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ATTENTION! automatic translation from Polish

• Inheritance Transfer Agreement and the Right to Compensation2026-06-12
  ATTENTION – THIS IS AN AUTOMATIC TRANSLATION FROM POLISH In its judgment of June 6, 2025 (I SA/Wa 70/25), the Provincial Administrative Court in Warsaw clarified how the law operates in the case of the sale or acquisition of an inheritance, when compensation for real estate seized by the state is involved. According to the… Dowiedz się więcej: Inheritance Transfer Agreement and the Right to Compensation
• Liability of Heir for Inherited Debts2026-05-12
  The Provincial Administrative Court in Szczecin, by judgment of December 10, 2025 (file ref. I SA/Sz 525/25), overturned the decisions of the Social Insurance Institution (ZUS), which had attempted to enforce the full amount of overdue contributions from the heiress, ignoring the existence of a mortgage debt encumbering the estate. The case involved a woman… Dowiedz się więcej: Liability of Heir for Inherited Debts
• Error and the Challenge of a Will2026-04-18
  ATTENTION – THIS IS AN AUTOMATIC TRANSLATION from Polish Freedom to make a will is one of the fundamental principles of Polish inheritance law. However, its limits are set by the provisions on the grounds for invalidity of a will, including Article 945 § 1 item 2 of the Civil Code, which provides for the… Dowiedz się więcej: Error and the Challenge of a Will
• Changes to Inheritance and Gift Tax from 20262026-03-07
  ATTENTION – THIS IS AN AUTOMATIC TRANSLATION from Polish The amendment of November 21, 2025, to the Inheritance and Gift Tax Act (Journal of Laws of 2025, item 1854) entered into force on January 7, 2026, introducing favorable provisions for heirs. The new regulation allows for the reinstatement of the 6-month deadline for reporting an… Dowiedz się więcej: Changes to Inheritance and Gift Tax from 2026
• Conditions for the Institution of Disinheritance2026-02-17
  ATTENTION ! Automatic translation from Polish In its ruling of July 31, 2025 (I CSK 1992/24), the Supreme Court addressed the conditions for the institution of disinheritance. The ruling clearly stated that a testator may only invoke the statutory conditions specified in Article 1008 of the Civil Code, but must indicate the specific conduct of… Dowiedz się więcej: Conditions for the Institution of Disinheritance
• Does timeliness matter in the matter of inheritance or donation?2026-01-22
  Note: translated from Polish! The Provincial Administrative Court in Gdańsk, in its judgment of 5 August 2025 (I SA/Gd 375/25), once again confirmed a fairly strict approach to the deadline for reporting an inheritance or donation, on which the possibility of benefiting from the exemption from inheritance and gift tax provided for in Article 4a(1)… Dowiedz się więcej: Does timeliness matter in the matter of inheritance or donation?
• Amendment to the regulations on inheritance and gift tax2025-12-10
  NOTE: translated from Polish! On 14 October 2025, the Council of Ministers adopted a bill amending the Inheritance and Donation Tax Act, which provides for the simplification of procedures and the protection of heirs against the loss of tax exemptions. The draft of the new regulations in the field of inheritance and gift tax provides… Dowiedz się więcej: Amendment to the regulations on inheritance and gift tax
• Concluding a Waiver of the Right to a Reserved Share2025-11-25
  In its resolution of March 17, 2017 (III CZP 110/16), the Supreme Court confirmed that it is possible to conclude a waiver of the right to a reserved share between a future testator and a qualified statutory heir.In this case, a legal dispute arose when a deputy notary in Wrocław refused to prepare a waiver… Dowiedz się więcej: Concluding a Waiver of the Right to a Reserved Share
• Inheritance and administrative court proceedings2025-10-17
  Note: translated from Polish In the latest case law of the Supreme Administrative Court, the decision of 12 August 2025 (ref. I OZ 490/25), in which the Court referred to the practical consequences of the failure to formally demonstrate the legal succession of the deceased party in suspended administrative court proceedings. This ruling is an… Dowiedz się więcej: Inheritance and administrative court proceedings
• Acceptance of a declaration of inheritance by a guardian2025-09-23
  ATTENTION – THIS IS AN AUTOMATIC TRANSLATION from Polish In its decision of May 31, 2024, the Regional Court in Krakow referred a legal issue to the Supreme Court for resolution: is a guardian appointed in proceedings to confirm the acquisition of inheritance for a person whose place of residence is unknown entitled to submit… Dowiedz się więcej: Acceptance of a declaration of inheritance by a guardian
• An allographic will executed in the presence of an unauthorized person2025-08-22
