Receiving an inheritance is not only about enjoying additional assets. Usually, the inheritance from parents, grandparents or husband is associated with a lot of things to do, it can also herald problems, especially those related to inheritance of debts. Nevertheless, anyone can get an inheritance, so it is worth knowing what inheritance is, what is statutory inheritance and what to do to avoid inheriting debts.

Inheritance issues are regulated by the Civil Code, specifically book IV of the Civil Code - Inheritances.This book contains all the information regarding the succession of the deceased: both general provisions on the elements and sources of inheritance, and more specific provisions, such as inheritance from statute, inheritance by grandparents, inheritance by municipality or the State Treasury, adoption or rejection of inheritance or liability for inheritance debts, commonly known as inheritance of debts. It also defines who is en titled to an inheritance from the act and who can inherit on the basis of a will.

Contents:

  1. inheritance: statutory inheritance
  2. inheritance: inheritance under the will
  3. inheritance: what does the acquisition of inheritance look like?
  4. inheritance: debt inheritance
  5. inheritance: distribution of inheritance in court or notary public
  6. inheritance: inheritance tax
  7. inheritance: who is the heir unworthy?

inheritance: statutory inheritance

The so-called statutory inheritance determines who has the right to inherit an estate when the deceased has not left a will. Thus, according to the provisions of the Civil Code, the following persons are en titled to inherit in the first place:

  • Children and spouse.According to the law, they inherit the property in equal parts, but the part that goes to the husband or wife cannot be less than a quarter of the total inheritance. If the testator's child or children are dead at the time the inheritance is opened, his (their) part goes to the grandchildren, if any. It is worth knowing that it does not matter whether the child was born in a free relationship or in marriage. Adopted children also have the right to inheritance, but only if they do not inherit property from their biological parents.
  • Spouse and parents.They inherit if the testator, that is the person who leaves the inheritance, has no children or grandchildren. In such a situationthe spouse inherits of the inheritance, and each parent of the inheritance. If the spouse is dead, all the inheritance is inherited by the parents.
  • Parents.Inherit from the deceased when he or she had no spouse, children or grandchildren.
  • Siblings.They can inherit the inheritance from the deceased in such a situation, when one of the parents is dead - then they “share” the inheritance with their spouse and the other parent, or only with their spouse (if both parents are dead), or inherit the entire estate if the deceased had no spouse or parents. In turn, if the siblings are dead, their children "take over" their part of the inheritance.
  • Grandparents.They inherit if none of the heirs who are listed in the first place by the Civil Code is dead. And if they are dead, their children or grandchildren, i.e. the testator's cousins, receive an inheritance.
  • Commune.May inherit the inheritance if the testator has no relatives, even distant ones.

Statutory inheritance, however, is not eligible for persons living with the testator without marriage or for a spouse who is separated from the deceased by a court decision.

inheritance: inheritance under the will

The situation is different if the deceased person left a will, in which he clearly specifies who will receive the estate after his death. Inheritance based on a will takes precedence over statutory inheritance.

The testator has the right to dispose of the property in the way he or she wishes - to transfer the property to several people or leave it to only one. By law, there are the following types of will:

  • notarial, written in the form of a notarial deed- its original remains in the notary's office.
  • written- handwritten by the testator, signed and dated.
  • oral- the so-called allographic. The testator then determines the heirs, expressing his will in the presence of two witnesses and a person who represents the state administration - this may be the head of the registry office, mayor, village head, etc. The declaration of will must be written and signed by persons present at the oral will, including by the testator.
  • special- it is drawn up in the event of a risk of the testator's quick death - then the testator may convey his will orally in the presence of three witnesses. Such a will expires 6 months after its determination, if the testator is still alive.

A will can be revoked or changed at any time by drawing up a new document ordestroying the already existing one.

inheritance: what does the acquisition of inheritance look like?

The inheritance is acquired at the time of the testator's death (the so-called inheritance opening). However, this does not mean that the inheritance can be used freely. Before that, you need to confirm your right to it.

It makes no difference whether the estate was legally bequeathed or the inheritance is legally binding. In both cases, the right to inheritance must be confirmed either in court or notarized.

  • Purchase of the inheritance in court.Court confirmation of the acquisition of the rights to the inheritance is made at the civil division of the district court in the district where the testator lived - if the place of his stay cannot be determined, the application must be submitted either to the court in which the property is situated. If the deceased left a will, it must be stated in the application. The application must be accompanied by the following documents: an abridged copy of the testator's death certificate, abridged copies of the birth certificate of the heir (or heirs, if there are at least two of them), as well as an abbreviated copy of the marriage certificate if there is a wife or married daughter among those en titled to inherit. The application and documents can be personally delivered to the court, together with a proof of payment in the amount of PLN 50 (the so-called permanent entry). Documents can also be sent by registered mail - in such case, however, you must also attach one copy of the application and attachments for each of the persons participating in the procedure.
  • Notarized confirmation of inheritance.The notary should submit the same set of documents as in the court, as well as the will. If there are several heirs, all of them must be present, and all of them must also sign the notarized inheritance deed (its cost is PLN 150). If there is a conflict between the heirs during the confirmation of the inheritance, the notary will not draw up an inheritance deed - the case is then decided by the court.

