Poland: Inheritance And Succession In Poland

I. Introduction - Inheritance in Poland

None of us can avoid the issue of succession, whether or not we leave behind an estate. Planning for the succession and the future of our estate is an expression of concern for our relatives.

After all, these are successors who will have to deal with formalities after our death.

Many times, an inheritance takes the form of our last gift to future generations. It is therefore not worth relying on coincidence. As testators, we should be fully aware of where and to whom our life's legacy will go.

Polish Inheritance Law is still very old-fashioned and bureaucratic. In the end it burdens the successors with a whole bunch of formal obligations that are binding on them in the face of the death of a testator. These obligations are fraught with deadlines, which if are not respected, may influence in future of the entire estate, liability for debts or level inheritance taxation.

It is, therefore, worth knowing what are the basic rights and obligations of the successors of Polish estate / assets / inheritance.

II. What is the composition of inheritance / estate?

Polish law defines "inheritance" as everything left by the deceased. In common language, an inheritance is just an asset, but this is an incomplete understanding. An inheritance consists of everything that the deceased owned, i.e., real estate, money in an account, cars, movable property, shares in companies, businesses, but also his or her liabilities, debts.

The inheritance is therefore made up of the assets as well as the liabilities of the estate. The whole is called the inheritance estate. It is the estate that is acquired by the heirs.

III. Succession in Poland with Testament / Last Will

If the deceased left a valid testament / last will – the situation is straightforward. As per Polish Law anyone can be appointed to inherit on the basis of testament, even a stranger.

In principle there are two basic ways in which a will (testament) may be validly drawn up:

• First - notarial deed. Such a testament is executed at a notary's office on the basis of the declarations and instructions of the person concerned.
• Second – handwritten testament. Such a testament can be done by hand anywhere, even on a simple sheet of paper. For it to be valid, the date and place where it was drawn up must be included, as well as a clear and handwritten signature.

IV. Succession in Poland in Absence of Testament

Polish inheritance regulations stipulate that so called "statutory inheritance rules" apply to inheritances where the deceased has not made a will (or the will appears to be invalid). Statutory inheritance rules define who inherits from the deceased and in what order. Those rules also are commonly referred to in Poland as "groups of inheritance". Depending on the level of relationship, the order of inheritance will be different.

The table below shows in which order - in the case of succession by law - the heirs will be called to inherit:

Based on the above table - in simple words - we could say that the succession order in Poland is the following:

• The first to be called to succession will be the testator's spouse and children.
• If the testator had no children, the spouse and the testator's parents will be second in order.
• In the event of the early death of a parent, the testator's siblings or children will inherit in their place if the brother or sister has not survived the testator's death.
• If there are no persons entitled to inherit in the second group of heirs, the third group, i.e. the grandparents, will inherit, and if any of the grandparents did not survive the death of the testator, their descendants, i.e. aunts, uncles, uncles, cousins, cousins and their children, will inherit in their place.
• If there are no persons mentioned above, a stepchild will be appointed to the succession.
• If, on the other hand, there are no such persons, the inheritance will go to the municipality of the testator's last place of residence, and if that was outside Poland or the place of previous residence cannot be established - to the State Treasury.

It is very often the case that the person who leaves the inheritance was married. In such a situation, it is worth remembering that the person's estate will also include property acquired jointly with the other spouse. As a rule, the inheritance will in such a circumstance include half of the assets left. Thus, a flat or a car owned by both spouses will be inherited half after the testator's death. The surviving spouse will retain the other half.

V. Inheritance in Poland – what actions shall I take?

1. Check if there is a testament

After the death of the relative, the first step we need to take in order to start the whole process of inheriting an estate is to find out whether the deceased has left a will. To do this it is worth checking the Notary Register of Wills of Poland. This can be done either via the Register's website or at any notary's office after presenting the deceased's death certificate.

2. Collect information about assets

It is also advisable to search the deceased's personal belongings and the documents he or she left behind. This is also a very important step due to the gathering of information about the assets left behind and, above all, debts. There is no central register of assets in Poland that would facilitate the process of assets search.

3. Reject or accept the estate within 6 months deadline

An important deadline to bear in mind is the deadline of six months after the death of the deceased. Within this period, you can reject the inheritance if you do not wish to accept it for some reason.

Polish inheritance law distinguishes two ways of accepting an inheritance.

By law, if we do not submit an appropriate declaration within the period of 6 months mentioned above, we will acquire the inheritance with the benefit of inventory. Such acceptance of the inheritance means that the heir accepts the inheritance, but its liability for the inheritance debts is limited only to the value of the assets left by the testator.

The second way is to accept the inheritance directly. It consists in accepting the inheritance without limitation of liability for debts. This means that the heir will be liable for the inherited debts with all his/her assets, both those acquired as part of the inheritance and those he/she already had. In order for there to be an direct acquisition, a special declaration must be made within the aforementioned period of six months from the testator's death.

It should be remembered that at the time of the opening of the inheritance, we conditionally acquire the right to a part of it when we are among those inheriting under the law or the will. However, this is not equivalent to the actual acquisition of the inheritance. We have up to six months from the opening of the succession, i.e. from the date of death of the testator, to decide whether to accept or reject it. In order to shorten the six-month waiting period, we can also make an appropriate declaration of rejection or acceptance of the inheritance before the Court or a notary.

4. Visit a Notary or Apply to the Court for Confirmation of Inheritance Acquisition

This is a key stage that must be undertaken by every successor. Without completing it you will not be able to prove inheritance of estate and as a result – as an example:

• you will not be able to rewrite the properties on your name,
• you will not be able to withdraw the money from the bank accounts.

More about the procedure for the confirmation of acquisition of the inheritance may be found below. It is recommended to engage an inheritance attorney for this stage.

5. File tax declarations

In Poland, inheritance tax still applies. The tax obligation arises as soon as the court decision confirming the acquisition of the inheritance or the registration of the deed of succession certification by the notary becomes final. The amount of tax depends on the value of the inheritance and the level of relationship between the testator and the heir. There are number of exemptions that can be explained to you by tax attorney.

6. Rewrite the properties and bank accounts to your name

Once you have your confirmation of inheritance acquisition in hands you may approach banks and land registry for ownership re-registration.

VI. Procedure for the confirmation of acquisition of the inheritance

A key stage in the inheritance process in Poland is "the confirmation of the acquisition of an inheritance". The document can be obtained at the Notary or in the Court.

"The confirmation of the acquisition of an inheritance" is absolutely vital for you is it is the only legal document that proves your right to manage the deceased's estate. As a result, it will make it possible for you, to register the properties on your name, rewrite the bank accounts to your name, sell the property etc.

"The confirmation of the acquisition of an inheritance" can be obtained only in front of the Notaries in Poland and only if all successors visit the notary office in Poland. There are number of cases where notarial option is not available. In such cases the only option is to apply to the court for confirmation of acquisition of an inheritance.

VII. Reserved portion

A special issue that is inseparably linked to the subject of inheritance is the reserved portion. This is a claim for payment to which the heirs who are omitted in the will are entitled if they would have inherited by law. Only the next of kin are entitled to a reserved share: descendants, spouses and parents. Claiming a reserved portion is voluntary, those entitled may or may not claim it. In order to obtain payment of the reserved portion of the estate, a claim must be filed with the court. It is worth remembering that you may also be entitled to a reserved share in the event of statutory inheritance. This may happen, for example, if one of the heirs receives all of the testator's assets as a gift while the testator is still alive. In such a case, the remaining heirs at law will be entitled to claim payment of the reserved portion.

Further information may be found in Guidebook: Inheritance in Poland.

The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.