How long do you have to reject an estate in Poland?
Polish law (Article 1015 § 1 of the Civil Code) gives an heir six months to declare whether they accept or reject the estate. The deadline runs not from the date of death, but from the day you learned that you had been called to inherit — usually from the news of the death, and in more distant succession, from the moment you learned that closer relatives had rejected the estate.
If you do nothing during this time, the law decides for you: silence means acceptance of the estate with the benefit of inventory — liability for the deceased's debts limited to the value of the estate's assets.
That sounds safe. And this is where the problem begins.
Does the benefit of inventory protect you from the estate's debts?
In our practice, the benefit of inventory turns out to be far thinner protection than its name suggests. Three reasons.
First — the cost of establishing what is even in the estate. The limit of your liability is the value of the assets, but someone has to determine that value. You may file a private inventory list, yet in a dispute with creditors it usually comes down to an inventory drawn up by a court enforcement officer (komornik) — and if the estate includes real property, an expert values it. The costs run into thousands of złoty, and you bear them before anyone establishes that the estate is "under water".
Second — the costs of proceedings are your own debts. The liability cap covers the estate's debts. The costs of a lawsuit a creditor brings against you, and the costs of enforcement, are — under the prevailing view — your personal debts. The cap does not cover them. An estate worth zero can therefore cost you real money.
Third — the protection does not apply automatically. The limitation of liability must be reserved in the judgment or order for payment (Article 319 of the Code of Civil Procedure); in enforcement you can rely on it only if that reservation appears in the enforcement title (Article 837). For someone living abroad this is a very concrete trap: a claim or order for payment served on an old Polish address you know nothing about may become final without the reservation — and little is left of the "limited" liability. Defending yourself requires activity, deadlines, and a lawyer on the ground.
For an indebted or unclear estate, rejecting it within the deadline is usually a cleaner solution than managing a "safe" acceptance for years.
Can you reject an estate that carries no debts?
Surprising to many clients: some of them reject estates that carry no debts at all. The reasons are rational — reluctance to enter into co-ownership with a family in conflict, reporting obligations toward the Polish tax authorities, the need to manage assets in a country where you do not live. Rejecting an estate is not a failure but a decision — provided it is made deliberately, after weighing what you gain against what you give up. That balancing is not worth doing alone in the last week of the deadline.
Do you have to travel to Poland to reject an estate?
You do not necessarily have to travel to Poland — but the formal path depends on your country of residence, and it is something we establish individually for each client.
If you are resident in an EU country bound by the EU Succession Regulation (No 650/2012), Article 13 allows you to submit the declaration of rejection before the court of your country of habitual residence, without travelling to Poland. Note: the United Kingdom is not bound by this Regulation, and the United States falls entirely outside it — so for residents there this route is not available.
In practice, rejecting the estate from abroad often requires one of the following: a declaration made before a Polish consul (a route available to Polish citizens), or a declaration made before a notary together with a power of attorney for a lawyer in Poland — with the signature notarised and, for documents from the US, the UK and most other countries, authenticated with an apostille (Hague Convention). Whichever path applies, the declaration must be filed before the deadline expires, and each route takes several weeks to prepare. Six months pass faster than you think.
What happens to your children after you reject an estate?
Rejecting an estate does not close the matter within the family — the estate then passes to your descendants, including minors, and a fresh deadline runs for them. Since November 2023 the procedure for rejecting an estate on behalf of a minor child has been significantly simplified, but it still requires specific conditions to be met. We devote a separate article in this series to it.
- establish the date from which your deadline runs — when you learned you had been called to inherit;
- gather the basics: what the estate consists of, whether any enforcement proceedings were pending, whether the deceased had loans;
- decide on the formal route — it depends on your country of residence, and we establish it individually;
- if you have minor children, plan their situation from the outset, not after your own rejection.
Frequently asked questions
When does the six-month period to reject an estate start?
It runs from the day the heir learned they had been called to inherit — not from the date of death (Article 1015 § 1 of the Polish Civil Code). In more distant succession, it runs from the moment the heir learned that closer relatives had rejected the estate.
What happens if I make no declaration within the deadline?
No declaration within six months means the estate is accepted with the benefit of inventory — liability for the estate's debts limited to the value of its assets.
Does the benefit of inventory fully protect me from debts?
Not fully. The costs of the inventory and of valuing real property fall on the heir, and the costs of litigation and enforcement brought against them are, under the prevailing view, their own debts, which the cap does not cover. The limitation must also be reserved in the enforcement title (Articles 319 and 837 of the Code of Civil Procedure).
Can I reject an estate in Poland while living abroad?
Yes, but the route depends on where you live. Residents of an EU country bound by Regulation 650/2012 may declare rejection before the court of their habitual residence under Article 13. For residents of the UK, the US and other non-EU countries that route is unavailable; rejection is typically made before a Polish consul (for Polish citizens) or before a notary, with a power of attorney for a lawyer in Poland and an apostille on the documents.
Does my rejection of the estate pass to my children?
Yes. The estate then passes to descendants, including minors, for whom a separate deadline runs. Since November 2023 the procedure for rejecting on a minor's behalf has been simplified, but still requires specific conditions.
