Wills in Poland and the zachowek reserved share

Planning your Polish estate is essential if you own property or assets in Poland. Unlike some countries, Polish law does not give you complete freedom to dispose of your entire estate as you wish—close family members, including children, spouses, and parents, are protected by a statutory forced share called zachowek. Understanding how wills work in Poland and what zachowek means will help you plan your affairs and avoid disputes after your death.

Types of Wills in Poland

Polish law recognizes three main types of wills. The most common and practical for foreign residents is the notarial will, testament notarialny, which is drafted by a notary public (notariusz). This form is secure, difficult to challenge, and offers important legal protections. Alternatively, you can write a holographic will, testament holograficzny, which is entirely handwritten, signed, and dated by you. While cheaper, handwritten wills carry more risk of being contested over formalities or your mental state. Military wills exist as well but apply only to soldiers in specific circumstances. Joint wills between spouses are not permitted under Polish law.

The Notarial Will (Testament Notarialny)

Why Choose a Notary?

A notarial will is the safest option for expats and foreign nationals in Poland. The notary, who serves as a trusted public official, ensures your will complies with Polish law, witnesses your signature, verifies your identity, and confirms you understand what you are signing. The notary keeps the original document securely in their office, which prevents loss, damage, or unwanted alterations. Most importantly, a notarial will is very difficult to challenge in court compared to a handwritten will, since the notary has formally certified the conditions under which you made it. You do not need witnesses present when making a notarial will—just you and the notary.

Registration and Cost

The cost of a notarial will is very modest. A standard will costs between 50 and 300 PLN, with VAT added at 23 percent, making the total roughly 60 to 370 PLN. If you include complex provisions such as specific bequests of property (vindicative legacies, zapis windykacyjny) or disinheritance (wydziedziczenie), the fee may be higher. You can request that the notary register your will in the National Notarial Registry of Wills (Notarialny Rejestr Testamentów, or NORT) for about 50 PLN plus VAT. Registration is optional but highly recommended—it ensures your will can be found after your death and notifies interested parties.

Understanding Zachowek (Forced Share)

What Is Zachowek?

Zachowek is a reserved, or forced, share of your estate that certain close relatives can claim even if you disinherit them in your will. This is one of the most important differences between Polish law and common-law jurisdictions like the US or UK, where testators generally have complete freedom to name heirs and exclude anyone. In Poland, you cannot freely dispose of your entire estate. Instead, you can dispose freely only of a portion, while the rest is reserved by law for your closest family.

Who Is Entitled to Zachowek?

The following people are entitled to claim zachowek: your children (including adopted and legitimate children), your spouse, and your parents (if you have no living children). These are called forced heirs. If you try to disinherit any of these people or leave them less than their statutory share, they can take legal action in court to claim the cash payment they are owed.

How Much Is Zachowek?

For most adults, zachowek equals exactly one-half of what they would have received if you died without a will (the statutory intestate share). For minors or people permanently unable to work, zachowek is two-thirds of their statutory share, offering them stronger protection. To calculate the amount, you first determine what their statutory share would be, then multiply it by one-half (or two-thirds). This amount is always paid in cash from the estate, not in specific property.

Consider an example: you die leaving a 900,000 PLN estate to a charity, with a surviving spouse and two adult children. Under the statute, all three would normally split the estate, with the spouse receiving at least one-quarter. Instead, each family member can claim zachowek: roughly 150,000 PLN per person. The charity receives whatever remains after these claims are satisfied.

What Is Counted Toward Zachowek?

When calculating zachowek, the courts and heirs must look not only at assets you leave at death, but also at gifts and donations you made during your lifetime. Any gifts you gave to your heirs are added back into the estate for the calculation of zachowek without any time limit. Gifts to third parties (non-heirs) are included only if you gave them within 10 years before your death. This rule prevents you from avoiding zachowek by simply giving your money away while alive.

Statutory Inheritance Without a Will

If you die without a valid will, Polish law applies a strict statutory order to determine who inherits. Understanding this order is helpful for planning—it shows what would happen by default and helps you decide if your will needs to be different.

First in Line

Your spouse and children inherit first and in equal parts. However, your spouse's share cannot be less than one-quarter of the entire estate, even if you have many children. This protects the surviving spouse's financial security. If any of your children died before you, their children (your grandchildren) inherit that child's share in equal parts.

