Polish Lawyer – Inheritance Law in Poland

In Polish inheritance law, a deceased person is referred to as the testator, their successors in the event of death are called heirs, and the deceased’s property rights and obligations form the estate.

Inheritance is a method of acquiring subjective rights that constitute the estate.

According to Article 922 of the Polish Civil Code, the estate represents the entirety of the deceased’s property rights and obligations with a civil law character.

Estate Composition in Poland

The estate of a deceased person in Poland includes:

Ownership rights to movable and immovable property,
The perpetual usufruct right,
Limited property rights, such as easements, mortgages, pledges, and cooperative ownership rights to a dwelling within a housing cooperative,
Possession, which may be relevant for calculating the period required for the adverse possession of another’s property,
Claims arising from contracts or court judgments, for example,
Estate debts, including expenses for the testator’s medical treatment, care, maintenance, or costs associated with their last illness prior to death.

Key Legal Points in Polish Inheritance Law

The estate is opened at the moment of the testator’s death, not on the date of death. In Poland, inheritance occurs as of the testator’s death. The factual state of the estate is always determined at the moment of the testator’s death.

According to Article 628 of the Code of Civil Procedure, actions within inheritance proceedings are exclusively under the authority of the court at the testator’s last habitual place of residence. If this cannot be determined in Poland, then the court where the estate or a part of it is located (the probate court) assumes jurisdiction.

Temporary Acquisition and Heir Eligibility

Acquisition of the estate under Polish law at the time of its opening is temporary because the heir has the right to renounce the estate (Article 1012 of the Civil Code).

Under Polish inheritance law, only living individuals at the time of the estate’s opening are eligible to inherit. Therefore, a deceased person cannot inherit; however, their descendants can inherit on their behalf. A company that exists at the time of the estate opening can also be an heir.

Order of Statutory Heirs

The circle of statutory heirs and the order of their entitlement to inherit both in Poland and abroad are specified in Articles 931–937 of the Civil Code.

A spouse in separation or a divorced spouse is not among the statutory heirs of the deceased.
In the absence of a spouse or close relatives called to inheritance by law, the municipality of the testator’s last place of residence becomes the statutory heir.

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