  ATTENTION – THIS IS AN AUTOMATIC TRANSLATION The Supreme Court of Poland, in its ruling of August 31, 2023 (case no. I CSK 6121/22), addressed the issue of the invalidity of an allographic will. According to Article 951 §1 of the Civil Code, an allographic will is a type of will executed in the presence… Dowiedz się więcej: An allographic will executed in the presence of an unauthorized person
• Forgiveness in the Light of Inheritance Law2025-07-24
  ATTENTION ! Automatic translation from Polish Polish inheritance law stipulates that a testator cannot disinherit a person entitled to a compulsory share if they have forgiven them (Article 1010 of the Civil Code). Forgiveness is an emotional act that can take the form of a written declaration or be implied, resulting from the testator’s behavior.… Dowiedz się więcej: Forgiveness in the Light of Inheritance Law
• Negative Testament2025-06-07
  ATTENTION! automatic translation from Polish The provisions of the Civil Code concerning wills (in particular art. 959) require that the testator indicate who is to inherit after him – appoint one or more people to the inheritance. However, the prevailing view in case law is that it is possible to draw up a so-called negative… Dowiedz się więcej: Negative Testament
• Information obligation of courts and notaries in inheritance cases2025-05-26
  ATTENTION ! automatic translation from Polish As stated in art. 36 sec. 1 of the Act on Land and Mortgage Registers (hereinafter: „uKWH”): Courts, government administration bodies and local government units, as well as notaries preparing deeds of inheritance certification shall notify the court competent to maintain the land and mortgage register of any change… Dowiedz się więcej: Information obligation of courts and notaries in inheritance cases
• Inventory application – bailiff2025-04-29
  The loss of a loved one is most often associated with a huge amount of negative emotions, but also legal consequences. People who have just experienced the death of a loved one often have many questions. One such question may be – how to determine what is actually in the inheritance? It should also be… Dowiedz się więcej: Inventory application – bailiff
• Many-year proceedings for the compulsory portion and updating the valuation of the estate2025-03-03
  Proceedings for the compulsory portion are sometimes contentious. This in turn means that the parties to the proceedings for the compulsory portion often become entangled in a multi-year court dispute. When the estate also includes real estate, for the purposes of determining the so-called substrate of the compulsory portion, i.e. the active estate (assets minus… Dowiedz się więcej: Many-year proceedings for the compulsory portion and updating the valuation of the estate
• Adding donations to the inheritance (reserved portion)2025-02-03
  According to the judgment of the Court of Appeal in Warsaw of 25 August 2009 (I ACa 445/09), all donations, i.e. pure donations, as well as donations combined with instruction or having the character of mixed agreements, are subject to addition to the inheritance pursuant to Article 993 of the Civil Code. The term donation… Dowiedz się więcej: Adding donations to the inheritance (reserved portion)
• Date for calculating the value of the reserved portion2025-01-02
  In the Supreme Court’s decision of 28 October 2022, I CSK 2901/22, it was recalled that the calculation of the reserved portion is based on the value of the estate determined according to the prices applicable on the date of ruling on claims in this respect. The Supreme Court has consistently held that the compulsory… Dowiedz się więcej: Date for calculating the value of the reserved portion
• The exclusive nature of the formal declaration of inheritance acquisition2024-12-02
  According to the Supreme Court decision of March 1, 2022 (I NSNc 39/21), the court’s decision on the declaration of inheritance acquisition is declaratory in nature, and therefore does not create a new, but states the existing legal status. Civil law provisions link the acquisition of inheritance with the moment of opening the inheritance (Article… Dowiedz się więcej: The exclusive nature of the formal declaration of inheritance acquisition
• Inheritance of compensation2024-11-04
  The Court of Appeal in Kraków in its judgment of 25 October 2022 (III AUa 193/19) recalled that the right to demand compensation for the harm suffered – due to its personal nature – belongs only to the injured party, and therefore in principle expires upon his death, in accordance with Article 922 § 2… Dowiedz się więcej: Inheritance of compensation
• Calling a deceased person to inherit2024-10-01
  A deceased person cannot be an heir. According to the Supreme Court decision of May 22, 2019, III CSK 340/18, a will calling a person to inherit who was dead at the time of opening the inheritance is ineffective and statutory inheritance comes into play.