The acquisition of the inheritance must be reported to the tax office within 6 months of the inheritance deed being drawn up at the notary's office or the court's decision becoming final.

inheritance: debt inheritance

It is worth knowing that with the inheritance, the financial liabilities of the testator are also inherited: loans and debts. It is up to the heir to pay them back. You do not have to inherit an inheritance with debts. What are the options?

  • The inheritance can be accepted with debts.Then you have to pay off all liabilities that the testator had, even if their sum exceeds the value of your property. Note - also this property,which was your property until you receive the inheritance. In other words: the debts assumed in this way must be repaid in full, regardless of the value of the property that has been inherited.
  • The inheritance can be accepted without liability for debts(with the so-called benefit of inventory). Then the testator's liabilities will be repaid only from the property he left behind.
  • The inheritance may be rejected in its entirety.Then the heir is excluded from inheritance - the right to it is automatically transferred to the children. They may accept it or reject it - if they are minors, the declaration of rejection of the inheritance must be submitted by their legal representative, i.e. the parent, with the consent of the guardianship court.

The decision does not need to be rushed or delayed too much - according to the regulations, it is 6 months from the date of receiving information that you are an heir. If the heir does not make any declaration during this period, it means that he automatically accepts the inheritance without liability for debts.

inheritance: distribution of inheritance in court or notary public

If there are several heirs, the inherited inheritance must be divided (the so-called division of the estate) so that each of the heirs receives the share of the estate due to him - this can be done at a notary or in court.

  • Division of inheritance in court.The application for division of the inheritance is filed with the district court competent for the place of the last residence of the testator. The heirs indicate what is included in the inheritance and present to the court their proposal to divide it. The application must be accompanied by the required documents, including a decision confirming the acquisition of an inheritance, as well as a proof of payment (depending on the situation, it is from 300 to 1000 PLN).
  • Division of the estate at the notary's office.The heirs may also divide the estate at the notary's office - this is especially beneficial if the estate includes a cooperative ownership right to premises or real estate. Before signing the contract, you must provide a court decision on the acquisition of the right to inheritance or a notarized certificate of inheritance, as well as all documents confirming the testator's right to assets - e.g. an excerpt from the land and mortgage register. The fee for the division of the inheritance at the notary's office depends on the value of the property and may amount to several thousand zlotys. PLN.

inheritance: inheritance tax

It is worth knowing that the heir must pay the inheritance tax - the higher the degree of kinship with the testator. Relatives, i.e. spouses, children and parents, may, however, take advantage of the inheritance tax exemption - for this purpose within 6 months from the date of receiving the inheritanceyou must report this fact to the head of the tax office competent for the heir's place of residence.

The amount of tax that further heirs have to pay depends both on the value of the inheritance and the degree of kinship. There are three tax groups:

  • Group I- son-in-law, daughter-in-law, siblings and in-laws. This group also includes those closest testators who do not meet the conditions for exemption from inheritance tax, i.e. have not reported it to the tax office within six months of receipt.
  • Group II- nephews, sister-in-law, uncles, sisters-in-law, uncles, aunts
  • Group III- cousins ​​and relatives not included in the two previous groups, as well as strangers.

People belonging to one of these three groups have one month to notify the tax office about receiving the inheritance. When calculating tax, you need to include a tax-free amount that is different for each of these groups. It amounts to:

  • for group I - PLN 9637,
  • for group II - PLN 7 276,
  • for group III - PLN 4902.

Anything that the heir gets in excess of this amount is subject to taxation.

Reserve - a special part of the inheritance

The reserved portionis the part of the estate due to those who were omitted in the will, although they belong to the immediate family and would inherit the property under the act in the absence of a will.

According to the regulations, the so-called descendants (children, grandchildren), spouse and parents. They have the right to claim from the heirs half of what they would receive if they inherited under the law. Minors or persons permanently incapable of work, en titled to a reserved share, may claim 2/3 of the share of the inheritance that would accrue to them under the law.

Important:must be applied for within 5 years from the date of the will. However, it will not be given to persons disinherited in the will, deemed unworthy, as well as those who renounced inheritance or rejected inheritance.

inheritance: who is the heir unworthy?

Someone who threatened the testator with harm, if he does not make a will with a specific content, may be considered unworthy of inheritance. They will not receive an inheritance, even if they are en titled to it under a statute or a will.

The application for declaring unworthy is filed with the court by another heir and must be done within one year from the date when he learned about the prerequisites of "unworthiness", but it may not be later than three years after the death of the testator.

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Geriatrics