The Law Firm provides assistance in all matters related to inheritance. Unfortunately, there is a difficult moment in everyone’s life, which is undoubtedly the death of a loved one. This event also significantly affects the property of the relatives of the deceased. Inheritance is the transfer of the rights and obligations of the deceased to his heirs.
The law provides for two main ways of inheritance.
Statutory inheritance
If the deceased did not leave a will, there is statutory inheritance. It consists in the fact that the right to inheritance is given to persons indicated in the Civil Code in the correct order.
First of all, as a result of statutory inheritance, the deceased are called to the children and the spouse of the deceased.
If the deceased had no children, the division of the estate will be between his spouse and parents.
In the absence of children and a spouse, it is based on the provisions on statutory inheritance that the entire estate falls to the parents of the deceased.
In the absence of any of the aforesaid relatives of the deceased, statutory inheritance may also be called: siblings, grandparents or, as a last resort, the commune of the last place of residence or the State Treasury.
Of course, the amount of the inheritance share attributable to each heir depends on the individual situation.
Testament
The law obviously provides for the possibility of disposing of possessed property in the event of death. This can be done by making a will. If the deceased leaves a will in which he disposes of all his property, statutory inheritance is excluded. In such a situation, it is the deceased who decides about the distribution of the estate. However, if the testator did not dispose of all his property in the will, the omitted components will be inherited on the basis of statutory inheritance. The will also provides for the possibility of excluding a person from inheritance. In the will, you can also deprive a potentially authorized person of the reserved share.
There are ordinary wills (holographic wills) and special wills. Special wills are made in exceptional circumstances, when it is not possible to draw up an ordinary will (holographic will). The preparation of special wills requires the presence of witnesses and, in some cases, other persons mentioned in the Act, unlike the ordinary will.
An ordinary (holographic) will is the most common way to dispose of property upon death. For a will to be valid, it must meet the following conditions:
– ordinary will (holographic will) must be written by the testator in full handwriting,
– ordinary will (holographic will) must be signed by the testator,
– ordinary will (holographic will) must contain the written date of its preparation.
It should be remembered that in the event of two or more holographic wills being drawn up, a will made later will repeal, contrary to it, regulations contained in a will made earlier.
An ordinary will may also be made in the form of a notarial deed. In this case, the content of the will is drawn up by the notary public to the notarial deed.
The law also provides for the possibility of making an ordinary will in the form of an allographic will. It is prepared in such a way that the testator declares his last will to the commune head (mayor, president) in the presence of two witnesses.
In the will, the deceased can accurately describe which particular asset to whom he writes.
Example: “I, Jan Nowak, save my son Leon Nowak an apartment located at 300/12 Brydżowa Street in Warsaw.”
However, he can only divide his property (or save it to one person) by indicating the part of the property that will fall to that person.
Example: “I, Jan Nowak, save my son Leon Nowak all his property.” or “I, Jan Nowak, save ½ my property to my son Jan Kowalski and ½ my property to my daughter Helena Nowak.”
Debt protection
If you are entitled to inheritance, you can decline or accept inheritance. In the event that the entitled person has rejected the inheritance, inheritance in his favor does not occur. Acceptance of the inheritance can take place directly or with the benefit of inventory. Acceptance of the inheritance with the benefit of inventory causes inheritance occurs, however, for the debtor’s inheritance debts, the heir is only responsible for the value of the inheritance received. In practice, it boils down to the fact that an inheritor with the benefit of inventory cannot lose on the acceptance of the inheritance.
The situation is different if the inheritance is accepted directly. In such a situation, inheritance takes place without any restrictions, so the heir is responsible for all obligations that were included in the estate.
Responding to customer needs:
– we provide legal advice in matters of inheritance;
– we conduct proceedings for confirmation of the acquisition of an inheritance;
– we conduct proceedings for inheritance department;
– we conduct cases for a reserved portion;
– we represent clients during pre-court negotiations regarding the division of the estate or determining the amount of reserved portion;
– we help in preparing an application for confirmation of inheritance acquisition, application for an inheritance department, a claim for a reserved share;
– we help find the estate of the testator.