Second, Third, and Later Orders

If you have no spouse or children, your parents and their descendants inherit next. If you have no descendants, spouse, or parents, the estate passes to your grandparents and their descendants. Further orders of succession include siblings and their descendants, then stepchildren of your spouse. If no statutory heirs exist at all, the estate goes to the municipality (gmina) where you last lived in Poland, or to the Polish State Treasury if your last residence was abroad.

Accepting an Inheritance: Your Options

After someone dies, their heirs do not have unlimited time to accept the inheritance quietly. Polish law requires you to make a formal declaration within six months of learning that you are an heir. This declaration can take different forms depending on your situation and what you know about the deceased's debts.

Simple Acceptance (Przyjęcie Proste)

With simple acceptance, you accept the full inheritance and take on unlimited liability for the deceased's debts. This means debts can be enforced not only against the inherited assets but also against your personal property. You should only choose this option if you are confident the estate contains no significant debts.

Acceptance with Benefit of Inventory (Przyjęcie z Dobrodziejstwem Inwentarza)

This option limits your liability for debts to the value of the inherited assets themselves. Your personal property remains protected. For example, if the estate is worth 100,000 PLN but has debts of 150,000 PLN, creditors can claim up to 100,000 PLN from the inherited assets, but you cannot be pursued for the remaining 50,000 PLN from your own money. To use this option, you must declare it before a court or notary within the six-month window, and an inventory of the estate assets and debts must be drawn up.

Importantly, as of October 18, 2015, if you do nothing and do not submit any declaration within six months, the law automatically treats you as having accepted the inheritance with the benefit of inventory. This change was made to protect heirs from accidental unlimited liability. However, do not rely on this automatic protection—actively declaring your intention is clearer and safer.

Rejection of Inheritance

You can also reject the inheritance entirely. You must declare this rejection before a court or notary within six months. Once you reject, you have no liability for the deceased's debts and receive no assets from the estate.

Claiming Zachowek: Time Limits and Court Process

If you believe you are entitled to zachowek but have been left out of a will or received less than you are owed, you have the right to file a claim in court. This must be done within five years of the will being announced or the estate being divided, whichever occurs later. The deadline is absolute—once it passes, your right to claim zachowek is lost.

Your claim should be filed at the court in the district where the deceased had their last residence before death. If the deceased did not live in Poland, the claim is filed where the property is located in Poland. When you file, you will typically have to pay a court fee equal to 5 percent of the amount you are claiming. This is why consulting a lawyer is often wise—they can help you calculate your true entitlement and navigate the procedure.

Can You Be Disinherited?

Polish law does allow a testator to disinherit (wydziedziczenie) a forced heir, but only for very specific legal reasons such as abandonment of the testator in old age or infirmity, committing a serious crime against the testator, or being convicted of abusing or mistreating the testator. Casual reasons such as disagreements, estrangement, or favoring one child over another are not grounds for disinheritance. Courts examine disinheritance claims very carefully and require clear proof. Even if you succeed in disinheriting someone, they can still fight the decision in court and may win.

Planning Tips for Expats and Foreign Nationals

If you own assets in Poland as a foreigner or Polish citizen living abroad, you should have a valid Polish will or be aware of Polish inheritance rules. Polish law will apply to any Polish real estate and often to movable assets as well, regardless of your citizenship or residence.

Before drafting your will, make a clear inventory of your Polish assets—bank accounts, property registered at the land and mortgage register (Księga Wieczysta, or KW), vehicles, and business interests. Consider how you want these divided in light of Polish law's restrictions. If you want to favor one heir significantly, you may need to explain your reasoning or accept that a disinheritance clause may be challenged.

Tell at least one trusted person—perhaps a close family member or lawyer—about your will and where it is stored. If you register it with NORT, this dramatically increases the chance it will be found and read after you die. Without notification, even a valid will can be overlooked, leading to statutory inheritance instead.

Finally, consider whether you also need a will in your home country for assets there. Some expats benefit from separate wills in different countries to avoid conflicts between legal systems. A lawyer familiar with both Polish and your home country's laws can advise you on the best structure.