• Droit de suite is not included in the inheritance2024-09-02
  The institution of droit de suite is regulated by art. 19 section 1 of the Act of 4 February 1994 on copyright and related rights, according to which the creator and his heirs, in the case of professional resale of original copies of a work of art or photography, are entitled to remuneration. The essence… Dowiedz się więcej: Droit de suite is not included in the inheritance
• Costs of preparing an inventory2024-08-01
  The possibility of accepting an inheritance with the benefit of inventory, provided for in Polish law (Article 1012 of the Civil Code), creates a convenient way to protect oneself from inheritance debts exceeding the financial capabilities of the heir. It is equivalent to limiting liability to creditors to the value of the acquired inheritance, which… Dowiedz się więcej: Costs of preparing an inventory
• Personal income tax and succession management of an enterprise2024-07-01
  Temporary management of an enterprise after the death of an entrepreneur is associated with the need to fulfill tax obligations imposed on a given enterprise, including personal income tax. The Act on the succession management of an individual’s enterprise and other facilities related to business succession states directly in Article 49 that: „A successor enterprise… Dowiedz się więcej: Personal income tax and succession management of an enterprise
• Refusing to accept the inheritance due to an error2024-06-03
  If the inheritance was accepted due to an error, it can be waived with the consent of the court. However, the Supreme Court in its decision of May 13, 2024 (I CSK 362/23) recalled that in the event of application of Art. 84 CC based on the references contained in Art. 1019 CC It is… Dowiedz się więcej: Refusing to accept the inheritance due to an error
• Requirements for a claim for compulsory share2024-05-02
  In accordance with the decision of the Supreme Court of October 28, 2022 (I CSK 2901/22), in matters relating to the maturity date of a claim for compulsory share, the state of delay should be determined individually, taking into account the circumstances of a given case, avoiding any automatism. As a rule, since the provisions… Dowiedz się więcej: Requirements for a claim for compulsory share
• Who can receive a death certificate?2024-04-01
  The death certificate is a document necessary to start all inheritance procedures. Pursuant to Article 45(1) of the Law on Civil Status Records, a death certificate of a deceased person may be issued to a spouse (widow, widower), ascendant, descendant, sibling, legal representative, guardian, In addition, a person who demonstrates a legal interest in it… Dowiedz się więcej: Who can receive a death certificate?
• Entry of heirs in the land and mortgage register2024-03-01
  The obligations imposed on heirs related to the opening of an inheritance include the obligation to disclose the heirs in the land and mortgage register of a given property. It is not implemented ex lege, but requires the submission of an application. The application is submitted on a form. The application must indicate the name… Dowiedz się więcej: Entry of heirs in the land and mortgage register
• Selling the deceased’s car2024-02-01
  When the inheritance is opened, the rights and obligations of the deceased pass to the heirs. The inheritance process itself involves the need to fulfill many obligations regarding the inherited goods of the deceased. Often, many heirs decide to sell some elements of the inherited property. An example may be the deceased’s car, which is… Dowiedz się więcej: Selling the deceased’s car
• Refund of funeral costs by the bank2024-01-02
  From January 1, 2020, a debt collection provision may also cover all the rights and obligations of a partner in a partnership. Yes, a debt collection legacy (like other debt collection provisions) should be included in a will drawn up in the form of a notarial deed. The subject of the debt collection legacy is… Dowiedz się więcej: Refund of funeral costs by the bank