankara divorce files.